I'm Embarrassed to Admit It. . .

.
but I'm a tech junkie.

Like regular readers don't know this already.

So it might come as no surprise that I just got a new camera.

Let me back up a bit here.

I love my Canon 7D, but I do have a couple of issues with it.

It's big and heavy. Now, when I'm shooting, that's not such a huge deal, since I use my Cotton Carrier. The problem comes from the fact that I like to carry my camera with me wherever I go. This means that I have to carry a large bag, in which I carry the Canon 7D and my other "purse" items. This adds an additional four pounds or so to my daily load. That doesn't sound like a lot, but believe me it is.

Then there's the issue of changeable lenses. I love the shots I get with the various lenses, but unless I carry both of them, I always seem to have the wrong one. If I decide to carry both lenses, then I'm adding another one to two pounds.

Don't get me wrong, I really like my Canon 7D, but it isn't perfect.

So I've tried shooting with my old Panasonic FZ30, with its' wide to 18x optical zoom. I love the convenience of no extra lenses and the very light weight.

But it's slow. . .

And I like shooting with my iPhone 4s, but it also has it's limitations (mainly the zoom, which degrades photo quality pretty quickly). That said, it's a fantastic macro camera.

Then, while looking around the internet (a dangerous habit, I know) I saw some photos shot with a Canon SX40, and WOW . . .

So I got to thinking, why not give it a try? With Amazon's generous return period, I pressed the buy button.

Did I mention that the Canon SX40 has a 35x optical zoom?

So the photos I've been posting for the last few entries (except for the Los Gatos iPhone 4s series) have been shot with the Canon SX40.

Yep, that incredible hawk shot, handheld from some fifty feet away. And all the other beach pictures.

And the flower pictures from the arboretum? The first and last purple flowers were shot from at least fifteen feet away, handheld. They're actually very tiny blooms. Now, I did a bit of manipulation (mostly cropping and slight sharpening) but you can't work with what isn't there.

I have to tell you, I'm impressed with this camera.

***-***-***

So here's a few more shots, all handheld.

And because it's a new camera,
I screwed up and accidentally changed
the aspect ratio to 1x1.

I was several hundred yards away,
these pelicans were maybe 1/4 inch high
with the naked eye.

Here's a shot I took
from one of our favorite spots.
It's a small rock
off of West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz.
(Russ and Donna will remember this spot).

And standing in the same spot,
with the zoom fully extended,
here's the pelicans and cormorants,
lounging on the rock.
(Click to Enlarge.)

Here's a screenshot of the two, side by side.
The quality isn't great, (it's a screenshot after all)
but I thought it was the best way to show the zoom

Here's a shot of the sun going down
over West Cliff Drive.

I finally realized my aspect ratio error
and got this full shot of the sunset.
It was one of those yellow sunsets

I'm not sure of where this is all leading. After all, how many cameras does a girl need? I know I'm keeping the iPhone (because, you know, it's also a phone). The Canon 7D is an incredibly fast camera, perfect for capturing those birds in flight. Then there's the versatility (and relatively light weight ) of the Canon SX40. I have yet to test the speed of this camera, there just aren't a whole lot of birds to test the speed on (sure wish I was back at the Bosque).

But I'll keep shooting with it and let you know . . .