I’m Such A Gadget Guy

Although it’s debatable that a camera qualifies as a gadget, it is a piece of electronic marvel.  For a long time I’ve been fascinated with cameras.  In the early 90’s I was looking for a decent 35mm SLR.  After a lot of homework I decided on a Minolta Maxxum 400si.  Not a great unit, but a formidable entry level unit to say the least.  I enjoyed using it but the cost was prohibitive for me since I made minimum wage bagging groceries.  Soon after, the digital cameras began to hit the street but the only models I could afford were the point and shoot variety.  The nicer digital SLR equivalents were so outrageously priced that I figured I would never be able to buy one.  15 years later I finally did it.  Like all things I do which involve me parting with money, I beat this into the ground, punishing the sales guys and consuming any literature I could get my eyes to focus on.

In a rather methodical way, I tried to convince myself that I would be content with one of those so-called super zoom models.  They offered a huge zoom capability and decent megapixel sizes.  So this is where my journey begins; with the purchase of a Sony H9.  It took good pictures, had some nice features like the bigger units had at a fraction of the cost.  Soon after I found out just what I was missing.  The lens had such awful barreling that I would be ashamed to post images having vertical lines near the edge of the frame.  Weak.  So a trip back to the store for a speedy return turned into a shopping event, too.  I had already done the homework, knew what I wanted on paper and figured this would be an ion and out process.  I wound up with the Canon Rebel XTi, a very nice entry-level digital SLR.  The lens it came with was crap, but I kept telling myself it was a kit lens and there were others which I could replace it with.  This fact alone made the Sony H9 a bad selection.  To be fair these are not equals, I just tried to be cheap about things.  It took real good pictures and had a plethora of options, full exposure controls and the ability to get creative with the myriad of lens selections.  A week went by and I noticed that my pinky was developing a sore spot from rubbing against the bottom of the body.  It had nowhere to go so either it floats in la la land or gets curled under the body.  This wasn’t good.  I figured I could buy a battery grip which would add a bit of mass to the body, or buy the model I wanted from the first time I held it.  By now you know where this is going, so back to the store I went.  Another return and another purchase.  This time I wasn’t messing around.

I rolled out with the Canon 40D.  I couldn’t be happier.  This bad daddy does all of the same things the Rebel XTi does, only easier.  The ergonomics are way better, the controls are better and the overall feel of the body is superior.  I suppose this will have to last a few years as it wasn’t cheap, but I suspect I’ll have a few good reasons to take pictures in the coming years anyway.

The moral of the story:  Don’t cheap out.  If you know what you want, get it or you may regret settling for a long time.

And for some pictures check out these links here and here.