Over the years, my cameras seem to have got bigger, and so have the lenses. I have resisted this tendency recently, first by changing to mirrorless from DSLR cameras, but also by investing in Canon’s cheaper lenses which have the advantage of being much lighter than the “professional” range. This makes it possible for the Old Git to handhold a long 800 mm lens and still get sharp results.

However, it occurred to me recently that my concentration on wildlife has restricted my photography. A long time ago, I used to carry a camera for most of the time, so I was always ready when a photo-opportunity arose.

Now, the size and weight of my equipment make this problematic, and I rarely carry my camera unless I expect wildlife opportunities. Also, I have now bought a folding bicycle, a Brompton, and go for a ride most days, and intend to cycle further afield, taking the bike by car or train. So what I needed was a “point and shoot” type camera, and after considerable research, settled on the Sony RX100 vii.

This is a tiny camera which retracts the lens when switched off, so it fits in my pocket comfortably. However, despite its diminutive size, it is a very capable camera, with the lens having a wide range from 24mm to 200m, and a lot of capability in both video and stills. I have always been in control of my photography, so calculation has always been involved before pressing the button, so it has been a new experience for me to frame a photo and then shoot with no further thought. I have been pleasantly surprised by the images it is capable of, using its lightning fast auto-focus and accurate judgement of exposure, but also its ability to change its choice of settings in different contexts, eg landscape or porttrait or macro.

However, it’s possible to operate the camera in full manual mode, so I can take control of the settings and capture an image where the automatic settings would fail. For example, I have found that it is possible to use the built-in flash to trigger a complicated lighting setup.

The camera is also very good for taking what I believe are called “selfies”, a type of photograph which was considered to betray a certain character weakness in my day. It was OK for you to be photographed by someone else, but not by yourself. Times change and old dogs can learn new tricks!