Shooting winter in Budapest with… a Digicam

In January 2023, the 79th issue of the Fuji X Passion magazine was published. On the cover, it was stated that there was an article, “The vast beauty of Budapest”, by Cory Plowman.

I liked the article and the photos that were taken in the warmer months (although published in January). And then I remembered that I had pictures of Budapest under the snow.

We visited Budapest in the first week of January 2016, right after the New Year’s Eve celebrations. The desire to go arose suddenly; we had a few days to spare. We wanted to see the city without the pre-holiday fuss.

In those days, only one camera was at my disposal for this trip: the Olympus SP-565UZ.

The Olympus SP-565 UZ is a so-called bridge camera (or digicam, if you like).

This means the camera offers much more functionality than the average point-and-shoot, but it doesn’t provide all the features of a DSLR. This camera used a 10-megapixel sensor and 20x, 26-520mm zoom lens, covering everything from wide-angle landscapes to close-up action shots.

Olympus (and other vendors at that time) got the idea after ‘ultra-zoom” that the very broad focal range provided by one lens is good for the compact camera for most users. And no need to change the lenses, as on a digital SLR.

The SP-565 UZ is a compact camera with manual controls if you want them, and full automation if you just want to point and shoot.

I’ve used this camera on many trips since 2008.

Two main problems are related to the use of this camera (at least for me):
1. A picture with the maximum resolution in the JPEG format takes at least 2 seconds to be recorded in the memory.
2. In low light, it is difficult to focus; and photos lose “volume” and color accuracy.

When shooting in optimal conditions, the camera produced perfectly acceptable photographs with natural colors and lots of detail. A lot of photos taken with this camera can be seen on my website. So, I had no doubt that the camera in Budapest would not let me down.

The weather forecast promised us some cold but clear days in Budapest. But, as they say – “‘weather forecasters always give accurate forecasts, but nature does not always fulfill them accurately”. Snow began to fall in large flakes as soon as our taxi left the airport. A few hours later, the city was covered with snow.

Our acquaintance with Budapest began from the left bank of the Danube – through the Pest district located on it.

Budapest attracts by the atmosphere of an ancient imperial city, majestic architecture, and a lot of monuments. To visit interesting places, temples, and museums, to see the first metro in Europe, a few days will not be enough. And then there’s the great cooking, Hungarian wine and the city’s nightlife. This is a city that you want to come back to.

And a few words about the camera. The photos speak for themselves. They can’t be called remarkable or outstanding. But even this small part (more than 300 photographs were taken in Budapest) fulfills the most important function – it preserves the memory of this journey.

Wandering around an unfamiliar city with a lightweight, stealthy camera and taking snapshots without worrying too much about exposure, ISO etc., is a pleasure. A lot of people try to shoot on film again; many have returned to the music on vinyl or CD (despite the latest streaming services). And this is also for pleasure.

Photographers also love old manual focus lenses for their “character”. Outdated things don’t always mean “worst”.

These digicams paved the way for today’s technology. For example, already at that time, Olympus offered a camera with an electronic viewfinder, face detection system which can detect 16 faces simultaneously, dual shake-proof sensor shift, and high ISO stabilization systems.

With state-of-the-art cameras at home, will I continue to use this Olympus? The answer is no. But if suddenly I find myself in a situation again, when only this camera is at hand, I will use it. And I’ll get my pleasure again.