I took the GR-D III with me and it was the first real chance to take some pics with it that were more than just junk snaps around the house. It did quite well too, I must say, and if there’s anything to complain about it’d be that the LCD is somewhat hard to see in the bright sun, the dynamic range is somewhat limited (compared to a DSLR that is), and that under certain conditions there can be a fairly pronounced amount of CA present. Other than that, it was super comfy to shoot with, fast handling, exposures were pretty much right on, and it was very lightweight and easy to carry. As a take-everywhere pocket cam it’s just about perfect, and the “complaints” listed above are pretty true for all pocket cams across the board, so they’re not any fault of the camera itself. Sure, a DSLR will give greater quality results, but you can’t put it in your pocket. For times where that’s important, the trade-off in IQ is worth it. And it’s still better then a cellphone cam.

Below are some snaps from throughout the day. There’s a lot this time since I wanted to show a range of what the camera is capable of, so they’re posted as thumbnails to make them easier to deal with. Just click the thumbnail to see the larger version. All were taken between 64 and 200 ISO, and either f4 or f5.6 in almost all instances. I only tweaked them a bit for exposure and white balance, with a few getting a monochrome treatment; otherwise, they’re pretty much as shot.

This time through, Winter had worked its snowy magic and there was a nice blanket of snow covering a good part of the mill and the falls next to it. Took some decent shots from the mill and the surrounding area, then decided to take a walk along the path beside the river. Everything was hunky-dory up to this point, but then IT happened! By IT, I mean one of the bigger scares I’ve had in a bit. Turns out there was this sweet ice formation adjacent to the pathway and a bit spilled over it as well. No problem I figure, looks cool, lets take some shots. I finish the shots and then go to CAREFULLY step across the foot or two of ice, holding the railing and going very slowly. Next thing I remember is realizing I’m falling backwards and then seeing $5k’s worth of Nikon D3 and lens floating mid-air in front of my eyes! I land on my ass and side somewhat, partially on my camera bag, and with the camera on my stomach and arm. My left hand is stinging and my right as well. First thing I did next was let out a string of expletives that rivaled a drunken soccer fan, then gathered my composure and got up. Fearing the worst, I checked the camera and lens over and to somewhat of a relief, I couldn’t find any indication that it had hit anything solid or sustained any damage whatsoever. Took a few snaps too and everything seemed as it always had been, so I relaxed a bit and tended to my wounds, which amounted to some sore fingers and a torn nail. I was soooooo mad though for falling and possibly trashing the camera – even though I have insurance for just these kind of things, it still would’ve been a hassle to have to have it repaired. Thank God for having a good strap (Op-tech) which kept it close and didn’t allow it to drift far enough to hit anything solid. Seems it just fell straight, rear-down, and landed flat on my stomach, arm, and the camera bag which all cushioned it wonderfully, and means it only dropped maybe 2 feet or so, if that. Still . . . . . . !

Naturally, I am a bit wary that something may have happened to the camera in the fall that hasn’t surfaced yet and will pop up later and require attention, but ultimately in the back of my mind I’m pretty sure it’s just fine and will keep chugging along as always. So, anything from all this to pass on? ALWAYS use the strap. Get insurance on your gear. Have a back-up in paid shooting situations. Understand that no matter how careful you can try to be, there is always a chance lurking that may foul you up anyway. Oh, and live somewhere without ice!

BTW, here’s my favorites from the day, the pictures are really the whole point in the end.