Let's Talk Digital
Let me be frank... I have been trying to post some stuff for a loooong time... Now finally I have managed to start with my favorite topic - Digital.
Every since I bought my first Nikon Coolpix Digitial Camera in 2003, I have been so fascinated about Digital technology and mainly Digital Photography. I was amazed with the performance of the 2MP small guy. The prints were really clear and crisp. I used it on a couple of trips and then finally gifted it to my sister and BIL. It has now become their latest gadget back in India!
This year I bought a Canon Powershot A80, a 4Mp beauty. Loaded with a lot of features it is a photographer's delight. It comes with 2 custom modes C1 & C2. I usually set one for indoor and the other for outdoor. I was debating whether to buy the Canon G2/G3 or the A80 and finally found the A80 with all good features from the G2. It is a nice little compact point & shoot camera and easy to carry on vacations and road trips. The AA NimH battery lasts for atleast a couple of weeks/500 pictures. The camera uses a CF card which is very less expensive these days.
The A70 model which was the Predecessor of the A80 was the topseller of 2003. I personally recommend the A70 to a couple of my friends. After a couple of months later the A80 was released, Canon came out with new models such as the Powershot S1 IS, A75, A85 and the A95. At one point I was thinking of selling my A80 and going for the Powershot S1 IS. I posted my questions on my favourite forum www.dpreview.com and finally concluded that it was not worth to sell the 4MP A80 for a 3.2MP Powershot S1 IS.
I have shot hundreds of pictures using y A80 and I just love it! The one thing I would like to have a add-on is a zoom-lens which would come in very handy.
On a number of trips, I observed people carrying very less film cameras and more of digital cameras. I guess the prices have dropped so much that more and more people are getting used to digital photography. There is no usuage of films and they are very cheap to print. Once you take a picture, you can
- Modify/Enhance using Photoshop.
- Order prints online.
- E-mail pictures to friends/family.
- Print personally from Kiosks in various stores like Walmart/Wolf Camera.
Digital pictures cost as low as 19cents per printout these days at places like Costco and Sams Club.
There are now a lot of 3 megapixels and 4 megapixels out there in the market now at very very less price. The latest Canon Poweshot A95 (5 MP) now costs as low as $339 a little more than my A80 which I bought for $324 this year in February.
After having played with point and shoot cameras, I stumbled upon the Nikon D70. Man, this is THE CAMERA I would like to have someday. Nikon is one of the major pioneers in optics. I would close my eyes and buy any Nikon camera. My co-worker Dean & VP Marc Konik are great fans of the Nikon. They own equipments which is one of the best I have ever seen. Their latest gadget - D70.
Any photographer who wants to learn more would durely choose the D70. Dean has been pushing me to get the D70 for a couple of months now. Unfortunately, I cannot afford a $1000 camera now. But I would love to have it someday!
One thing that I noticed in the apst few months is that, my camcorder and Minolta SLR camera are now sleeping in my closet being totally ignored. Before I bought my digital camera, I used to carry the camcorder and the SLR in my camcorder bag like a separate luggage on all my trips. Now my A80 can take both digital pictures and a decent quality MPEG movie. So I just carry my digital camera alone on my trips.
Speaking of trips, I haven't done any lately. Fall Season is coming near and I should hopefully be making a trip to Smokies where I hope to shoot as much as I can.
