After being rewarded with a bonus at work I decided to get a digital camera because I had wanted one for a while (my excuse was I was going to use it to make photo references for artwork - but we all know it's just a really cool toy). I had been looking into an affordable price range of about $300 for a few months, but never really talked myself into buying one. The bonus was so unexpected that I decided immediately to spend part of it on a digital camera. I poked around online and found some reviews and got myself familiar with the terminology and some good brands. I had two in mind (Epson and Nikon) when I went shopping. I visited at least six stores - never found hide nor hair of an Epson, and only one store carried the Nikon brand (two models - coolpix 800 and coolpix 950). Of course, the cheaper 800 was $300 more than I had planned on spending. But oooh, 2.11 megapixels!!
I went home wanting the Nikon 800 very much and feeling unhappy about buying only a 1 megapixel camera in general, but unsure if I really wanted to spend all of my bonus when I had planned to use some of the money for other things. I went online and checked out some more reviews. Everybody seemed to really like both Nikon models, though some thought it was too complicated and the customer service sucked. It took me two hours to convince myself that paying $600 for a nice camera with lots of features was better than spending $300 on a mediocre model that I would eventually outgrow.
So I went back to the camera store and bought the coolpix 800. I could have bought it online for less, but I didn't want the hassle of online return policies if the camera arrived broken or damaged. Plus I was able to add a service plan at the store so I don't have to worry about dropping and breaking it for the next year. It's worth $40 to not have to worry about having a $600 paperweight.
Those of you who I've emailed have no doubt heard me whining about work and how currently I have to work weekends for a bit. I bought the camera right before I went to work so I'd have something to entertain me since I'm basically babysitting the computer. Boy, am I glad I did.I was nervous after I bought the camera because I didn't know if it would really be worth twice the money I was originally going to spend. I hate buying bum products and having to return them. After I'd played with the camera for an hour and probably taken 30 pictures I was no longer nervous. I was having too much fun. I'm very pleased with the quality of the images (these were all resized from 1600x1200 pixels saved on the 'basic' (lowest) setting - and I might add under the stupid office flourescent lights without the flourescent compensation setting). Then I started playing with the options and I was even happier. Now I'm thrilled to have such a nice camera and I can't wait to play with it some more! No film! No processing! Woo hoo! It might be a darn expensive toy, but how else could I take 60 pictures and only wait a few minutes to play with them?
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How the heck does this thing work? Thank god this is a reduced size or you could see the boogers in my nose. |
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I think I like this! |
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Please note that 1. I buy boots with kicking people in mind and 2. I do actually kick people with them. Yes, that is my desk and I am lying on the floor. |
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I REALLY think I like this! |
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Workplace fun with rubber bands and the timer function. The pencil is stuck in my hair, not my head. Really. |
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My sister's new tattoo. It's on her back hip. My parents call her "bird-butt". |
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My parents. (Who were quite impressed with the no-film concept.)
That pretty much explains everything right there. |
