New Camera for Traveling

Size matters.

🙂 I was amused that Canon had ‘cannons’ (nick name for Mongo-sized zoom lenses) in their front window. That’s USD $90,000+ of movie camera, lens and stuff on the front end of the lens. Photo taken yesterday at MBK mall in Bangkok. Their fifth floor has the highest concentration of high quality camera shops in the city, including ones selling gear (lights, stands, dollies, harnesses, etc.) only pros use.

Size matters, take 2.

New camera in the middle, old travel camera on the right. The newbie has noticeably better image quality than the big one, weights 22% less, and has substantially better image quality in low light. My digital cameras have performed so poorly in low light that I’ve rarely kept any thing I shot. Back in the film era I enjoyed shooting in low light. Yep, I bought a new camera just for the fun it will provide.

Size matters, take 3.

Little camera has the little sensor. Other 2 have the big sensor. In general, the bigger the sensor the better the low light image quality. Big sensor in small package is my idea of a travel camera. A 50% price reduction because Canon is trying to get rid of them is my cue for carpe diem.

(For camera freaks only: The Canon EOS M was stillborn because reviewers and buyers couldn’t decide which was a bigger mistake, the unacceptable auto focusing performance or the ‘Are You Kidding Me?’ high price. Few sold. In July Canon updated the firmware, fixing the focus issues. In August they cut the price in half in the US. Shelves began to empty. The Thai market price cut happened in early Sept.)