Thursday, February 23, 2017

The Need for High-End Compact Cameras...

In this blog I have added a few images from my favourite places to photograph wildlife. South Africa, Kenya, Northern Canada, Southern France and Alaska.
As a wildlife photographer I do a fair amount of traveling to different areas of the world. I travel with high-end DSLR’s and big zoom and prime lenses. Add in a subject and I am astounded by their ability to create sharp images of animals moving at a distance in low light. 
What has been bothering me the past few years is not all of the images that I am taking, rather, all of the wonderful images I am missing. As fantastic as DSLR’s and big lenses are, they are cumbersome and attract attention. The majority of my time traveling is spent with this equipment packed away in discreet cases that look like suitcases. I do this so I don’t draw any attention to those who may be interested in relieving me of my gear and or any money I have on me at the time. Once I get to my destination in the bush or the jungle away from people the gear comes out and the magic begins.


Each time I travel, I normally have a point and shoot camera or I use my Iphone to photograph or record interesting images along the way. The problem is there is a huge quality gap between what my DSLR produces in images and what my Iphone or point and shoot camera produces. When I heard about Lightco's #Vantagepoint I got excited about their approach. A compact camera the size of my point and shoot that creates images that are of similar quality of my DSLR's. A high-quality camera that records videos in 4K and has 16 lenses firing simultaneously to acquire those high-end images. In-camera editing that I can edit on the plane looks great too!

With a camera like an L-16 Light camera I will be able to stop over at the Eiffel Tower while in Paris in the evening to take low-light images of the Eiffel tower lit up without carrying around expensive looking bulky camera gear. Walking around Paris at night with expensive DSLR’s then getting on the subway just screams “mug me”. While in India and visiting the Taj Mahal, a camera like the L16 Light camera again gives me the quality of my DSLR’s without attracting the attention of any poor locals who will drape themselves over me in hopes that I will pay them to be my guide or carry my gear etc. A high-end camera that fits in my pocket will allow me the freedom to get all the images before and after the safari that I am looking for. This while keeping a low profile and without adding significant weight to my carry-on bag. This camera could fill the gap that I am looking for. I can't wait to try it out.









Below are images from when a small group of us were invited into our guide’s home in India. His daughter cooked a very special meal for us with a propane heater on the floor of their kitchen/bedroom. (Kitchen during the day and bedroom at night). 

Below that are images of us being invited into a hut in a Masai village. The inside of the hut is quite dark. It has a small fire pit in the middle for those cold nights with two sleeping areas. One for the kids and one for the mother. The walls of the hut are made of mud and cow manure And below that are my favourite images from when a group of Masai dancers stopped by in the evening and entertained us at my favourite camp in Kenya. 



Each of those images required a discreet camera that worked well in low light without flash. As you can see, the only place I have recorded those images are in my memory because I didn’t have a discreet camera that would record DSLR quality images in low light. I am hoping that Lightco’s L-16 fill this void.