January 3, 2009

I've been spoiled!

Five years ago, I walked into a local Baltimore camera shop prepared to buy either a Nikon or a Canon Digital SLR. I was greeted by a slight man, yamika perched on his head, prayer shawl tassels poking from beneath his shirt. As I explained what I wanted and mentioned either brand, he gently interrupted, "Those are fine; but, may I sell you a camera?" I shrugged, "Sure."

He sold me an Olympus C-5050.


It was compact yet felt solid in the hand. The lens was an F1.8, which meant it could shoot great photos in low light. The lens motor died once and I had it repaired. When it died again, I set out to find a great new digital camera. Yet again, I'm ready to get a DSLR, but looking for options. In forum after forum I run across comments like, "I had an Olympus 5050, is there anything out there that compares?" Apparently, the answer is NO. Sigh.

This leaves me in a morass of digital camera reviews, thousands of opinions and no solid answer. I want my little Jewish salesman to cut through all of that and sell me a camera! In contrast, I went to the camera store down the road and explained I wanted to replace a point-and-shoot camera with an f1.8 lens. The proprieter just blinked at me and said, "Never heard of such a thing. There's nothing under 2.0. You must be mistaken."

I was all set to buy the new Panasonic micro-four-thirds model, but the sample photos look a little cold, plus the price is high.


One other factor: after receiving the photo books I sent for Christmas, my MIL called to rave, "Daddy looked at the books and said you need a better camera. He's going to give you his." Well, if it's his Nikon D60, that's worth waiting for! I could buy a fast prime lens for that body and be in business. However, maybe he only means his old film camera? I have my grandfather's old cameras and don't need another. In addition, when was he thinking of giving me his camera? In the next couple months? In his will? Do I invest in a different system knowing there might be a Nikon in my future? Now I'm trolling the photo forums for a great proam point-and-shoot.

At the end of January I have a potential photo shoot. My friend wanted a family crest for her daughter with all the elements of the girl's name included. As I collected images in order to create a 'mood board' for discussion, I found some great photos. I suggested doing a photo shoot instead that hinted at the name elements. She loved the idea. I know I could borrow a camera, but I also love the idea of having one of my own.

I know, I know, who wants to hear me whine about a camera!? The economy is collapsing, people are in slavery, you still haven't written your Christmas letter and you want to whine about not finding a camera? Sheesh. Well, hmph: it's my blog and I'll whine if I want to! In the meantime, I swoon over the photos that MN and Dooce take of their kids, knowing they both have DSLRs. Our little Casio point and shoot is only good for putting pictures up on-line since all the photos have noise and a purple fringe. It drives me NUTS.

7 comments:

Mama Nabi said...

Talk to sarah-ji. http://www.shutterbugmama.com/

:-) Seriously, I love my camera. I do nothing and I still get fairly decent photos. And I've loved your photos! Hope you get a good replacement!

Painless Mama said...

Hiya! I've been searching around for photo blogs today, and somehow yours came up. But I read a bit and I love it!

Hope you don't mind if I add you to my reader!

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm also a C5050 owner. And a G1 owner. With both lenses. What I miss most in the G1 compared to my not-so-trusty C5050 is the fast glass. But I'm sure that'll come in time. My C5050 has had repeated problems with switches: first the switch in the card cover and about 6 months ago it was the zoom switch. Lately the card switch has started to act up again, even though I NEVER open the cover since I had the switch replaced 3 years ago, I only offload pictures directly from the camera with the USB cable.

Anonymous said...

I was surprised this didn't come up at dinner last night...I read about one paragraph of this post before we had to head out the door to meet you and Jrex.

You should let me know what price range y'all were thinkin', and I can maybe find you some proper deals. Full disclosure: my dad got me spoiled on Nikon hardware throughout my life, so I'm gonna kinda steer you :-)

Anyway, I just got a D80 for a combined Christmas/birthday gift, and I couldn't be happier. It was $575, but I got it as just a bare body, since I already have a bunch of lenses. I just looked, and the same camera body is available on Amazon for $518. And the nice thing about Nikon is that you can get a $59 Sigma lens to get you started, and borrow lenses from me while you build your own collection over time :-)

Rachel said...

I'm envious of people with DSLRs. Haven't been able to justify the $, but I am curious to see what you choose. I do have a friend who has a Canon and loves it.

Anonymous said...

Nikon!!! I have the D70 and the D80....for work, they are great. Never been a fan of canon, they have a really loud shutter

~julie

Anonymous said...

I agree w/ punkassjim (didn't see this before I commented on your more recent post). The D80 is a great camera.