One of the most difficult things I have found as a photographer is not know what gear to bring when you are NOT on a job. I love photography and sometimes it gets crazy as my gear list for my travels is almost the same as I would bring to a professional shoot or a wedding. However, that gear can be cumbersome to bring around when you are trying to explore cities or relax on a beach for a whole day.

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself packing for a long awaited mini get away to Miami and the Bahamas with Lucy and a couple of other friends. I was watching one of my favorite car shows, Top Gear. The episode I just so happen to be watching inspired me. They have a segment where they put an individual (mostly celebrities) in what they call a Reasonably Priced Car and see how they fare with it on their test race track.  ding din ding….It was then that I decided to challenge myself to see what images I can create with a reasonably priced camera.

I was not ready to go full automatic point and shoot, although my iphone does a pretty good job of that. So I picked something with modest image quality and with pretty good functionality, above all, it had to be small and pocket-able. Enter the Olympus XZ-1!

I am no expert so I cannot begin to give an in depth review on the camera but what I can say was that I was overall impressed with the camera. It was still a little large for my tastes, however the functionality of the camera made up for it. My only ask now, was that I wish it were water proof!

Here are some images I took with the camera.

My seat mate, Buddy.

Finally….there were many fun times on this trip but I wanted to share one with you guys that I found amusing when we were using the bathroom at a local restaurant in Miami…don’t judge =)