Every so often I snag a scene photo that I like. Which really only proves that good equipment and a beautiful area are critical to the mix, not my talent! But still photography while it involves the viewer, does not capture the mass of a wilderness hike; the sheer magnitude of the forest,particularly when its in full bloom. Film/video does that much easier. The problem with SLR video while it offers the large sensors, and lens flexible, is that its an uncomfortable proposition, and to make it comfortable requires add ons and dedication. By dedication, I mean your SLR is dedicated to video, and you'll miss still opportunities. Although you can move from mode to mode,but the stills show the non-dedication.Its akin to adapting a donkey to a horse race. Click photos for slideshow.
White Admiral.
So I bought a used Canon Xixia HFS 200. Its small and compact, and fits in with my hiking mode, and the absence of a tripod. Quite quickly, here's what I don't like about it: It has no viewfinder, so you are still stuck with a screen in broad daylight. The screen is a touch screen, and I think the inventor of touch screens should be shot. The next model up takes a converter, which would convert the Zoom to 500 mm, which I would like also. I could move up, and the size would be the same which I like. But I'll stick with this for now and practice.
Same
Notice the sharpness of these photos. You won't get it in a video camera, because of the size of the sensors. White Admiral opposite. And with a video, butterflies are hard to photograph, because they fly so randomly. I'll talk about the software later somewhat extensively because its critical..
