A Bridge too far...

I was up and out to my favourite shop this morning as fast as my gammy leg would carry me! And I was back home within the hour with my prize.

Yes, it's a Canon Powershot SX50 HS. A Bridge Camera. I have always thought Bridge Cameras were for wimpy people who wanted to pretend they had an DSLR but didn't want the weight or the expense. A bit like cheating...

Not any longer. I am of the opinion that Bridge Cameras are the Bees' Knees. OK they don't have a squillion megapixels, but I've realised I don't need/want that many. I don't print out photos, and if I do, they'd be A4. And for the web, low les is fine.

What I do want, though, is to be able to take a close up, a wide angle and a zoom - and not have to carry three different lenses at all times. But I knew this wasn't possible...

But it is! This one is 24 - 1200 mm, and I think there should be a few !!! in there. And I wanted to be able to take moving objects in burst mode (13 fps). And excellent ISO range for low light. And best of all, a flip out lens for those awkward shots, or just candid ones with the camera on your knee.

I've just been down town with it. And I think I was going along grinning like an idiot. I hardly notice it round my neck. And the zoom is such amazing fun, though admittedly hard to keep steady at full throttle. But a wall, post, or better still, my Gorillapod, the self timer, and Bob's your uncle.

The sky today was bleh. So I that restricted me, but I took some of the castle on the shops side of the road, then zoomed in, leaning on a lamp post, and I could recognise people on the ramparts! If I knew them, that is...

I just had it on auto, I have to have a further fiddle. The manual is on a disc, which isn't convenient for browsing on the sofa.

This headless chap was like that for ages. It can't be good for him. It was fun to watch folk going by. Everybody who was on their cellphone was saying as they passed me, 'I've just walked by a man standing with his head in a bucket'... I chose this one because of the rather nice young man passing, though he wasn't nice enough to chuck any money in.

In other news:

I see they have taken down the 'yarn bombing'. Shame. But I hope it's now on the wall the Council Chambers.

JR suggested that a Head Teacher in NZ might be more suitable to confirm her teaching service instead of a JP here. This has been agreed. But she has to list all teaching service, with start and end dates - and not just months, it MUST be the day as well!! Can you believe it? How can anyone know exactly when the term started in 1979? Are they bonkers??

Went to the doc's last night re my blood test results. I passed them all, but failed miserably, very miserably in the Vitamin D one. I am very very lacking. So lacking, indeed, that an industrial strength course has been prescribed for me. So industrial that the chemist will have to order them especially - none of your wee over the counter pottle of pills. I take one a month for three months. They must be the size of eggs!

Off to browse my camera manual...