Just another day at the office

It has been a really ordinary day.  Chance to catch up a bit on processing some of my images into photographs.  As you can see it has been a mixed bunch; two bird shots in the garden and two from my visit to York last week.

Actually it was quite nice to work on something other than 'nature'.  I am hoping to get out tomorrow and pull in a few landscapes - not sure if I will succeed - lets hope.

One final thing.  May I wish the best to all my old university colleges who will be frantically working this weekend with their final submission of the year.  I wish you all well and I am sure you will be successful.  Now I am out of that I don't envy them - I really am enjoying the freedom I have - long may it last.

5D v 9G

York Minster

This argument has been swirling around in my brain over the weekend.  Which is the better camera, the Canon 5D or Canon G9?  This may sound somewhat silly as on paper there is no comparison, the 5D is simply better in every aspect.  But hold on theoretical performance doesn't really cut it when you are out in the field using each of the camera.  I have found that I have used the G9 far more more in the past few months than the 5D.   I have been able to produce some stunning images with the G9 and yet is it a better camera?

I guess the best place to start is price.   Well the G9 is, was, about a quarter of the 5D's price.  It is a tank when compared to a lot of other compact cameras but for me this is one of its great advantages.   I have stuffed it into all sorts of pockets over the past two years and it has never let me down.  However, there are some significant problems with the camera.  I believe I have mentioned before the dire performance beyond the 200 ISO setting.  I just cannot use the images that it produces due to the appalling noise.  The lens is not wide enough for my liking either, although the G10 has opened up to an equivalent 28mm this is still not that good. 

Now we come to the 5D.  The day in York demonstrated both its brilliance and annoyance.   The photograph above was taken in York Minster with a 24 - 105mm lens fitted.  The ISO was 1000 and the shutter speed was 1/10th of  a second.  Given all these problems the resultant photograph was sharp, due in no small part to the image stabaliser on the lens, and there was no sign of noise.  If I had tried anything like that with the G9 the image would have been appalling.  However, there is a price to pay for this image quality (IQ).  The camera is bulky and requires large hands to handle successfully.  You just can't throw it into a pocket and pull it out at a moments notice.  You have to use the 5D with a certain amount of intention and planning.  It is not a camera that can be used spontaneously.  Given all this you are never disappointed with the results - possibly the best digital camera made to date.

So which is best?   After giving the matter much thought it has to be the 5D.   You very quickly come up against the design constraints of the G9 if you use it a lot.  This is not the case with the 5D as there is usually a fix that can be fitted to the camera to get around most problems.   I would be lost without either and am in no hurry to replace them with their upgrades, I know I was think about the mk II 5D but this has been put on the back burner for now.

York

York, York, York...so good they named it once.   Not quite sure why I wrote that but in seemed a good way to start.  Anyway, I spent the day in York and a mixed experience it was too.  For anyone who has never been to York it is a really strange place.  It is a small provincial town with a huge Minster in the middle.   Beyond the city walls there are the usual urban sprawl but within the walls it a very cramped a claustrophobic place.

The reason for the visit was to take in the York coeliac food fair.   This was a bizarre experience.  There was a huge scrum of people trying to get free samples.   I have to say that most of the food was excellent and the producers seemed to be mainly local to Yorkshire.   You can go overboard at these place and many people appeared to be doing just that.  They were coming away with bags bulging with produce.   

By the time we had got to the food fair we felt quite hungry.  However, by the time we had left that hunger had subsided.   But there still was the problem was where to eat?   After much frustrating searching we found a wonderful christian charity restaurant.  It was fancy and I felt like I was back at school queuing for the food.   However, the food was excellent and the service first rate.  It was situated in one of the many churches right in the centre of York.  Compared to the usual corporate/chain feeding places you get in most town/city centre this was a refreshing change.  Well worth another visit.

So why mixed experience? Well the Minster was stunning as ever and the streets were packed.  However, the real low point of the day was the National Railways Museum.   Perhaps I was feeling tired but the place seemed so boring.   This was captured by the 3:30pm demonstration of the huge locomotive turntable in the centre of the museum.   Now I couldn't understand what would be so exciting about this so I didn't know what to expect.   My underwhelming sense of dread was not disappointed.   After about a 10 minute talk from one of the staff, which no one could hear,  they started the demonstration.   Guess what turntables go round.  That was it the turntable went round once.   I felt my life draining away.

The offending turntable

The one and only reason why anyone should go to museum would be to view the outstanding exhibition about the Indian railway system called 'India on the Move'.  This comprised of a series of portraits of the people who live on, under next to the railway and the numerous people who work on the railway.   This really gave me a sense of the magic of the human spirit.  Here was a series of people whose whole life revolved around the railway.   They sold/hawked all manner of things.  The employees also seemed to have a huge sense of pride in what they were doing.   This is a well worth the visit even if the rest of the museum will live you cold.

After the Railway museum we walked back into York and guess what - it rained.   To be fair this is what the weather forecast had predicted so no real complaints there.  I do love making photographs in the rain everything gets a rich colour do to the wet.   Had a great time getting some street candid shots.  Not sure my wife was too happy about this - still it did give her time to look around the shops.

We eventually made our way home on the train.   Whilst this seemed to dawdled across Yorkshire until it got to Sheffield where it remembered it was an express where upon we rattled along at reasonable speed.   This was a York special and so it stopped at numerous small stations.

So overall a good day, I just wish the National Railway museum could put some life into their exhibitions.