My "Walking Around Camera"

Me, on the Wild Pacific Trail with my Sony RX10iii

You may be surprised to learn that most of the pictures and videos you've seen on my social media before August 1026 were shot with a 12 year old, discontinued bridge camera. Bridge cameras are the ones that have a zoom lens built in. In the case of the Sony RX10iii it has a 1" sensor and an 8.8-210mm lens so with the crop factor it's similar in reach to a lens that can stretch from 24mm- 600mm giving me the diversity to shoot landscapes and wildlife without the hassle of changing lenses. Almost everything else about it would be considered obsolete these days, especially compared with the modern cameras I own but its versatility, rugged design and portability means I bring it everywhere.

Mine has seemed to be on its last legs for a while; The monitor failed a couple years ago, I need to use duct tape inside the battery door to keep contact with battery in place, the lens hood attachments are so worn it always falls off, nearly all the button labels have been rubbed off and leather (rubber?) on the body is peeling and off in a few places. I guess I've taken a half-million photos or more with it and I bought it used from a friend who confessed that he had spilled beer on it...

Fortunately Sony recently released a new version, the Sony RX10V that kept the lens and all the things I love about my old one but added new auto focus and other modern processing goodies. My plan is to keep the older camera and turn it into a bespoke "storm-catcher" camera with some hack-job weather resistance modifications... stay tuned :D