C
Caer
Guest
Hello! I don't really post much here but I do lurk a lot - it's nice to get away from the moaning and so on at DPR 
A few weeks ago I went on a nice little day trip to Llangollen in Wales. I took my Pentax DS with 28mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.7 and 135mm f/3.5 lenses, all manual focus (I have a split-prism viewfinder screen in the camera). By SLR standards this is quite a lightweight package. I also took my GR-D II, ostensibly as a backup camera.
Now, by Llangollen there is a largeish hill with the ruins of a castle at the top - Dinas Bran. Being the rather unfit city type I am (I'm working on that, btw, it was a rather difficult hike to the top, made worse by my choice of a shoulder bag (really should use a backpack!). I also found that the DS hardly got used at all, as I was too exhausted to be bothered with it.
I discovered that in situations like this, a small, lightweight camera is much nicer to used, and that the wide FOV of the Ricoh is more generally useful than the 28mm normal lens on the DS. Surprisingly, I also found it easier to use the Ricoh's LCD than the Pentax's viewfinder. Normally I use the GRD with its GV-2 viewfinder for street work, where timing and quick reaction time are essential, and I can leave the camera switched on with the screen off. When hiking, though, there were no such pressures, so I could compose more carefully on the LCD screen.
So, next time I go on a hike, first of all I will be using a backpack to carry my stuff. Second, while I'll still take an SLR (probably K10D), it'll be in the backpack, and I'll have my GR-D II on a belt-pack for quick access (or possibly just carry it in my hand, depending on the terrain).
Here's a few pictures from the trip:
Almost at the top:
Finally made it!
The full set, including some from the town of Llangollen itself, can be seen in the set on Flickr.
A few weeks ago I went on a nice little day trip to Llangollen in Wales. I took my Pentax DS with 28mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.7 and 135mm f/3.5 lenses, all manual focus (I have a split-prism viewfinder screen in the camera). By SLR standards this is quite a lightweight package. I also took my GR-D II, ostensibly as a backup camera.
Now, by Llangollen there is a largeish hill with the ruins of a castle at the top - Dinas Bran. Being the rather unfit city type I am (I'm working on that, btw
, it was a rather difficult hike to the top, made worse by my choice of a shoulder bag (really should use a backpack!). I also found that the DS hardly got used at all, as I was too exhausted to be bothered with it.I discovered that in situations like this, a small, lightweight camera is much nicer to used, and that the wide FOV of the Ricoh is more generally useful than the 28mm normal lens on the DS. Surprisingly, I also found it easier to use the Ricoh's LCD than the Pentax's viewfinder. Normally I use the GRD with its GV-2 viewfinder for street work, where timing and quick reaction time are essential, and I can leave the camera switched on with the screen off. When hiking, though, there were no such pressures, so I could compose more carefully on the LCD screen.
So, next time I go on a hike, first of all I will be using a backpack to carry my stuff. Second, while I'll still take an SLR (probably K10D), it'll be in the backpack, and I'll have my GR-D II on a belt-pack for quick access (or possibly just carry it in my hand, depending on the terrain).
Here's a few pictures from the trip:
Almost at the top:
Finally made it!
The full set, including some from the town of Llangollen itself, can be seen in the set on Flickr.
