Can anyone remember please?

[Mrs Sales]

When George Steele gave that wonderful talk on macro
He mentioned using a compact camera

Cam anyone please remember what it was?

[John]

There are quite a few compact cameras that enable extraordinary close focus, often down to 1cm. George used a small Canon and someone at the club bought one so hopefully they will see this thread.

If not, we can make enquiries at the club.

[Stbourne]

I'm not sure but thought it was Canon G14?
Although I think the G series latest is G16 now.

[Mrs Sales]

Thank you both so much

It was the G something or other that I remember so that will be it

[BydoR9]

This is just my take, but before shelling out the best part of £500 on a (admittedly excellent) Canon G16, you would be much better off buying a proper macro lens for the same price. This is assuming you already own a DSLR of course.

If you want to try-out macro for just a few tens of pounds before you commit major money to it, then I recommend the Raynox DCR 150 (cost between £35-£50 they do have a max/min filter thread size though). Trust me macro is very hard to do due to very narrow depth of field and lack of light, especially when chasing bugs! You may end up finding that it's just not for you.

Don't let me put you off though, because with a bit of practice and after a LOT of shots that go straight in the bin you can get fairly good results with a Raynox and zoom lens combo:

http://500px.com/photo/48239812
http://500px.com/photo/42129642
http://500px.com/photo/41874774
http://500px.com/photo/41526564
http://500px.com/photo/44882664

Andy.

[Mrs Sales]

I do appreciate the advice very much Andy and the Raynox thingy was something I had considered
I do own a Nikon Dslr and have been buying some lenses for it but I'm just such a fumbler that I can't use it
I've tried and tried but I'm either dropping or losing bits, or going out with no battery in etc

I had a lot of fun with my old compact that I bitterly regret going down the DSLR route
I'm thinking of sticking it all on Ebay and getting either one of these Canons
or the waterproof shockproof Pentax - which might survive life as my camera lol

[PhilipHowe]

"I had a lot of fun with my old compact that I bitterly regret going down the DSLR route" - ?????????
What, no, ask someone to help you, do anything, just don't go back because you're not getting on with it. Buddy up. The G-whatever might be a good camera, but it won't compare to aDSLR.

[BydoR9]

Very wise words Phil!

It takes a while to get used to a DSLR, especially going straight from a compact! It's easy to be overwhelmed by all the functions and settings, remember that they don't all need to be used all the time to take a photo (obviously I suppose, but it can feel like that at first). Most of the time you will have it in aperture priority using a single focus point!

Phil's advice to buddy up is a good one, but there's no better alternative than just taking loads of test shots around the house and garden to see what effect different apertures/shutter speeds gives you.

Get to know your camera by reading the instructions of course, but mainly by holding it and playing with until it becomes second nature - if some one gave me their canon camera to use, I wouldn't know where to start, so knowing you own camera is EVERYTHING!

You'll be surprise how quickly you pick it up the more time you spend with it - remember that digital snaps cost nothing unlike the old film days, so just shoot away and fill up you memory card! Just don't give up on your DSLR straight away!

Andy.

[Paul Jones]

I do own a Nikon Dslr and have been buying some lenses for it but I'm just such a fumbler that I can't use it
I've tried and tried but I'm either dropping or losing bits, or going out with no battery in etc

I had a lot of fun with my old compact that I bitterly regret going down the DSLR route

I'm a great admirer of Damien Lovegrove. Much of his recent output is taken not with a bulky DSLR, but the smaller and more compact Fujifilm X100 and Fujifilm X-Pro1.

Take a look at this sample gallery - http://www.lovegrovephotography.com/fuji-x100-gallery/

And - http://www.prophotonut.com/

[Walter Brooks]

As Paul has shown with Damien Lovegrove's 100 images a DSLR is not always necessary and as pointed out, a DSLR is likely to have more functions than you will ever need.

Think about what you really want to photograph and if you were happy with a compact and it's results, don't forget, that that is where you were getting pleasure in taking photos. There is always a temptation to think that you need something more to take photos or make you a better photographer - knowing about photography and how you apply that knowledge does that for you.

Never tempted to invest in a DSLR system (I still have my 35mm and medium format systems and lenses for that), my concession to digital has been compact cameras, and my latest - after a lot of 'researching' is the Canon G1x with it's near DSLR sized sensor and a fair range of f stops, and with a couple of accessories is more than enough. As if that wasn't bad enough, I am now, with another at the club experimenting with a 50 year old Zorki 4 35mm rangefinder and an iPhone to take photos - it's whatever makes you happy Mrs Sales.

Regards

Walter

[PhilipHowe]

In all fairness, Mr Lovegrove is far from using a compact. He is more like using a Leica, as opposed to a 35mm. The camera is around 4 figures.....

[Paul Jones]

In all fairness, Mr Lovegrove is far from using a compact. He is more like using a Leica, as opposed to a 35mm. The camera is around 4 figures.....

Is it the camera that makes great images, or the photographer?

Give some people a nice Hasselblad, Leica or the best DSLR on the market and they would shoot cr@p. Give someone who knows what they're doing, like Lovegrove, a throwaway disposable camera and he'd produce awesome images.

Or give Jerry Ghionis an IPhone and he'll outshoot many wedding photographers with thousands of pounds worth of gear. See:
http://jerryghionisblog.com/2012/05/the ... phone.html

[Tracey McGovern]

WOW - these pictures are amazing, total respect for Jerry Ghionis.

Tracey

[FrankH]

The Canon G11 was one that was mentioned I remember because I own one .

[joant]

Hi. I've have got the Pentax, optio wg2. Which has a macro of 1cm. I have got some really good images of flowers and insects. it also has a decent zoom, and its also waterproof, which in this country is quire usefull, and can be used underwater. Think I paid £150 ish but defo under £200. I am going to Whitby on Saturday and will try and remember to bring it with me. Failing that John R, also has this camera, this is what he suggested for me going in for, and I've been very happy with it.
Joan