December 28, 2006

My new Christmas toy. Let me just say up front - gotta give kudos to the folks over at Staples. Forget Circuit City, forget Best Buy. Go right to Staples - they offered the best package price and price-matched (110%) a competitor while the others wouldn’t.

(Updated Jan 7, 2007)

In the relative short time of playing around with the camera, have shot about 400 frames. make that 900+ frames. Obviously, there’s a slight learning curve - am still getting used to the controls, and becoming familiar with the features.

Here’s a handful of samples (click on the thumbnail for full image, compressed for the web - originals were approx. 3.5mb. See the gallery at eScapes for more.):

Observations: Very easy to use, rich in features. Body is lightweight, non-clunky, and the controls are easy to reach and navigate. Picture quality is outstanding, color and saturation - great. Reports I’ve read indicate the kit zoom lens, EF-S 18-55mm f:3.5-5.6 is a dog, but I find it to be pretty versatile for my usage. As well, I picked up a standard 50mm f:1.8, and filter sets for both lens. Plan to play around with other lens in the short-term - including the 70-200mm IS.

Despite the upgrade to the ‘true’ SLRs, I’m not putting away the F828. With the infrared, nightshot, swivel lens, and other features not found in the SLR, the F828 is still the champ in its category. Instead, adding to the extensive digital family: (from the Sony line) - still have some of the first Cybershots (circa 2000, fully pristine and functional - but now relics) -

DSC-S30 ?

the fabled D770 (which provided the basis of design for the future SLRs) ?

and then there’s the granddaddy - F828 ?

And last but not least, a Canon PowerShot A530 acquired last summer to stick in the glovebox for those random ambush P&S quickies). Armed with this assortment, I’m ready to go out and fill my heart’s content with photography. And, as it turns out, seems my son has taken a renewed interest as well, even commenting he may take a photography class next year. Very cool!

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