New Camera!

[PetersCreek]

Holy crap!

Sunday, the wife got the itch to shop Nordstrom's. Me, I like to shop, too and I'm in the market for a new pair of dress shoes...so I tag along. The wife finds a few things at Nordie's but no luck for me, so we head down to JC Penney to check out their sale. On the way, just out of curiosity, I steer us into a camera store to drool over the digital SLRs. I'd like to upgrade one day, after all, so it's good to keep up on things.

No problem, right? Mall camera stores are way overpriced so there's no financial danger at all...or so I thought. Turns out they're pretty competetive once you factor in shipping. But I'm still okay. The price is still high enough to keep me safe...but I sure do like that one camera. Then from outta nowhere, the wife says, "You know, if you want an early Christmas present, I'll put $XXX toward it. After all, your daughter's wedding is coming up."

AAAaaaaargh!!! Money AND approval of wife...12 months interest free...too...much...to...resist. I'm now the proud (but still sticker-shocked) owner of a Canon EOS 20D, 8.2MP digital SLR.

Good thing I just stocked up on cheap sticks.

[allanf]

Nice, now lets see the pics..

[Wasch_24]

Holy Shimolies! That is a killer camera!

[Slammer]

Very nice. I've been wanting to get the Nikon D70 for a while now but looks like I'll have to wait till Christmas. I can wait.

[PetersCreek]

I'm a long-time Canon fan. Hell, I still have the AE1 Program I bought in 1981. Even so, I looked real hard at the D70 and almost—almost—jumped ship. But when the wife made her offer, I swung to the higher resolution, faster frame rate, and larger buffer of the 20D. The D70 is a darn nice camera, though. I haven't heard much bad about 'em at all.

Now, I've got another problem. I have a nice Sunpak flash setup (potato masher, HV battery pack, etc.) for the old AE1P that I'd hoped I could use. It looks like a no–go. I shoulda known better. Now I'm on a hunt for a flash for less than $400.

[GuyMcBeerdrinker]

nice camera.

now, nordstrom's in alaska? now I've heard everything...

[Jwrussell]

Sweet! I SO want a digital SLR at some point. I'll have to sell both of my current cameras...of course I'll probably only get enough to cover the cost of the storage media for the new camera! LOL.

[Hambo]

Damn... 8+ megapixel is pretty hardcore. I'm more of a point and shoot kind of guy. Photography can get to be a pretty serious hobby. I'm sure I will get more into it someday. Congratulations!

[PetersCreek]

Guy—What? Do you think we live in igloos, or somethin'?

JW—Hang in there. The prices are bound to come down some more, although probably not as fast as the used to. The nice thing about this camera, is that it takes Compact Flash II memory. I already had a few cards on hand and it's gettin' cheaper and faster all the time.

[GuyMcBeerdrinker]

What? Do you think we live in igloos, or somethin'?

actually, yes I do. do me a favor, next time you are out checking the trotlines, and the ice hole...bag me a penguin will you?

[Jwrussell]

JW—Hang in there. The prices are bound to come down some more, although probably not as fast as the used to. The nice thing about this camera, is that it takes Compact Flash II memory. I already had a few cards on hand and it's gettin' cheaper and faster all the time.

Yep, I've been watching that! I'll be looking for something that takes CF as that's what I have now. I've already noticed that the digital SLRs in the 3-5 MP range are starting to look affordable so I'm not losing hope. Personally, I have trouble with the idea that anything can be that much better than the 3MP pics I've taken and printed. I mean that's awesome resolution right there, so the 8MP, must just be insane.

[joshua]

8MP allows you to do larger prints as well as giving you the flexibility of cropping a photo and still being able to have a good print out of it. A lot of people have that 20D and love it. Did it in a kit with a lens or just the body?

[PetersCreek]

actually, yes I do. do me a favor, next time you are out checking the trotlines, and the ice hole...bag me a penguin will you?

Guy, Guy, Guy — Your geography stinks, my friend! Bag you a penguin? I'm not planning a trip to the South Pole anytime soon. Trotlines are mostly a Southern thing and are rarely used or even legal up here. I haven't run one since I lived in Louisiana. Up here, I guess the equivalent would be dip nets, gill nets, and fish wheels...which I don't do. I don't ice fish much, either. I'm more of a trout bum. I look kinda foolish standing back a few yards trying to cast a Hare's Ear Nymph into an 8" hole in the ice.

JW — I think the sweet spot right now is at 5–6MP with the bargains being down around 3MP. My old digital, now more than 2 years old, has a 3MP sensor. Although it offers software interpolation to 6MP, it's still not really a 6MP camera. But, I get great-looking 5x7 prints with no problem.

The MPs you need will depend upon what you want/plan/might do with your camera...and how much you're willing to pay for it.

The 20D is in a different class altogether. I've seen prints up to 11x14 from it that are pretty much indistinguishable from film prints...at least from a couple of feet away. That said though, 8MP isn't really that big of a jump from a true 6MP. It's only a gain of one-third, where 6MP is obviously a two-fold improvement over 3MP. The extra 2MP may not be worth the extra megabucks to you unless you also want the other features and performance a camera like the 20D offers. I did.

Joshua — Mine came with a run-of-the-mill Canon 17-55 (35mm, 27-88 equivalent) f3.5–5.6 zoom. I picked up a third party 70-300 the same day. Nothing fancy but it's acceptable for now. The really nice glass will have to come later. I would like to fill that small hole with something on the order of 35-105, though. Then true macro lenses...extension tubes...ring flash...yadayadayada...

[PetersCreek]

Allan asked for pics and I thought this one might be worthy...



Taken this weekend at Knik River, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Alaska.

[Poni]

very nice. daughter, wife?