Handicapped

I don't write about technical aspects of photography here. It's about packing around a camera.
For some folk transporting a camera is a pain. For those who pack a camera as professionals or as an avocation it's no big deal unless they are handicapped, then much thought goes into packing a bag. I've always been a tad vision handicapped, but it was only a problem with front of face viewing through a tiny hole. That was solved by a twin lens reflex that became my primary camera of choice until I switched from film to digital. Vision became a serious factor selecting a digital.
Digital wasn't exactly the answer at that time. I gave a 4MP DSLR a try and struggled with the viewer. Ended up with a jury rigged gun sight for moving objects. Did alright, but I missed the over under and around corner feature of the discarded reflex. I kept the DSLR for tripod work, and went shopping for an alternate. There wasn't any unless I changed my camera criteria and photo preference. I changed and purchased a 5MP with viewing screen and swivel lens. Captured 23GB with it before moving to 8MP with more features.
The 8MP captured some excellent photos, and was improved on by attaching a wide angle lens. But it was double the weight of the 5MP at 2.3 kilo including bag. Plus it was bulky enough to make boarding a bus a risky adventure. The combination of bulk and weight shortened my wandering hours considerably and sent me home in the next taxi.
My stamina took a hit about the same time and my stoop squat and squint abilities faded too. I saw an almost lifetime source of pleasure and entertainment take a dump.
That's when a long time friend recently retired from camera repair and modification business showed up with bag full of expensive state of art 12MP camera system. He borrowed my 8MP and left his system with me while he traveled Asia. I gave his DSLR a workout and when he returned we had photos from four cameras to compare.
With an 8.5X22 inch max printer we couldn't easily detect a quality difference until cropping by half. It appears 4MP covers the common printer range quite well.
I took the 5MP off the shelf and bought a one kilo grocery scale. We weighed everything including bags and a bottle of water. The only item we were not sure of was a "sports lens" that exceeded scale capacity. Glass is heavy stuff.
I didn't want it, and my friend didn't want to lug his 4.0+ kilo 12MP home. He sold it here. Next visit he traveled with much slimmer package with one lens, a lighter camera body with 6MP and batteries to power 1GB memory. He built the package around a dinky charger he bought here on prior visit. Total load: 1.9 kilo.
I bought same type "Made in China" no name charger too (it's displayed in a blue and white box and not much larger than battery). No wires and plugs directly in wall socket. Great for extended trips, but I seldom use it. I'm yet to expire three batteries that provide more than enough power for 5MP camera to fill 1GB with four hundred photos. Total load: 1.1 kilo.
I'm not always satisfied with the 5MP and expect next generation digitals to improve on it. Nevertheless, I'm out taking pictures again and that's what photography is all about. Perhaps some photographythailand members will find a mention in this story that is useful to lighten their load either now, or later when they need to shed weight.