It’s been a long time coming. I’m not sure why this has taken so long, but, it has. But, now the moment has finally arrived. New camera. My first DSLR or my first non point and shoot. A real piece of photographic equipment!
When I was young I had a real interest in photography. So much so that one holiday season my parents bought me a complete darkroom setup. I’m talking about a nice Vivitar enlarger, trays, chemicals, film tank and of course a red light to work by. They really went all out. Over the years I shot and developed thousands of photos. Then I’m not sure what happened. Got older, had other interests, something.
The Search
When I first started looking to upgrade my current equipment I didn’t realize it would be such a tough process. I emailed some friends who take pictures for a living, I did some research on the web and of course, I made a trip down to Best Buy to touch, click and fondle the finalists. There was a lot to consider.
One thing I took away from the process was just how brand loyal people are. There are Canon people and Nikon people. And, then there is everyone else. The Canon clan talks nicely enough about the competitions products, but, it’s only lip service. Of course, the opposite is true for the Nikon folks. That makes it hard on me, since I’m not partial to either, yet.
When all the reviews and emails had been read, I thought I had a winner, the Canon Eos Rebel XSi. It had everything I was looking for and more. I was set. Then something which shouldn’t have been unexpected (but was) happened. I actually got to see my first choice face to face.
Best Buy is pretty great at letting you compare lots of products side by side. They have tons of stuff. I guess that’s why other brick and mortar electronics stores have such a hard time competing. It’s really not fair, but, they do stock a lot of the best merchandise available.
We Have A Winner
At last my first up close look at the XSi. The problem was that there were also a half dozen other cameras (including my runner up) there too. You know what that means? Everyone does. I’ve got to play with them ALL. After a half hour of clicking, focusing and spinning dials things had changed. There was a new leader. The Nikon D3000.
Yes it’s true. All the pre-store visit research couldn’t make up for just how something looked, felt and sounded. The D3000 was my second choice going in. That camera lacked one feature that I thought I couldn’t live without, Live View. I was used to shooting with the help of that LCD screen. I didn’t think I wanted to make do without it. That all changed when I held the D3000 in my hands. Live View, what Live View?
I should have my new tool/toy in my hands in a day or so. The next images for I Cooked The Book will hopefully be taken with the winner of my own personal talent search.
I’m still going to keep the old work horse around. I’ll bring it to restaurants for a quick shot of whatever happens to be on my plate. I need something small that takes great images for some of my dineSarasota.com work.
Truth be told, I’m going to miss my old trusty CyberShot. That camera has served me more than well over the years. It’s been with me for a pretty long time. I could have upgraded years ago, but, why? Now I have a reason. Food photos!
Next: Book 1 – Modern French Cooking, Wolfgang Puck (1981)