Czeching Out Tasmania

With just a few weeks left in the Czech Republic and lots of work to do to get ready for our next adventure I haven’t been able to get out and about to take pictures and go on adventures. For those of you who follow my Instagram feed, you’ll notice I have been taking plenty of pics, just not enough to justify a blog post.

Another issue was the lack of a camera, or rather a nice inconspicuous one, after poor Fred, my Fujifilm X10 was involved in a horrifying accident at the Brno Moto GP. I leaned on him in our tent and now the poor fella isn’t able to zoom past 35mm. Still works but quite crippled.

So all the posts since then have been utilising my bigger camera, Bob the Canon 40D. He takes great pictures and I love the bokeh from the Sigma 30mm F1.4 lens but he’s just too damn bulky as a walkaround adventuring camera. Say hello to Frank, my brand new shiny Fujifilm X30, the grandson of Fred and an absolutely delightful little camera full of new features and although some have lamented its more modern looks, I think it’s absolutely gorgeous!

So now it’s back to business once more and I’ll hopefully get a few more posts out before we leave….which I really don’t want to think about…..*sniff*

I picked Frank up from the local fotolab.cz shop in AFI Palace last week after receiving the text and email from them to say he was ready for pick up. I was in work at the time and was so excited I skated down as fast as I could on my lunchbreak to buy him. Less than 14,000Kc which was more than €100 cheaper than the asking price back in Ireland! I resisted the temptation to play with him while in work (I’m a dedicated professional after all) but immediately headed straight for the old square after finishing for the day to put him through his paces in low light.

As you can see, pretty decent quality although i’d be weary of going anywhere over ISO 1600 as the sensor although larger than your standard compact is still puny compared with Bob’s APS-C offering. For Instagram it’s probably fine to crank it up to 3200 as it’s certainly a better sensor than my iPhone which I’ve used for the majority of images on my profile there. But that will all change now as Frank has WIFI which means I can send the images to my phone, edit them in Snapseed and then upload to my heart’s content. It’s an awesome feature that I know is all the rage now but I did giggle like a little kid the first time I tried it.

It’s such a pleasure to shoot with too as the new control wheel on the lens makes it have those SLR ergonomics that make you slow down a bit more and focus on your images. I was weighing up getting the Sony RX100 MKIII as it has the bigger sensor and much better video but having seen it and read a few reviews I just don’t think I would have enjoyed using it as a tool.

I’ll be looking to do a proper full review of Frank in the near future once I’ve got the chance to fully explore all his bells and whistles but safe to say, I’m a happy bunny.

Now on to other part of this post, the lovely new park on the opposite bank of the Labe, an area that was crying out for something to compete with its beloved northern bank cousin. That side gets a water park, a riverside cafe, a rowing club and a beautiful cycle path that’s used by many during the summer months.

That may all soon change though this summer as for the past few months a project has been under way to develop the southern bank of the Labe where it is joined by the Chrudimka river and I have to say, it is looking magnificent.

The main talking point is of course the new foot-bridge spanning the Chrudimka which you can see a timelapse of its construction here. It’s an elegant wooden bridge that leads you into the park which is still under construction but has its bare bones structure already in place. There’s a playground for the kids, a lovely tree lined pond, basketball courts and football pitches, numerous jetties where boats can be launched, a sheltered fire pit, toilet facilities, an outdoor shower and what looks to be club houses or perhaps a restuarant/bar under construction, oh and a freaking zip line!….for the kids of course….. Alas we won’t be here when it officially opens which is a pity as it’s shaping up to be a wonderful amenity for Pardubice and i’m sure it will become a big focal point for the Summer months. We’ll just have to come back to visit and check it out.