Beauty and the Beast

Several years ago, I brought my grandparents to Walt Disney World. Since they are season ticket holders to the local theatres I knew that bringing them to Beauty and the Beast was a good idea. They loved the dancing, the singing, and of course the music. We sat in the very back of the theater but they were quite content and impressed with the show.

Watching a show and photographing a show are two different things for me. Sometimes I even do a little of both. When that happens I get to the venue early if I’m with friends so that we can get close to the stage. If I’m alone then locating a single seat is pretty easy and I’ll wait until 5-10 minutes before the show starts to head over. Each time I go, I try to sit somewhere I haven’t before, giving me different perspectives.

On my last trip I used 2 different cameras so I could provide you with comparisons. The first camera is a Nikon Coolpix 7600 with a 3x optical zoom (38-114mm) and 7 million megapixels. The second camera is a Canon PowerShot S5 IS with a 10x optical zoom (38-380mm) and 9 million megapixels. The Nikon is a compact point and shoot and several years old while the Canon is a high-end point and shoot and perhaps 1 and 1/2 years old with a faster processor. Both cameras were powered up with rechargable AAs. Let the competition begin!

Here we have Cogsworth offering advice to the other inanim…animate objects. He’s not moving much and the shot is still a little soft. He does have too much “headroom” however.

Belle is happy because her library card was discoverd and turned into Lost & Found. Alright, she’s singing and making her way from stage left to right to left.

Gaston is blurry because he’s too quick for this camera and so is his expectorating.

Here the hunk is surrounded by his admirers and the faster system caught their fawning.

As I said, the Nikon can’t keep up with action even when using the Sports Mode. It grabbed the shot so late that it appears as if Lumiere is giving Belle a noogie and burning her arm.

All is well again as Cogsworth oversees their reconciliation and the safe return of Belle’s book, less a few gnawed pages.