Point... and shoot...

Sounds easy, right? Just like the descripter says: aim that little guy at your subject, push the button, and let it do the magic! Yes, that seems infinitely easier than changing lenses, manually zooming and focussing, setting up apertures and shutter speeds... not to mention hauling around a MASS of a camera that fits in nothing smaller than a case the size of my head...!!

So in light of all the point'n'shoot hype, I bought myself one. A sleek little Panasonic DMC-LX2. This 10MP beauty shoots in RAW as well as jpeg, and an especially neat feature is it's 16:9 format capability. That means landscape photos are vast, almost panoramic! I took it out yesterday on a major hiking/climbing excursion, where the weight of a person's backpack is a huge consideration. And, when it comes to items other than necessities, the rule between my partners and I is 'if you really want to bring it, you have to carry it'... I was able to shave off almost 4lbs by carrying along the LX2 as opposed to my Pentax, and the convenience of snapping a photo one-handed was appreciated. The ease of use of this camera is attractive, and the photo quality is what I would deem exceptional for a camera with such a small sensor, too.

I have to say however, I still enjoy the results I get with my D-SLR. Perhaps it's just that I have become so used to it? Oh, there definitely will be times and places for the little guy (like events where they claim 'No Cameras Allowed!' - because it fits nicely inside a jacket pocket), but I'm thinking I'll learn to suck it up and slog the extra weight around with me...