National Geographic cruises, like the one we took last month, put a lot of emphasis on photography; there were a couple of sessions on how to best use your phone camera, and a few others on how to make your photos tell more about the places you’re visiting. They even have an equipment locker and will loan you OM System (Olympus) cameras and lenses so you can try them out in the real world instead of at a camera store. And many of the guests were accomplished amateur photographers and were eager to share their tips and equipment suggestions.
I took advantage of all of those resources, and my next credit card bill will show it!
I’ve been using a Panasonic Lumix FZ-1000M2 since early 2021, and I’ve mostly been happy with it, but I had noticed that photos with the lens zoomed out near its maximum weren’t as crisp as I would have liked, and nowhere near as crisp as the photos my friend David took with his Sony RX10M4. But I liked the weight of the camera, and I was pretty sure that I wanted to avoid having multiple lenses. The cruise gave me a perfect chance to try things out.
I borrowed an OM-1 body and a 40-150mm lens from the ship and had a great time playing with it and comparing it with my Lumix. The first thing I discovered was that, because the OM-1 is a Micro Four Thirds camera, the stated focal length is half of the 35mm-equivalent length, so I had accidentally borrowed a telephoto zoom, which meant I couldn’t really take many indoor photos (though it did do a good job on birds at a distance). I could have borrowed another lens, but I didn’t have a good way to carry two or more lenses, so I used my iPhone for a lot of photos instead of the Olympus.
The second thing I discovered was that the menu system was awkward, at least without having a chance to study the manual. Andrew, the photo advisor on the ship, said he didn’t like Olympus gear for that reason (and others), but over the course of the cruise, I figured out enough of the interface to be comfortable treating the camera as a big point-and-shoot, and got a few nice photos.
The third thing I discovered was that there were several other guests who raved about their Sony RX10 cameras. One guest, Mike, had just bought the brand new Sony RX10M5 and was still figuring it out – he got some spectacular shots of birds at a distance where I could just see blobs with the Lumix. We chatted a lot, and he told me about the AI-assisted focus modes on the camera (it can focus on an animal’s eye, bypassing things like branches which are closer and bigger – my Lumix would focus on the branches, though I was able to use manual focus to get around the problem). He let me take a couple of photos, and even offered to send me his cheat sheets for setting up the camera to be able to select a shooting mode quickly.
By the time the cruise ended last Wednesday, I was ready to rush out and buy a RX10M5, but I waited until Saturday. San Jose Camera had one in stock; the salesperson let me play with it for a while before I said “yes”. They took my Lumix in trade (the salesperson said I could probably get more for it if I sold it privately, but I didn’t want the hassle), and I bid it a fond adieu.
I spent much of Sunday trying to read the “Help Guide“; it’s 577 pages of “how” and “what” with absolutely no “why” (a reference manual, not a tutorial). I had more success with some web resources, like Ken Rockwell’s Pro Tips, Secrets, and User’s Guide, Wym Arys’s setup guide with tips and tricks, and Digital Photography Review’s forum. I will probably buy Gary Friedman’s Guide to Sony’s RX10 V soon – it gets great reviews.
This morning, Diane and I went out for a photo walk along the Los Gatos Creek trail in Campbell (she’s trying out my Lumix ZS100 – it’s a MUCH smaller camera than the RX10 or the Lumix I just traded in; I used it for our Galapagos trip in 2018).
I haven’t gotten far enough in my reading to use the camera in anything other than automatic mode (in particular, I haven’t found how to select the AI-aided focus modes), but I had fun with the camera. Besides the pigeons at the top of the page, here are a few of the photos I was happy with (though I think I could have gotten better focus on the oleander if I’d given myself more time).
I did notice the extra weight of the Sony versus the Lumix (it’s about a pound heavier), but it was tolerable.
I think I’m going to enjoy having this camera!