Cameras; what to do about cameras? Many moons ago when still a teenager I brought an Olympus OM1; then the smallest lightest SLR. This had served me well over the last 30 odd years. It’s been with me across hill and moor, up a dozen or more 6000m Andean peak, through the Amazon jungle and the Atacama Desert, from the Kenyan bush to the frozen wastes of Finmark and down to the Falkland Islands. All that time it’s never let me down; it’s mostly clockwork only the light meter works on battery, so it works well in the very cold. I did take it sea kayaking, but because it wasn’t waterproof and I didn’t want to get salt water on it, I always kept in inside the kayak in a BDH drum. For on the water shots I’ve had a collection of waterproof compact cameras; none of them lasted long.
Now I have a fairly good digital compact (Canon Powershot A540) and a waterproof dive case, which works really well. I’ve taken some really good – well good for me anyway – kayaking photo’s with it and I really like using digital; saves so much faffing around. For the past couple of years it’s all I’ve taken with me, but the lens has a quite short focal length and I’ve mist out on some really good wildlife shots because of this. Also it’s not always as sharp as it could be.

Like this one.
Not sharp, and so far away. With a telephoto this otter would have been so much better.

I'm a bit happer with this one; still could have been sharper.

I’ve seen a camera that would be ideal it’s a Canon 450D with an 18 – 200mm image stabilizing lens; trouble is its £820 and I’m out of work at the moment. So do I stick with the powershot and put up with its shortfalls or do I go back to carrying the OM and using film?