I love weeks like this – specifically, the week before Memorial Day weekend, because it means continuing a family tradition (even if it is only in its second continuous year) – flying out to Indy for the Indianapolis 500.
Weather’s looking great so far:
Beats the rainout we had last year. Same seats so we’ll have the same view as last year, and I’ll be packing a camera with me again – just not the same one. Last year I took a full-on DSLR setup, consisting of a Canon Digital Rebel XT (aka the 350D), along with the kit Canon 18-55 EF-S lens and a Tamron 70-300 EF telephoto lens. I managed to get a few decent photos, but the problem is that even though the kit I took is nowhere near the level (and size and weight) of equipment my wife hauls around, it’s an awful lot of gear to pack into a small bag, throw on a plane, haul into the Speedway, keep propped up on my lap, keep protected from the always-present threat of rain, and actually shoot with in the confines of a single seat in the bleachers.
So we picked up one of these – a Canon S5 IS. The resulting photos will probably be a bit noisier than what I would get from the XT, but it has nearly the same reach on the lens (35mm equivalent: 432mm) as the XT / 70-300 does (480mm due to crop factor). It’s also considerably smaller, doesn’t require lens changes to get to the wide end of the spectrum, and can take some decent video, too – something that, as far as I know, no Canon DSLR does.