See here the Maroc and Andalusia, Spain reports. Photos for the moment only, video is coming.

Alhambra. Cordoba, Sevilla, Cadiz. Dat was Andalusia.

Morgen naar Marokko, zag het vandaag al liggen vanuit Algeciras.

Sinterklaas has brought me two presents, a new TV and a new photo camera. This is about the Canon EOS 1000D. More on the LCD tv and the 5.1 home theater set, when I am finished installing all that!

Not that I am dissatisfied with my Canon Powershot A710 IS, not at all. It has proven to be a perfect companion on my travels, delivering good photos. Of course it is a compact camera, with the small size and low weight as advantages, and the disadvantages such as lack of options and noise in low light situations that makes a DSLR more interesting. For taking the standard photos with auofocus, in normal light conditions and reasonable distance, it is a perfect camera. In fact, it is hard to make bad photos with this camera.

My first camera, that served me well, in fact all the older photos on my travel website are made on slides with this camera) was a Practica SLR. Bulky, heavy, three lenses (wide angle, standard, tele), but with all the facilities that make a SLR so much photographics fun.

So I have added a DSLR to my photo equipment, the Canon EOS 100D. Wth the quality I expect from Canon.
A basic setup first, with a 18-55 mm IS lens. Builtin flash, autofocus, Image Stabilization, ISO values usable up to 800, all the manual controls or auto you want. Raw photos, large sensor without noise. It is all there.

The first experiences show me that this is not the userfriendly, point and click, always a good photo, kind of camera like the Powershot. I am totally spoiled by these handy cameras! No, this requires relearning all the trics of a SLR like focussing, zooming, ISO, light, diafragms, with the added DSLR functions like autofocus, basic point and click standard programs and the powerfull ‘creative’ settings.

To my disappointment, the Live View function (showing the picture on the LCD screen like the compact cameras do) is only available with the ‘creative’ programs, not the basic auto settings. This means I have to learn again looking through the camera viewfinder instead of holding the camera at some distance and seeing the picture in preview on the lcd screen. I wear glasses, so I hate to make the glasses dirty by touching with a viewfinder.
Another shock was the noise of the mirror clicking and clacking when taking a picture! This is a SLR!

Technically this is an enormous amount of power. Autofocus is brilliant, with complete control of depth and light. It feels like a real camera, rock steady in your hands, I wish the FS100 video camera was a bit more like this. Much, much to (re)learn.

So what do I take on my next vacation? I am not sure, but the Powershot A710 IS might be a better choice, since it low weight, small, quiet and so easy to handle and with good results. The Canon 1000D will be used for high demanding jobs, like photos of my collection. First photos are on line, on the retro website page on the Cosmicos.

I was quite pleased with the Canon Powershot 420 I took with me to Venezuela. After the first day I switched form the inferior Fuji E500 to this conventient camera and it served me well the rest of the vacation in Venezuela. Since this camera was meant for my friend in Venezuela, I shipped it to Caracas on my last day in Porlamar.

So I was in the market for a new camera. Canon is my choice of manufacturer, though I am still pleased with my Casio QV400.
What I wanted was:

After some research and reading reviews I stumbled upon the recently introduced Canon Powershot A710 IS, a 7 megapixel, 6x zoomlens with a quite large lcd screen. The price is reasonable too (244 euro), it fits my specifications, and it feels easy to handle.

So here it is: my new camera for the next holidays, ready for some tests the next weeks: