More Lightweight Camera Thoughts

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With a lightweight camera on the wishlist (see Travel Photography – My Travel Camera) and road trip to London (to see the Tower of London Poppies) and the Isle of Wight (for a first time visit) an opportunity arose for an experiment in lightweight camera gear. My 450D doubles as second body for important shoots and “carry around” body to make sure I always have a camera handy. The 18-55 kit lens died years ago, but it works well with an old 28-90 kit lens from a 35mm Canon EOS 300. Wrapped in its Zing wrapper and partnered with an old Cosina 100mm, all packed into a Lowe Pro AW55 toploader, it became a lightweight DSLR system.

Now a day in London absolutely demanded the best quality, so the lightweight system stayed behind. The 60D and pair of Sigma zooms certainly made their weight felt over a day of underground, buses and trains, causing a few back and shoulder aches. In fact the lightweight camera wasn’t even unpacked until the first evening on the Isle of Wight.

First response to using the lightweight system was “I need my 60D”. The lack of image stabilisation and effective high ISO performance made itself felt right away. But the result, at the top of the page, was not bad. Over the days on the Isle of Wight, this lightweight camera system proved to be pretty effective in those times when I did not want the weight and bulk of my normal system.

So was this lightweight camera experiment a success?

Bear in mind that the point here was to have a lightweight camera, which will deliver some level of quality without breaking the bank, as a move to mirrorless would do. in this context the lighter, smaller SLR proved a great success. Would I take the [CBC country=”uK” show=”y”]Canon Powershot G16[/CBC][CBC country=”uK” show=”n”]Canon Powershot G16[/CBC] off the wishlist? No. A pocketable camera would still have been more useful. Combining a Canon 1xxxD or XX0D, relatively lightweight body with a kit lens, or a couple of primes, or a superzoom, like the Sigma 17-250mm would be an excellent choice for frequent weekend trips, where space and weight might be an issue. As a lightweight camera alongside a bigger DSLR, I still think a more pocketable item like the G16 would be more effective.

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