Ditto on the G7Xii. Great results and extremely fast touch settings. Only drawback is lack of a viewfinder. Easy transfer of photos to iPhone for editing with iPhone editor and free Snapseed. I also use iPhone 14 Pro Max - excellent results.
Haven’t carried Sony Aii on travel trips and hiking in ages except for birding outings.

JPEG

I struggled with the same issue before my recent 2-week trip to Ireland. For several months before the trip I snapped hundreds of comparative photographs using my Sony A7ii with f4 24-70 and f1.8 lenses, and also a Canon G3X bridge with 600mm, and my IPhone 12. I shot scenes i though might be similar: sunny, overcast, rain, bright sky and darker foreground, night shot, inside pub shots, street shots and particularly how quickly I could capture a shot. Each camera had advantages in some situations. How much bulk to carry was also a consideration. The iPhone won out particularly in well lit situations. I was blessed with 15 days of sunshine, beautiful cloudy skies, bright green pastoral scenes, many, many street scenes. I uses a Ulzani hand grip ($15) for stability, an auxiliary battery pack to deal with battery drain, and a dongle to save images to a SD card every day. On the plane over, I wondered if I would regret the decision. I did not. I really didn’t need a longer lens than the IPhone zoom provided and the phone’s minor editing capability allowed image adjustment in some cases. Now home, I have done many enlargements with excellent detail and accurate color. By the way, in watching other travelers, cameras were a rarity. Almost everyone was using phones for photography. It was good to pick up the Sony which I love when I got home but am thinking of an upgrade to and iPhone 14 or 15 for my next trip. Traveling light was great.

In continuing research I learned having to reset the date and time may be a low / discharged internal battery. I’m wondering if when changing the external battery, the new battery is charging the internal battery thus draining the replacement. I have now tried a long charge using the power cord to see if that full charges the internal and gives a longer life to the external. Thank you to all who have responded.

My A7ii is a great camera with the exception that it requires carrying a pocket full of batteries - gets nowhere near the promised shots. I use a 50mm and a 24-70, both Sony lenses. The battery seems to drain even when the camera is off. I keep airplane turned on except when transferring images to my phone. Also, I have read and obeyed the advice to never shut down in Play mode. I’d welcome any suggestions that would slow the drain. Also, on occasion, when I replace the battery, I am forced to go through the date/time reset. Thoughts on this as well. Thanks.

I look forward every Monday to the topics presented in the discussion section. There are frequently good tips, sometimes different views. From time to time, I still receive new offers to join that refer to the UHH Knowledge Base which mentions advice on 14 specific topics. Here are just a few.

- RAW vs JPG. Something most photographers actually get wrong.
- DSLR vs Mirrorless. definitive explanation that shows clear advantage of one system over the other.
- Canon vs Nikon vs Sony, which is better?
- How to make your landscape pictures interesting. so the don’t look flat and boring.
- Is it generally better to increase ISO or lower shutter speed (for non action shots)?

I am aware that many photographers shoot RAW and depend on post processing to fine tune their images. But the question of what most get wrong is never answered. There are views about which is better DSLR or Mirrorless but I have never seen anything concrete about one having a clear advantage even though Mirrorless is the new camera technology. Does one actually produce better images? I am also aware that photographers do prefer a particular camera brand (perhaps the one they are familiar with) but the question as to which is better is only answered by opinion.

My question is where is the UHH Knowledge Base that attempts to tackle these questions/issues?

Amen on weddings. Back in the early ‘60’s, my wife offered me to do a free shoot of her friend’s wedding. The bride agreed to B&W. I was had a lot of self confidence as I had been producing some good work and was rather capable in the darkroom. I did the necessary planning and was looking forward to the job and the prints I would give to the couple as a wedding gift. The venue was rather dark so was going to be flash all the way. The ceremony began, I snapped first shot of bride and my Honeywell strobe failed to fire. It was dead so it was going to be available light all the way with a lot of work in the darkroom. The rest of the story was disaster. Film was wrong ASA. Unexposures and blurry images, nothing to salvage in 5be darkroom, not a decent shot to frame to remember the event. Needless to say, the friendship ended abruptly as did my wedding photography.

Photography is a wonderful hobby no matter what age you start. I’m a bit late to the conversation but since I am in your age group with some shoulder issues, I will offer a few thoughts. There there are so many cameras, types and brands, that a first purchase in mind boggling. All of the advice offered is very good. I have several suggestions. Since you are starting, you might consider borrowing a camera (there are many photographers with relatively new cameras sitting on a shelf as they have upgraded) and joining a class before investing. I say this because as you get into photography, you will be surprised how quickly you will learn manual shooting gravitate to features beyond Auto. In my case, for travel and considering camera weight a pocketable is great compared to lugging a 2-3 pound camera but has does focal length limitations if you want to do birding or take long distant shots. There are many bridge cameras in your price range that produce excellent images. The WiFi/Bluetooth capability is a must. You will become quickly acquainted with the term GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) a disease that affects almost all photography enthusiasts: more megapixels, bigger sensor, faster shutter speed, more ISO, etc. which will push you to upgrade soon after you have spent your first dollars.

Great discussion! GAS is an almost incurable infection caused by camera manufacturers promising that photographic nirvana is just a few thousand dollars away. For me, the symptoms occurred with the mirrorless revolution that offered lighter weight and unmatched image quality. I found myself addicted yo dpreview comparing every model and feature with what I have. I found myself looking at a couple dozen of my 11x14 framed trip photos - stunning shots, some film, some even a 6MP believe it or not. Then I pulled out my 1986 Nikon 8008 and shot a roll of film side be side with digital. The Nikon was a bit heavy, but fun and provided superb comparative results. I am not returning to film (well maybe go for some B&W next time - uses to shoot a lot when I was processing and printing my own). The realization was a reminder of how much of the image depends on the skill in using the equipment at hand, in the photographer’s eye and attention to composition. My GAS attack resolved for now but never say never.

This is a really good discussion issue. I agree focus is often a problem. The suggestions offered have been helpful. The bigger issue for me is trying to capture an image that exactly resembles what my naked eye sees. Often underexposed images are very pretty but not what I see. I use manual settings and focus but admit that this takes a lot of patience and tinkering particularly when there is a lot of reflection on the water and because of the continuous downward movement off the sun and changing clouds and sky.

A great capture!

Hummingbirds are a fascinating subject. Could fill cards with their images. Still working on the perfect shot of their “Top Gun” aerial wars over feeder possession.

Very good reply!

Well written and thorough, Bob. Particularly explanation of ISO. In “film speed” days, we were trapped by the film ISO loaded in the camera and primary attention was to aperture and shutter speed, DOF, and other compositional matters. Digital cameras’ offer great ISO flexibility but add a third dimension that must be attended to. Your passage about increased grain at a high ISO should in bold print.

Thanks to those who replied. My lenses are in pristine condition. Your information makes my decision easy. I didn’t want to invest in a camera body only to find out AF feature wouldn’t work.