Preparing For The 2008 Juno Awards

It's getting close. In just nine days, I'll be getting on a plane and heading out to Calgary to attend the 2008 Juno awards. I haven't really had time to let the whole event soak in yet, and to be honest, probably won't figure out where I'll be all weekend until I land in Calgary. What I really want to do is provide an insider's view of what it's like being at the Junos during the entire weekend. I'm not sure what that means yet, but it will most likely involve tons of photos and the odd video.

To that end, I really want to go out and buy a new portable camera, something that can do fairly decent video. I really am looking for portability here, and would just go out and get the new Canon Digital Elph, had I not had a pile of bad experiences with them before. So, any recommendations on something small that takes decent movies?

In terms of my camera gear, I'm also completely at a blank for what to bring. Switching lenses and bodies on the fly is a pain in the butt, so I'll probably just use my 24-70mm f/2.8L the majority of the time if I can. I might rent the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens as well (I have the non IS version), since that would probably be the best one for the indoor shots at the ceremony (assuming I am allowed into that one). I'll bring a speed light, but don't really feel like hauling a bracket out there, so I'll just deal with it on camera or possibly bring my flash extension. So many decisions to be made. Maybe I'll even rent a 5D for a few days, who knows.

It also sounds like I'll be meeting up with some high school friends in Calgary for a few drinks (I think one of them is taking the floor of my hotel room for a night), so that should be a good time. I'm going to refactor my blog a bit this weekend and see if I can get some Google ranking going before the event starts.