Surveying the Scene.

Decided to get a new camera. SLR's are not allowed into gigs and festivals and besides, so many shots like this require a steady hand and a very quick lens change if they are to be realised. My telephoto is heavy and therefore not good for fast movement and there's no way I can change it in the time it takes a bird to decided to disappear! Had heard so many good things about the Lumix FZ28 that I decided to give it a go. So far so good - in fact I'll be surprised if it stays in my possession for long. The son has already taken it into the garden!

There was another reason for getting it though. Lots of sensor dust had accumulated after the multiple lens changes over the past few weeks and I was dreading the thought of cleaning it myself. However, being outside Dundee (which is often code for essential shopping only) the options were either to take it into Jessops and be charged the equivalent of half the cost of the new camera, or take it to Glasgow and have to pay a train ticket which would effectively cost almost the same anyway. So, listening to all the guys on Blip, I had a go at blowing it out (some success), dry dusting very, very gently until I got up a bit of confidence (some improvement here too) and then I used a lens pen covered with a little bit microfibre cloth (secured with a rubber band) with a little zeiss optical glass fluid on it. Almost got it sussed. There is now only one piece of dirt left and it is only visible at small apertures when shooting in high contrast. I can live with that and will clone the offending marks out instead.

Anyway, hope this posts OK. In my haste to set the camera up, I forgot that it was 2009. Stil I suppose it's better than sending cheques away dated 1998!