Cuba Part 8: What camera to take?

Of course, the only really important decision was what camera to take.

I decided not to lug a DSLR around on this trip. My back is getting more and more weight-sensitive. That’s why I moved into the micro four-thirds (M4/3), mirrorless format late last year, starting with a trip to Myanmar in December (worth a blog entry,  if I ever get round to it).

So I took a Panasonic Lumix GX7 body to Cuba. It handles and performs well, despite the complexities of the menus and button options.

GX7 with Panasonic 20mm (source: ephotozine)

The lenses were:  Panasonic 12-32mm and 14-42mm zooms (both bought secondhand); Panasonic 20mm prime and 45-150mm zoom, both of which came as a package with the camera. And the Sigma 60mm f/2.8 DN. The two wide zooms largely overlap in range – I used the 12-32 more of the two, probably too much: that extreme wide angle (12mm M4/3 is equivalent to 24mm in old-style 35mm or ‘full-frame’), and can start to look a bit tedious, even gimmicky, if overused, and you have to spend a lot of time correcting verticals on the computer. I find them both very good performers: indeed, for cheapo plastic kit lenses they are amazing. No complaints there.

Panasonic 12-32 (top)
and Sigma 60mm f/2.8 DN

I used the 20mm a bit in low-light circumstances. It’s a good lens for when you really need it. Yes, it's slow-focusing – you jut have to take that into account. The 45-150 comes out well in reviews, but I find it disappointing, even for an inexpensive lens. It’s not a fast lens and I may be relying too much on the in-lens stabilization, but I don’t think I will take it on the next megatrip. The Sigma 60mm, however, is excellent, a fast lens that’s sharp from wide open. A great buy, in my opinion.

My bank account is flinching at the prospect of the GX8 rumoured to be due for announcement later in the year. But then, there are some other juicy mirrorless options coming up …

The electronic viewfinder of the GX7 is OK, but not up to the best that’s now available. I hope the GX8 improves on that, with a higher eyepoint.  And finally, the GX7 battery performance is crap. Totally. You’ll get through two batteries in a day of intensive tourism, maybe more. For confidence on a trip like this you need to take three spares.

For backup I took my Fujifilm X20. It’s a nice little camera within its limitations, but I didn’t have to use it much.

My Pentax DSLRs (K30 and K5) produce better results than any of the above, but so they should with their larger sensors. For a trip that involves a lot of walking around, their extra weight and bulk is an issue, for me anyway. Another of life’s trade-offs ….  Or should it be trades-off? Perhaps so, but without a hyphen.

I've just remembered. I was going to do an entry on cars. I will, but not today.  But here's a contrasting pair anyway, to be going on with.

Top: Cadillac Eldorado, around 1952, I would guess. Pretty gross, but preferable to what Detroit was doing ten years later. Below that is an Austin A35, anything from 1956 to 1959.  A friend of mine at university in the 1960s had one of these,  known as Gruntington Bollockheap. Well, what you saw is what you got.  Some people raced them. Yes, really.

There are quite a lot of European cars in Cuba. There are not many countries where you don't still see an occasional Morris Minor tottering around, and Cuba's no exception.