This is it.

Camera shopping has begun in earnest!

My choices are limited because I really, really, really want a viewfinder. I don't know how anyone with progressive lenses or bifocals can use the LCD screens to compose a photograph. (Imagine that! Someday soon I may actually be composing again rather than just pointing, shooting, and praying.) If I want something that will fit in my pocket, which I have liked about my compact devil camera, I have a choice between Canon IXUS's. In any case I definately want something lighter than my SLR. (I need to weigh it, I think.)

In preparation I looked at my photo-a-day blog from 2009 and tallied the various "kinds" of photos I take. To some extent these numbers are affected by the limitations of my camera. For example, there are only 15 photos(of roughly 300)taken in low light sitations and an additional 9 taken at night. I doubt that a flash was ever used as my flash beams straight from hell and people look like they're gazing into the warm glow of atomic bomb. Most of the photos were taken out doors: 34 landscapes, 13 buildings, 37 "other". Only 19 photos were of animals, including Zelda and only 14 were portraits or featured people. The vast majority were photos that relied upon the macro setting of my camera and/or were cropped severely to isolate details.

My deadline is Feb 12 when we will be off to New Zealand. Anyone with an opinion is invited to comment.