Five more questions
Jul. 26th, 2012 12:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
in_the_blueOnce upon a time, way back before vacation which makes it seem like a whole lifetime ago (has it been that long since I did any RPing? since I had time to think and to breathe? Yes, it has), muji asked me to elaborate on these five things.
1. How to buy a camera
2. Family updates
3. Current liked TV shows
4. Who is that guy in your icon and why does he love me?
5. How many different places you've lived
Let's go in order. You get my primer on how to buy a camera, which is about the least scientific method you could hope for.
I've had a few cameras in my life, and my favorite of all back before the digital revolution was a Pentax ME Super. So when I decided it was time to augment my cheap little Panasonic point-and-click digital with a real *ahem* camera, my first thought was to get another Pentax, since I liked it so much back then. The first thing I did was read reviews of cameras in my price range (I was trying to stay under $500), and that led me down a whole garden path planted with prickly weeds of new terminology and wanderlust. What it boiled down to, really, were reviews from professionals, and I narrowed it down to Pentax, Nikon, and Canon, which all had affordable DSLRs. (For those who hate abbreviations, that stands for digital single-lens reflex cameras). Out of all the reviews, a few Nikons and Canons seemed to be rated most highly among industry professionals. The review I liked best said that the Canon EOS Rebel XS was his favorite camera, and when equipped with the right lens it could match any of the higher-end cameras, and who needs a resolution better than 10 megapixels anyway? What a shame they're not making them any more, he said.
At Costco, where the living is easy and the fish are jumping, I ran into a woman in the camera department who said "my favorite camera is a Canon EOS Rebel XS. Too bad they're not making them any more!"
Then I dragged my sweetheart with me to Best Buy, where the camera department guy was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. "Oh yeah, the Rebel XS, they're good. Here's the newer model Canon has out, it's basically the same, but with a higher resolution and video." He also showed me a couple of Nikon models, showed me the differences between the Canons and Nikons, and let me play with them. Of course, he also put some fancy big-ass lenses on each and really, the differences were so minimal that what it ultimately boiled down to was this simple question: which one feels better in my hands? Which one has the most intuitive controls? The Canon won on both those questions, without a doubt, even though my husband liked one of the Nikons better. But too bad, it wasn't going to be his camera.
We told the Best Buy guy I needed to think about it, go home and read reviews and all that. I went home and looked at what cameras were going for online, and Amazon happened to have a small stock of the EOS Rebel XS cameras. For a really good price. So... I ordered one. It was a good $350 cheaper than the newer models in the store, and I just wanted something that took photos. Not video, not anything fancy, just photographs.
I have yet to regret it. But I was incrediby spoiled by looking through those zoom lenses at Best Buy. I was so spoiled by it that I just bitched all the time about not having a good enough zoom lens. But that's a whole different story, and you can have a camera body with the default lens and be happy forever... or someone else can ask me about choosing auxiliary lenses for your brand-spanking-new DSLR. It's a whole other matter.
Now you know! 1) Read the reviews. 2) Hold one in your hands and see if you like the fit and feel. 3) Find it online for the best price. Simple.
Now, off to work. Thanks, Steph! I will answer the rest of those later!
muji asked me to elaborate on these five things.1. How to buy a camera
2. Family updates
3. Current liked TV shows
4. Who is that guy in your icon and why does he love me?
5. How many different places you've lived
Let's go in order. You get my primer on how to buy a camera, which is about the least scientific method you could hope for.
I've had a few cameras in my life, and my favorite of all back before the digital revolution was a Pentax ME Super. So when I decided it was time to augment my cheap little Panasonic point-and-click digital with a real *ahem* camera, my first thought was to get another Pentax, since I liked it so much back then. The first thing I did was read reviews of cameras in my price range (I was trying to stay under $500), and that led me down a whole garden path planted with prickly weeds of new terminology and wanderlust. What it boiled down to, really, were reviews from professionals, and I narrowed it down to Pentax, Nikon, and Canon, which all had affordable DSLRs. (For those who hate abbreviations, that stands for digital single-lens reflex cameras). Out of all the reviews, a few Nikons and Canons seemed to be rated most highly among industry professionals. The review I liked best said that the Canon EOS Rebel XS was his favorite camera, and when equipped with the right lens it could match any of the higher-end cameras, and who needs a resolution better than 10 megapixels anyway? What a shame they're not making them any more, he said.
At Costco, where the living is easy and the fish are jumping, I ran into a woman in the camera department who said "my favorite camera is a Canon EOS Rebel XS. Too bad they're not making them any more!"
Then I dragged my sweetheart with me to Best Buy, where the camera department guy was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. "Oh yeah, the Rebel XS, they're good. Here's the newer model Canon has out, it's basically the same, but with a higher resolution and video." He also showed me a couple of Nikon models, showed me the differences between the Canons and Nikons, and let me play with them. Of course, he also put some fancy big-ass lenses on each and really, the differences were so minimal that what it ultimately boiled down to was this simple question: which one feels better in my hands? Which one has the most intuitive controls? The Canon won on both those questions, without a doubt, even though my husband liked one of the Nikons better. But too bad, it wasn't going to be his camera.
We told the Best Buy guy I needed to think about it, go home and read reviews and all that. I went home and looked at what cameras were going for online, and Amazon happened to have a small stock of the EOS Rebel XS cameras. For a really good price. So... I ordered one. It was a good $350 cheaper than the newer models in the store, and I just wanted something that took photos. Not video, not anything fancy, just photographs.
I have yet to regret it. But I was incrediby spoiled by looking through those zoom lenses at Best Buy. I was so spoiled by it that I just bitched all the time about not having a good enough zoom lens. But that's a whole different story, and you can have a camera body with the default lens and be happy forever... or someone else can ask me about choosing auxiliary lenses for your brand-spanking-new DSLR. It's a whole other matter.
Now you know! 1) Read the reviews. 2) Hold one in your hands and see if you like the fit and feel. 3) Find it online for the best price. Simple.
Now, off to work. Thanks, Steph! I will answer the rest of those later!
