Reader Seeks Camera Suggestions for Wife

Reader Jim K. writes:

Found and fell in love with your site from another site (google redirect) and have to admit, love all the photos and simplicity that surrounds many of your pictures. I need a suggestion though, I don't take pictures but my wife does and wants a new camera, though she's not a fan of bulk, could you possibly recommend an all-around camera that is good for basic pictures? Price is no object, though nothing I'll regret buying her and having her break (like a Leica).

MATT: Thanks for your kind comments. I appreciate them very much.

It's tough to recommend a specific camera because there are so many variables (available camera models, lens models, form factor, weight, price, photographer shooting style and skill-level, etc). Also, my experiences over the past several years have been limited to just a handful of cameras. The Nikon D90, D7000, and D3s DSLRS; the Canon PowerShot G11; and the Fuji X100 rangefinder-style camera. I sold the D90 and the D7000 last year, so today I primarily use the D3s and the X100 for personal shooting (my wife and kids use the G11, occasionally). The bottom line is that I've only used a small fraction of the cameras that are available on the market today, so please read my response with that in mind.

Here are some brief thoughts on each of the five recent cameras I've owned, in the order that I bought them:

Nikon D90
A quality mid-sized DSLR that I loved. Although the D90 went into production years ago, it's still widely available and there were brand new ones on the shelves of my local camera shop as recently as a few weeks ago. A great camera, but the newer D7000 might be a better choice for its improved low-light performance.

Canon PowerShot G11
Small, compact, well-built, but somewhat dated. I've had it for several years, and although many great reviews have been written about it, I've been disappointed with the pictures I've been able to get out of it. As a result, I haven't used it a lot and I can't recommend it. The current model is the G12, by the way, but the differences are minimal.

Nikon D3s
An incredible camera. By far my favorite, past or present! Amazing low-light performance, built like a tank. Love it, love it, love it! But, I can't recommend it for your wife because it's huge, it weighs a ton, and it's price is approaching Leica territory.

Nikon D7000
This is probably a great little camera, but I sold mine just a few months after I bought it. I intended it to be a small alternative to the D3s - a camera that I'd carry whenever I didn't feel like lugging around the big D3s. But, I couldn't get used to the way the shutter operated. It sounded cheap compared to the D3s, and worse, I couldn't hold the camera still when the shutter was triggered. The way the camera "torqued" each time I released the shutter drove me crazy, so I got rid of it. Still, it might be worth a look. I may have been hopelessly spoiled by the D3s, so I wouldn't rule the D7000 out for your wife.

Fuji X100
A surprisingly nice camera. This might fit the bill for your wife. It's relatively compact (think purse, not pocket) and it takes great photos. I think it can match the image quality I got out of my beloved D90, even though it's smaller and weighs a lot less. There's no zoom feature, though, and the lens is not interchangeable, so if your wife wants a close-up shot, she'll have to BE close-up. For me, the X100 is a nice, carry-all-the-time camera that bridges the gap between my iPhone 4 (which takes terrible pictures, but is oh-so-convenient) and the heavy-weight champ of my collection, the D3s.

A Tale of Two Bear Bells

A heart-pounding run through the woods in the dark is exhilarating, a cheap thrill that’s even better when the family dog is along for the experience.

Bear Bells and Raccoon Tracks along the Chattahoochee River

During the winter, when the sun sets around 5:30 in the afternoon, I like to go hiking or trail running at dusk, which usually means running around the woods in the dark. With nobody around to complain, I often bring Wilson the Bassador along and let him run off leash. He loves it and I enjoy the company. Occasionally, though, he’ll go tearing off into the darkness after a raccoon or a deer, and once in a while, he takes his sweet time finding his way back. In fact, twice now he’s been missing long enough that I started to worry that he was lost for good.

Finding a black dog in the woods at night isn’t as easy as it sounds, so it occurred to me a while back that Wilson would be easier to find if I attached a bear bell to his collar. So, I picked up a Coghlan’s Bear Bell from REI for $3.95 and was excited to try it out, but it fell off on our very first run, never to be found again (UPDATE: I found the bell five nights later, while running through the same park with an awesome 750 lumen Lupine Piko headlamp). The hook and loop fastener that’s meant to secure the bell simply isn't big or strong enough to do the job. No matter, though. The magnet in the permanently-attached netted pouch kept sticking to the side of the bell, dampening the ring while Wilson ran and rendering the bell useless. On the plus side, the magnetized pouch effectively silenced the bell during transport to and from the trailhead, a feature that is missing from the bear bell I received for Christmas this year.

The Silverfoot Hiker Carabiner Bear Bell was a gift from Santa, presumably intended to be used as the manufacturer envisioned (to warn bears of approaching hikers). Conveniently, it was a perfect replacement for the “dog” bear bell that was lost. The Silverfoot bell sported a superior design, too, utilizing a small carabiner for secure attachment to Wilson’s collar and lacking a clanger-muting magnet. At $10, it’s 150% more expensive than the Coghlan bell, but it seems much less likely to get lost. Unless I fling it away, that is. It drives me crazy when it jingles Rudolph-style while I carry it around in my backpack to and from the trailhead.

The bottom line is that the Silverfoot Hiker Carabiner Bear Bell is the better buy for dogs. It has a more secure attachment mechanism than the Coghlan bell, and it lacks a magnet that may unintentionally stop the bell from ringing. To be honest, though, I suspect a jingle bell and a zip tie from your local craft store would accomplish a similar result for about $1.

Atlanta Streetlight

Sometimes a photo is technically wrong, but somehow still seems kind of right. For me, this is one of those.

Minimalist Case for Fuji X100 with RRS L-plate and Attached Hood

I've looked high and low for a minimalist case for my Fujifilm X100 outfitted with a Really Right Stuff L-plate and an attached hood. I wanted something simple that I could throw into my GR1 rucksack or carry separately when going ultra-light. I finally settled on the Case Logic SLMC-200 case, which fits the accessorized X100 quite well. I'm showing it here to save others the trouble.

Goruck GR1 Backpack Makes the Grade

I'm digging the Goruck GR1 backpack. I got it a couple months ago for a photo trip to Yosemite, and I've used it ever since for everything from hiking to business trips. It's now my go-to bag for traveling and anything outdoors. For business trips or other travel, it carries enough clothes for a 4-day trip, plus a MacBook Air and everything else I need, and it's small enough to fit under a seat in an airplane. For walking or hiking, it carries my pro-sized DSLR with several lenses, a tripod, a jacket, food, and water.

Did I mention that the GR1 is tough? Made of 1000D Cordura, it's practically immune from abrasions, and it's water- and mud-resistant, too. I walked in the woods during a steady rain for over an hour today, using it to haul a small camera and tripod along with a 1.5L water bottle and whatever else I left in there from my last trip. As you can see from the photo above, the outside of the bag was fairly drenched towards the end of the trip, but the contents remained dry and well protected.

At $295 plus shipping, the Goruck GR1 isn't cheap. But it's a tough bag that's comfortable to wear. It looks great, it holds a ton of stuff, and it's made in the USA. For me, it's just about perfect.