TOUR de YORKSHIRE and a CANON SX700 HS

THE BIKE RACE AND A CAMERA

Recently, after much deliberation and agonizing, I bought another camera.  I have been getting fed up of trailing about with an ostentatious heavy DSLR and big zoom lens.  I decided, rather rashly for me, that I would buy another camera that I could put in my pocket.  My research told me the Canon SX700 HS was within my limited budget of unnecessary extravagance and so I plunged with an online purchase.

I haven’t had much chance to test it yet but this weekend I had an opportunity in one respect and that was mostly on rapidly moving objects.

The Tour de France came through Yorkshire as everyone knows and so will now have heard of both Holmfirth and Holme Moss.  Inevitable I was drawn to the spectacle, encouraged by continuous hype here. That was despite a slight antipathy to the ever growing Lycra brigade in general who are able to use public roads as an every-day race track.   These bicyclists are not to be confused with ‘bikers’ who are very responsible, observe speed limits and also pay road tax, have insurance, have a driving license by having passed a bike test and ride slow and wide for horses.  Equestrians ought not to be on roads these days either. - (tongue in cheek in case you get too serious).

One great benefit of the Tour de France coming here has been the immaculate restoration of some sadly deteriorated road surfaces, but I suppose the peripheral ones to the route will now never be repaired in the foreseeable future as the entire budget for the next few years, and more, has been blown.

The biking fraternity, the bicycling one, has infiltrated this family and as a consequence we provided accommodation for three members of Velo Club Baracchi, non of whom speak Italian, at the weekend.

Here they are, all the way from Lowestoft in Suffolk, ready to cycle up Holme Moss this past Sunday to view the spectacle, having already been to the North Yorkshire section to see the action on Saturday. (The one the right does not have a dog on his helmet).

Interestingly and coincidentally, they are standing in the same place as this wedding party was standing during the time of WW1, 100 years ago!

However, hopefully without being too boring as I know the web is awash with photos of the event, I am listing a few images as the riders flashed past just to show how well this camera performed.  I took a continuous sequence of them as they passed by and non failed.  I just wish I had taken a photo of the huge phalanx of police motorcyclists as they swept past at the very beginning.  Not only that,  but they seemed to keep on coming after the initial impressive batch and were in splendid form giving high-fives to onlookers - well it looked as though that was what they were doing.  I never realised that the UK had so many police bikes.

The camera focuses well and takes continuous shots very quickly and silently.  I am so used to my DSLR sounding like a closet door slamming when I take a photo that this smooth fast action is addictive. 

174 below is Cyril Lemoine (France)

Here is a cropped section from the above just to show the detail as this chap passed at a very fast speed on the flat.  Not bad for a point and press Auto ‘Action’ setting.

And yet another crop of the above.  I wonder if he shaves his legs and if so not his arms.  I wonder why?  I must ask my brother!  I suspect he indulges in these perversities. 

So really this post is about some early results of a Canon SX700 HS that are totally untouched apart from the text I added and I cropped a bottom bit of road off on some.  I am very impressed so far.

As for the Tour de France in the Holmfirth area, it was a huge success.  The day was like one big party in spirit.  The locals and farmers made a bob or two and probably a lot more that no one will ever know about and everyone went home happy, although I heard on the local news tonight, (the Monday following) that some are still celebrating in The Fleece at Holme, as they don't want the party to end.  It was a fun day and hopefully it will return sometime but preferably round the back roads that are more testing and require some urgent attention. 

As I was loafing in my garden chair, this Goldfinch came for a drink of water about 18 feet away.  This is a crop out of the bigger picture below it.  Again not bad for a point and press with a zoom that can go to 30X magnification although it was about half that when I took the quick 'snap'.

 The original

There are plenty of options to keep me amused on this camera as well as HD1080P video so maybe I will get around to trying that next.  But for my basic level of happy snapping I think I will be quite content with the camera.