Assignment: Two months in Western Australia and Australia's Northern Territory photographing people, wildflowers, wildlife and spectacular scenery as freelance photojournalists for Canadian newspapers. Camera of choice: Fuji FinePix F700 for its 6.3-megapixel capacity, 3x optical and 2.2x digital zoom, amateur-friendly manual overrides and ability to capture the brilliant blues and reds of the Australian outback. This 6.7-ounce marvel packs a mighty wallop photographing people and scenery. Our pictures from this trip have illustrated stories in the Vancouver Sun and Edmonton Journal. More will follow. The F700 handled severe conditions, from the rain and wind of Albany and Yalling up in the far southwest of W.A. through the dry gorges of the Pilbara and Kimberley country, to the smoke and humidity of Darwin just before The Wet. It was superb at capturing a low-light sunset camel ride in the dry bed of the Torrens River in Alice Springs. After a late-afternoon reunion photo session, our family of nine sibling adults agreed results from the F700 were better than those from a Nikon D70.