Compact System Cameras: Beginner or Professional?

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin - Shot on the Sony NEX 3.

The NEX proves a bit easier to pack than its bigger brother.

You may have noticed over the past year or two the rise in popularity of Micro 4/3rds or Compact System Cameras (CSC's). The recent release of the Nikon 1 leaves just Canon left to add their product to the market, with Sony, Olympus, and Panasonic having quite a head start. Earlier this year I purchased the Sony NEX 3 with 16mm lens so that I could carry a camera around with me without compromising quality or any manual control. Not long after purchase I went off to Dublin for a few days, so I thought that it would be a great chance to test out the NEX and see just how well it could live up to my more bulky Sony Alpha DSLR.

If you've ever flown anywhere you'll be aware of the strict regulations regarding luggage, so its important to be able to fit everything into your bag. As you can see from the picture opposite packing my DSLR took up a large portion of my bag whilst the NEX simply fitted in on top. Being the first time I'd visited Dublin, and not having much time before hand to test the NEX's abilities, I decided that I would take both cameras with me, and by the end of the trip decide whether or not the NEX could be a suitable replacement for future endeavours.

November 30th Strikes

Wednesday saw possibly the largest one day strike since the winter of discontent. Members of over 30 public sector unions downed tools and took to the streets in protest over planned changes to their pension schemes. The government claims that as people are now living longer the changes are unavoidable, especially at a time of such economic distress, when the whole country needs to tighten their belts. Union leaders are arguing that under the proposed plans workers will have to work longer, pay more, and recieve less, and that it is unfair that the public sector should have to foot the bill for a crisis they did not create whilst bankers get away with huge bonuses.