Tens of thousands of you visit the When Steel Talks site every week with hundreds of thousands of pages viewed.  One of the frequent questions we are asked is: 'what camera are you using to get those great pictures?'

For the past five years When Steel Talks has trotted all over the world covering every major steelpan music event and bringing it to you - our global steelpan audience.  We have indeed endeavored to bring you a complete and total multimedia experience in sound, stories, video and of course pictures.  Lots and lots and lots of pictures...  There is nothing like a picture that has captured the moment.  Our camera of choice has been a single Nikon Coolpix 5000 (Mr. Coolpix).  It is a workhorse and has been with us every step of the way.  It is our undeniable MVP (or MVC [Most Valued Camera], if you will).

Many of you will be heading to the Caribbean in a week or so for the Carnival and Panorama competition and are looking for a camera to capture all those special moments.  In this regard we have decided to share with you our experience with Nikon's line, and specifically one of it's Coolpix cameras.

Nikon CoolPix 5000 and Tenor Pan

Old reliable Mr. Coolpix has been dropped, sun burnt, wind and sand-blasted, tortured, and even rained on, yet it has delivered and continues to produce some of the most famous and memorable steelpan music performance pictures and moments in its years of service.  Without a doubt, it was a worthwhile investment that has paid for itself thousands of times over.  It has captured the  vivid color and awesome details of the steelpan movement.  Moreover, it has preformed remarkably in the far-less-than-favorable conditions pan people find themselves in  globally.  The joy, the pain, work, ingenuity and beauty of the steelband movement have all been captured.

One of the outstanding aspects of the 5000 is its ability to allow the user to change lenses.  We bought specific wide angle and zoom lenses for the unit that enabled additional versatility.  In addition it has the ability to interface with almost any computer.  Not to mention its talent to take video clips in a pinch.  When this camera was purchased - all these features made it one of the most sought-after and innovative cameras on the market at the time.

New York - Clive Bradley on Stage - taken with Nikon CoolPix

Indeed Mr. Coolpix has allowed When Steel Talks to become equally famous for our steelpan story-telling thorough pictures, as our big brother Basement Recordings is for digital audio recordings of steel orchestras.  Who has not seen the now-classic picture of the Master arranger Clive Bradley strutting his stuff across the panorama stage in his General uniform, leading the great Pantonic Steel Orchestra to yet another victory?

It's shots have made it into some of the world's most prestigious magazines - but equally or more important are the millions of you who graced panonthenet.com in search of that visual experience.

Capturing those great  moments is what it is all about.  The exhilarating and triumphant joy of success; the crushing and emotional drain of unattained goals; that wonderful and mischievous grin of the genius and Master Clive Bradley; the steadfast strength of the pan pioneers; the expectation and determination etched on the faces of the upcoming and rising stars in the arena - players, arrangers, tuners and the like; the great and historical ones of Robert Greenidge, Pelham Goddard, Rudy Smith, Ray Holman, Birch Kelman, Neville Jules, Dr. Jit Samaroo, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Leon Edwards and the late Clive Bradley, just to name a few.