the old and new

(fyi: the camera i used to take pictures of my new camera is my old--i like to call it my grandfather camera, it's so old and crotchety, it tells me when it wants to take pictures or not!-- canon. thankfully the new one has no strange tints and it works, everytime!)




i am a smart consumer, especially when i make big purchases. and by big, i mean anything above 50 g's. a shout out to the various websites and resources (cnet, trustedreviews and photographyblog) who have made my task of finding a camera easier by summarizing the pros and cons of the different brands and models.

i loved taking pictures with my lumix, however, one of the major drawbacks was the lack of a manual mode. nighttime photos were often flashed out from lack of aperture and shutter control. from this, i decided that there were two priorities when choosing my next camera: 1) it had to be compact enough for easy transport and 2) it had to have manual mode. ooh shiny new buttons! i wanted my new camera to be a good in between from a simple point and shoot and the momma jomma semi-professional cameras.

this morning, i went back to yongsan (think technogadget wondermall) where i browsed panasonic's and canon's offerings. it gave me a headache. deciding on one camera out of a sea of lookalikes can be very draining. so tiring in fact, that when i returned home, i took a 2 hour nap. my brain has worked hard today.

let me begin by saying that technology is impressive. not just with cameras, but with computers, cell phones, robotic limbs, dentures, (random, i know, right?! but it's true!) and cars. the greatest challenge is to find the one the best suits your needs. it's very difficult to not get hooked onto the "latest" or "newest" model since the newest is very quickly equated as the best. but if the "best" doesn't have what you want, then shoooot! it is not the best. i was enticed by the latest lumix model but since it didn't match my qualifications, it was not a contender in the chong camera conquest.

after about 2-3 hours (when i say this place is big, i am not kidding!) of tinkering and contemplation, i narrowed my choices down to 2. i am grateful to my friend chris who accompanied me and helped me remain focused. (hee hee, no pun intended!) in the face of too many options, it's extremely easy to get sidetracked. you begin to wonder, wait...do i want this? or that? and all the cameras start to blend into one indistinguishable mass. my new toy is a canon powershot, A710 IS. it's not the newest by any means, but it has what i want and i am eager to learn and utilize all of its dynamic abilities. i'm excited to share with you what i discover!