The Best Camera...

...is, as has often been said, the one you have with you.

After my first couple of weeks as a blipper, I was getting tired of having to carry a big purse everywhere so I could have my Panasonic Lumix G-1 always with me. Even though it's a micro four-thirds camera and thus smaller than a standard SLR, it doesn't fit in a jacket pocket or a small purse.

Pilipo and I have been consistently pleased with cameras rated "highly recommended" by the website dpreview (Digital Photography Review), so that's where I turned once again. Their exhaustive research and comparisons between similar cameras are very helpful.

Going back to 2009 in their travel zoom compact camera reviews, I found what I was looking for -- the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (TZ7 in Europe). It has a 12x zoom (25-300mm), is tiny compared to my G-1, and received that all-important "highly recommended" rating.

I was the winning bidder on an excellent used ZS3 on eBay, and for the past few days, I've been enjoying shooting with two cameras and gradually learning the new one's strengths and weaknesses. I brought both cameras to the Bellewood Acres cider festival today (see P's account here), pulled out the ZS3 to take advantage of its wider-angle capability -- and discovered that I'd left its battery at home in the charger.

Good thing I had two cameras with me.

(Here are a few shots I took at Bellewood Acres with the G-1, including one of P and Miss Annie enjoying the sunshine.)