![\"Nikon](\"https:\/\/dennygibson.com\/blog\/\/\/\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/nikon3200.jpg\" "\\"Nikon")
Unlike most of my camera purchases, the Panasonic DMC-FZ5<\/a> was not a replacement but an addition. The Canon A75<\/a> was still functioning and I intended it to be my “pocket camera”. That didn’t last long. After the cap popped off of the shutter button, taking a picture required pushing something into the small hole that had been below the cap. Although the camera otherwise functioned quite well, digging up and inserting a paper clip for every picture was a serious impediment to spontaneity. In March of 2006, I gave the A75 away and, still believing I needed a true pocket camera, bought a slightly used Nikon Coolpix 3200 for $70. The model had been on the market for a couple of years with an initial list price around $300. It\u00a0runs on good old AA batteries, uses SD memory, and even has some built-in memory to store several images if necessary. It has 3.2\u00a0megapixel\u00a0resolution and a a 3X zoom. Particularly endearing to me is the fact that it has something becoming quite rare in small digital cameras: a viewfinder.<\/p>\nI still have the 3200 and it still works. I still carry it in my computer bag but it has been a long time since I slipped it into a pocket. One reason is that the FZ5 and its immediate successor fit comfortably in a belt bag that I wear a lot. A second is that cell phone cameras have long been capable of meeting my “I’d rather have a crappy picture than no picture” requirements. I have a vague recollection of actually using a cell phone photo in a trip report but I can’t remember what it was so maybe I really didn’t.<\/p>\n
I have used quite a few pictures from the 3200. In the days before I realized how easy it was to carry the FZ5 in the belt bag, the 3200 was in my pocket a lot and got used a little. Then, on a trip in Missouri, it got a field promotion to Number One Image Recording Device.<\/p>\n
It was the third day of a four day outing on Boone’s Lick Road. The FZ5 came with a fairly nice neck strap but that seemed unnecessarily awkward to me so I fitted the lightweight Panasonic with a wrist strap. The strap was around my right wrist and the camera in my hand as I headed down the path to the spring at Boone’s Lick. The path was basically dirt and gravel but there were a few wood fronted steps at the steeper parts. It had been raining, the wood was wet, and I slipped on one of the steps. No prizes will be awarded for guessing which hand I used to catch myself or what I banged against the ground. The lens had been extended and that’s the way it has stayed to this very day. Cycling power on the camera triggers a soft whir as it attempts to retract the lens but it soon gives up and shuts down.<\/p>\n
The little 3200 answered the call and performed admirably through the\u00a0remainder\u00a0of the trip<\/a>. Among the images it captured are the only pictures I have of the Missouri Madonna of the Trail Monument in Lexington.<\/p>\n My Gear – Chapter 8 — Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Unlike most of my camera purchases, the Panasonic DMC-FZ5 was not a replacement but an addition. The Canon A75 was still functioning and I intended it to be my “pocket camera”. That didn’t last long. After the cap popped off … Continue reading
\n![\"Flippdaddy's](\"https:\/\/dennygibson.com\/blog\/\/\/\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/fdm-150x112.jpg\" "\\"Flippdaddy's")
<\/a>I acquired some new gear today by joining the Mug Club at the Flipdaddy’s<\/a> down the street; The one with 36 taps. There’s no price break but member’s mugs are several ounces larger than the standard glasses which means I can now get drunker and fatter at no extra cost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"