I've been doing my bit of planning recently for my next trip (Croatia for two weeks, with a few city trips on my way home). I'm making lists and maps of things to see and places to go, and have already started thinking about my pack list. One thing I've stumbled over is what camera to bring. During my travels in Australia and New Zealand I took a lot of photos using my Canon 40D. It was a pain to drag around 2 kilos of equipment in my daypack everywhere I went (and that's just having one lens), but I didn't want to miss out on getting that shot, and I’m glad I did bring it. Recently however, I bought a Sony NEX 5R, a mirrorless camera to replace my broken compact camera, and the results blew me away. It's a serious competitor for my Canon, so I started wondering if I should just leave my Canon at home next time around. To test my Sony further, and to try and break this dilemma, I made another list of touristy highlights… in my home city.
I ventured around the city of Nijmegen for a few hours, soaking it up as if it were a new destination for me. Most people know that I’m a country bumkin, and that’s true; I’ve lived in a small town my whole life, but I was born in Nijmegen, the oldest city of the Netherlands. I still sort of consider it my hometown (because frankly, my real hometown doesn’t hold much of interest haha). I started my trip at the central station, taking some pictures of the ROC college (a lot of people hate the modern building, but I think it’s quite stunning), then making my way through my favourite Kronenburgpark. I even went into Saint Stevenschurch to test the camera for indoor shooting. After having strolled past most picturesque sites in the inner city, I landed at the Waalkade, taking a moment to appreciate the view. Pictures below!
"Often far away, Nijmegen, my youth, stayed still close to me."
I do really like Nijmegen, and I would advocate for anyone to come visit. It’s no Amsterdam (which to me, has always just been a place for tourists – too many tourists), but there’s a bunch of things to see and stuff to do. It has a lot of cool places to go out and recently has sprung a lot of cool little cafes and shops as well. There’s a lot to explore, even still for me. It’s a great town, even though I might be biased saying that.
As for my Sony, it definitely passed the test! One of the main things I worried about was zoom capability. I have a 18-200mm lens with my Canon and only a 16-55mm lens with my Sony, but I found I didn’t really need much more for this kind of photography. I think it’ll also help open up a more creative side to my photography; even today I found myself walking around and changing angle a lot more than I think I normally do. What I do miss is the viewfinder, although having an exact preview on the screen of how your photo is going to turn out is a positive flipside. The menu I guess is not as straight forward as an DSLR’s, and it will take some getting used to. But I just love the quality of the image the Sony NEX produces. This, and the fact it weighs next to nothing I think will be the deciding factor in whether or not my Canon stays home this summer. The dilemma isn’t quite over yet.
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