ArtSpace entry during Gallery Stroll
Bryan and Scott covered the who-what-when-where of photowalking last Friday night. I for one was very happy about the weather. Check out the Flickr pool for more shots. What I want to talk about is first impressions on my new Canon G9.
Intermodal Hub building
I broke all the "rules" by taking a brand new camera out on a photo adventure before studying the manual. That's what photowalking is for, to break the "rules" in a no-consequences situation. I did read the manual, for about 30 minutes. This little machine rocks, even before I know how to use it.
One hour 45 minutes to charge the battery. The SD chip drops in a slot next to the battery, one door to engineer, kind of cute. Setting the date and time right out of the box gives a pretty reliable feel for the whole interface, which seems reasonable, not too clever for its own good. Buttons are small, even for my small hands, but the screen is huge, a fair trade-off. I like the separate button to change the ISO rating, it was easy to figure out how to switch from aperture to shutter priority, even full manual mode. The viewfinder is so tiny that it's hard to imagine why they bothered, and then to gild the lily with diopter adjustment.
I had the ISO on 100 most of the time, triggering the anti-shake feature. I need to do some tests to see how slow I can hand hold this device with proper technique.
I haven't upgraded to CS3 yet, so beware that ordering this device means using Canon's proprietary software for raw file conversions, or Adobe's free but separate DNG converter software. That DNG software sent my Mac G5 into overheat, so I can't say I would recommend that. Didn't try the Canon stuff yet. CS2's ACR is not on the upgrade path anymore. I guess I'll be upgrading soon. There's a way to multiply the price on a $500 camera!
The separate hot shoe was one feature that sold me on the camera, and my Pocket Wizard worked perfectly with it and my Nikon flash. I could carry around a pair of PWs, the flash and this camera all day. I just might.
In fact, after two hours of use, and carrying it in my pocket all weekend, I am starting to think of projects that are doable because of it, not despite it. There is a project I've been pondering for years, for which the idea of toting all the gear the distances involved seemed impossible. Now I could probably get the gear load down to under 5 lbs, if I MacGyver'd a tripod from hiking poles. I tossed the G9, SB800, 2 PWs, camera charger and SD card reader on the kitchen scale, to total 2 lbs, 10 oz, or 1184 grams. Put that Gorillapod on a wish list somewhere. I'll want the aftermarket metal filter adapter as well - handholding my diffusion filter worked to make these shots, but my composition suffered as the gymnastics effort required exceeded my limited abilities. Now I'm deep in the details for my glorious expedition. If a camera in hand opens up a new big beautiful scheme, it's a good thing.
So's photowalking. Hope you'll join us next time.
