My new baby and a boast; it can run already...
You know my camera died. (RIP) Well, I am shortly embarking on an annual dirty weekend with my husband (dirty= no kids & plenty of fun in museums, royal palaces, cafes and shopping arcades, not glamping in a field) going to Madrid. We like capital cities and we like taking photos in them, so the race was on to find a new baby for me to carry around.
We went to Curry's and Comet.
Now the organised among you will know that, when looking for a new camera it is good to know what you want. The majority of you will know that life is not like that. We just knew it needed a lens, because all cameras do, that a button to press is good and that as long as it uploads to Photobox it will probably be useful.
As soon as we started looking at cameras, I knew the battle lines were drawn. Could I make do with a small point and press? 3x zoom? No macro facility? Did I really need it to have white exposure facility? A setting for fireworks? A 2gb memory card (extra?)
I have had a point and press and, God bless it, it worked admirably. I have also been frustrated by its inadequacies and the times it just couldn't do what I wanted it to. And, yes, I have to say that blog envy reared its ugly head here. Last year Everyone (Oh! how I dread the days my then-teenagers tell me what Everyone is doing!) was getting a new camera, that giggled and whistled Dixie. I knew I needed a serious piece of kit; if I got the best I could then my photos will be the ne plus ultra (I think that means the best, doesn't it?) the absolute epitome (pronounced epi-tomb) of photographic geniosity. Wouldn't they?
So in the middle of Currys I finally drew up my wish list. No Dixie, but a super zoom, weight immaterial, massive memory (200 on holiday was touch and go, I figured. I needed more), a range of effects to dazzle and annoy my children (No, just do that again, I want to do it in superchrome, too) and a kinky black body to show people that here was no pink or red credit-card-sized-camera wielder, here was a Dedicated shooter (I am, unfortunately, good with guns, more of that another time) who knew her SLR from her DDT.
And the inevitable happened. The money man said no. No in a loud voice. (Not shouting, just loud.) How could I suddenly turn around in a shop and say the £99 camera on offer was not good enough when I had had nothing more for three years? Well, Duh? Progression? I said that I hadn't looked and analysed my needs vs wants to come up with my essential criteria and that, now I had seen what was available at what price I knew that for an input of another £50 to £80 pounds I could have a good camera that would do better portraits, that would have a museum setting (no sound, no flash, Who knew such things existed?) and that would make my scrapbooks (when I get them out again) even better than before.
No. No, said the nasty money man. Did I sulk? Did I stomp off in a temper? No, I did not. I am a mature adult and I knew I would get my own way eventually one way or another (the government owe me £800 in tax; have they rushed to get it to me? No. I exist on the bread line at the moment, living on the charity of my DH and Ma and consequently unable to make the cash input to lift the level ........ but I digress.)
We went to Borders. We bought the magazine. We went on T'internet that night and we discussed options. I needed a better camera for you, dear readers, and Reader, I married him so I knew he would agree eventually. Sense was restored. We looked, we saw, we bought.
And so, here is my baby. Hiro my hero, named after this cute guy who makes Wednesdays fun again.
Hiro has no passport yet, but he does have an impressive 1000 frame memory (hey, I can't even remember breakfast. Oh, yeah, that's coz I haven't had it yet.) and the chunky not so sexy body of a serious power athlete.
And he does work. Expect some seriously picture heavy posts here for a while. That is, if the weather lets me go out. Hiro doesn't respond well to extremes of temperature.
Good, eh?
We went to Curry's and Comet.
Now the organised among you will know that, when looking for a new camera it is good to know what you want. The majority of you will know that life is not like that. We just knew it needed a lens, because all cameras do, that a button to press is good and that as long as it uploads to Photobox it will probably be useful.
As soon as we started looking at cameras, I knew the battle lines were drawn. Could I make do with a small point and press? 3x zoom? No macro facility? Did I really need it to have white exposure facility? A setting for fireworks? A 2gb memory card (extra?)
I have had a point and press and, God bless it, it worked admirably. I have also been frustrated by its inadequacies and the times it just couldn't do what I wanted it to. And, yes, I have to say that blog envy reared its ugly head here. Last year Everyone (Oh! how I dread the days my then-teenagers tell me what Everyone is doing!) was getting a new camera, that giggled and whistled Dixie. I knew I needed a serious piece of kit; if I got the best I could then my photos will be the ne plus ultra (I think that means the best, doesn't it?) the absolute epitome (pronounced epi-tomb) of photographic geniosity. Wouldn't they?
So in the middle of Currys I finally drew up my wish list. No Dixie, but a super zoom, weight immaterial, massive memory (200 on holiday was touch and go, I figured. I needed more), a range of effects to dazzle and annoy my children (No, just do that again, I want to do it in superchrome, too) and a kinky black body to show people that here was no pink or red credit-card-sized-camera wielder, here was a Dedicated shooter (I am, unfortunately, good with guns, more of that another time) who knew her SLR from her DDT.
And the inevitable happened. The money man said no. No in a loud voice. (Not shouting, just loud.) How could I suddenly turn around in a shop and say the £99 camera on offer was not good enough when I had had nothing more for three years? Well, Duh? Progression? I said that I hadn't looked and analysed my needs vs wants to come up with my essential criteria and that, now I had seen what was available at what price I knew that for an input of another £50 to £80 pounds I could have a good camera that would do better portraits, that would have a museum setting (no sound, no flash, Who knew such things existed?) and that would make my scrapbooks (when I get them out again) even better than before.
No. No, said the nasty money man. Did I sulk? Did I stomp off in a temper? No, I did not. I am a mature adult and I knew I would get my own way eventually one way or another (the government owe me £800 in tax; have they rushed to get it to me? No. I exist on the bread line at the moment, living on the charity of my DH and Ma and consequently unable to make the cash input to lift the level ........ but I digress.)
We went to Borders. We bought the magazine. We went on T'internet that night and we discussed options. I needed a better camera for you, dear readers, and Reader, I married him so I knew he would agree eventually. Sense was restored. We looked, we saw, we bought.
And so, here is my baby. Hiro my hero, named after this cute guy who makes Wednesdays fun again.
Hiro has no passport yet, but he does have an impressive 1000 frame memory (hey, I can't even remember breakfast. Oh, yeah, that's coz I haven't had it yet.) and the chunky not so sexy body of a serious power athlete.
And he does work. Expect some seriously picture heavy posts here for a while. That is, if the weather lets me go out. Hiro doesn't respond well to extremes of temperature.
Good, eh?
Whoa, fabulous! I have a hubby who is just the same, but like you, I usually get what I want in the end - lol!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Madrid. We went to Barcelona for my 40th birthday and I got an extra surprise birthday present - Nipper! (But we were trying at the time so it wasn't too much of a surprise!)
What a beautiful new baby!! You are going to have so much fun with it.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos of your little people :)
xxx