One of my hobbies is taking photos especially when traveling but also for taking pet photos or wildlife. My first camera was a Polaroid SX-70 given to me by my grandfather when I was a child. It was an instant slr so I could see the photo automatically printed right after taking it. It was fun. Later, I had Pentax and Minolta slr but it was when things became digital that I started to be really addicted to photography. Not only I like to take photos but I do like cameras as objects. Women wear necklaces, I wear cameras 😉

In 2000 I got my first digital camera. It was a 1.3 Megapixel Olympus C-920 Zoom. It was so wonderful to be able to take photos and to do tests without paying for film rolls and developing. I have many cameras, the top one being a Nikon D700 and the top lens a Nikkor 200 f/2. I love Nikon slrs! I have the D70, D40, D200, D300 & D700. The D70 still works after 53000 photos. The shutter is slow but I am amazed it still works! I have Canon slr too, with the 350D attached to a 70-200f4 and the 30D attached to a 300f4IS. I am not attached to a brand: I go with the best available and currently Nikon leads for what I need (best autofocus).

Nikon D700 with the Nikkor 200f2. Top model posing is Henri.

When I review restaurants, I do not use a large camera as it just looks silly. I used mostly a tiny Sony T-30. It works fine but its range is not very useful, especially indoors, with a 38-114mm zoom. Also, it is a slow lens with only a f/3.5 maximum aperture. At least it is stabilised and it does take good photos. In May 2009 I got another a new compact: a Nikon Coolpix S620. Why? Because it has a 28-112mm lens that opens at f/2.7 (good in low light). I do not care much for the 112mm as telephoto but the 28mm at the wide end is nice.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T30

My camera gear first part

My camera gear second part. See the tiny latest addition in the front :-)

The Nikon Coolpix S620

The Coolpix S620 does it job well. It does not have the best image quality but, hey, it is just a compact camera. It fits easily in a shirt pocket and its startup is extremely fast. When looking at Shooting in Scene Modes I discovered a Food Mode! I certainly did not expect to see that option in a camera. It is not bad either since it enables macro which is expected but also the control of white balance in real time. What’s next? Recording smell? Talking about recording, the S620 can record audio, useful when you need to remember what you ate.

Food Mode