Solo Ride to Shaoxing & Xitang (Mid-Autumn Festival 2010)

**euphonius** · 10-09-2010, 07:22 PM

Felix, I'm finding huge value in the Canon G11, Canon's top rangefinder camera (although I see they may be releasing the G12). It's got tons of automation, but you can fully override everything and run any or all core functions manually. And the manual controls are not deep in some menu somewhere. Some are physical dials, like the exposure compensation ring. It's got fantastic glass, and a lot of it. The lens is no pinhole but big and fast, almost as big as you'd find in an SLR lens, so it's relative easy to do things that SLRs are good at, like shallowing the depth of field so you get blurred backgrounds and/or foregrounds, though this is not as easy as with an SLR. You either use aperture priority or manual and make sure you are using a large aperture.

In terms of motorcycling, I find it's a perfect size -- not too big or too small. It's boxy -- 11.2 x 7.6 x 4.8 cm -- but its bulk and heft make it easier to hold and manage in a gloved hand.

I sling it over my neck on a strap, and can quickly grab it with my left hand, clutch it with my fingers across the top, hit the power switch with my index finger, then fire away in program mode with the same index finger. I've made hundreds of images while riding, even doing 110kph on the expressway, though the inherent stupidity of this technique should be apparent to all. The G10 represented a major technological rethink from the G10, as Canon bailed out from the more-pixels-is-better ratrace and backed the G11 back to 10 megapixels, down from 14 in the G10. I'm only now starting to use RAW format, but the color, detail and overall image quality really benefited from this decision. I'm far less of a photographer than you, ChinaV, Pfaelzer or Motokai, but I'm pretty happy with the results. All of the images you see me posting in this forum were made with the G11, typically in program mode and with the camera selecting the appropriate DIN.

I'm certain I'd be making far, far fewer pictures if I were using my D70 or even the newer, smaller SLRs. Though my brother in southern California recently showed me his new Sony Alpha NEX-3, which seems to further narrow the gap between pocket camera and SLR. I've not seen any of his images yet, but he said he was really happy with it.

I remember reading that Lao Jia Huo recently bought the G11, and presumably used it for all the images of his rider-to-rider communication experimentation. Perhaps he can weigh in as well.

The G11 MSRP is $500, and is selling here in the US for as little as $425. I paid about that in Shanghai when it first came out less than a year ago.

cheers

**Pfaelzer** · 10-11-2010, 03:17 AM

Hi Felix,

about cameras: Nothing can beat an SLR like my D200 or so. But for most of us its just a lot of stuff to carry around and unless you are out for serious picture qualities then a high-end bridge camera can do a good job as well, with no need to carry loads of gear with you. To be flexible I like cameras with a wide zoom range like the models below. A good zoom just helps you to take these nice pictures of people without disturbing them...

My favorite (but it comes at a price tag) - nice feature - you can zoom manually like on an SLR lens:

Similar and cheaper:

Very good price value:

Those cameras can also take HD, some even full HD movies - including the zoom feather. OK, this is just to add my bits to that topic.

Main reason why I post:

When do we see pictures and a report of your trip?

After having seen the glorious adventure of ChinaV I can't wait any longer to read your part of the story.

Cheers,
AW.

**felix** · 10-11-2010, 08:17 AM

Thank you for the replies and advice guys. Though i'm temped by a lot of cameras for many reasons, price and size are pretty important factors. I reckon i have narrowed my search down to either the Panasonic LX3 or LX5, because they have a great lens with a big aperture and a 24mm wide angle which i absolutely loved on my old ricoh. The amount of freedom you get from a wide angle lens cannot be overstated, and to me is more useful than a long zoom. Now if only the LX3 could have the G11's interface and dials...

I promise i'l get to ride report soon, though unfortunately my camera woes happened on the trip so pictures will be few...

Motokai, sorry your nice thread got hijacked, it seems to happen a lot here!