My New Camera Story

So it wasn’t very long after I got my Canon Powershot Point-and-Shoot last fall, and after I started my “A Year in Pictures” project that I started thinking about upgrading my equipment. I knew I was learning stuff about photography, but there was a limit to what I could do with a point-and-shoot, and each new photoblogger I read kept pushing me towards an SLR, or Single Lens Reflex camera, for those of you that haven’t been obsessively researching cameras lately.

Anyway, sometime early this year I decided that I was going to get a SLR. it would be a big purchase, but I was having a good year with work, and it was an investment I wanted to make.

And then Doyce got laid off.

I knew that the smart thing to do was not spend over a thousand dollars on a new camera, when I’d just got one a few months before. But I made myself a promise — when Doyce got a new job, I would get a new camera.

Well, on Monday, Doyce started a new job. And after spending the weekend reading Through the Gadling Lens articles on photography, and researching cameras on dpreview.com, I was ready to take the next step as well. I knew a few things that were on my wish list besides the obvious (an SLR), such as a rechargeable battery, and the opportunity to use any lenses I bought now or in the future with any additional upgrades I might make. Beyond that, I had the rough idea of a price point, and a sense that I’ve loved all the Canons I’ve owned in the past. Since it seemed like Canon and Nikon were tied in approval ratings from most photographers I followed, I was leaning towards the familiar, but I was open to conversation on the merits of either.

I knew Amazon could help me out and, in fact, had put a camera, lens, and camera bag on my wishlist there already. But I wanted to hold my new camera in my hands before I handed over my credit card, so I hit the stores.

I hate Hate HATE Best Buy, so I steered clear of there, and any general electronics store. There’s two camera stores on Broadway in Englewood/Littleton, not too far from us, so I hit Wolf Camera first, only because it was furthest away, and the one I hadn’t been in previously. If you can believe it, the parking lot was even more empty than in the picture linked, as was the store. Still, that meant I got all the service I could want when I walked in and told the salesguy I was looking at buying my first SLR, and I wanted to see my options.

He immediately led me over to the Nikons, even though I stated that I was leaning towards a Canon. Turns out, Wolf (or at least that store) doesn’t carry Canons, and the guy did his best to persuade me towards a Nikon. Now, as I said, I had no objection to Nikons, but I wanted all my options available to me. Meantime, the guy told me how Canon was bad at this, and did this other thing not as well, and they changed their lens mounts twice in the last 30 years. Twice!

But basically, the Nikons he showed me were in the same range as the Canons I’d seen — your entry level SLRs; the next step up, for the so-called pro-sumer; and the super expensive cameras for the pros. I knew my target was an entry level SLR, but I didn’t mind going towards the top of that range. As for Nikons — well, yeah, they seemed fine, but I didn’t love the salesguy’s attitude, and I didn’t want to buy the only option they had available. Also, while they touted a trade-in option for camera purchases, it was basically pitched as “if you buy a camera here this week for $800, and want a new one next week, we’ll give you about $80 on your old camera.”

So I headed up to Englewood Camera a few blocks away, where I’d previously done some browsing. The sales guy there (Evan) got the same spiel from me as to my reasons for being there, and walked me over to the new camera sales case to answer my question. I was the first person to mention Canon as my preference, and unlike the other guy, Evan didn’t try to convince me that all other brands were bad, or even that Canon was the best. He listened to what I wanted, what I’d learned myself on dpreview.com, and talked up the Canon EOS Rebel T2i as the latest and greatest in Canon’s line for amateur photographers not willing to be pro-sumers, with the associated costs (double the price for the base, to begin with). But he also offered the previous model Rebel, and brought up a side-by-side comparison of the T2i and the previous two models, so I could see what each one offered.

And then I got to hold it, and it was so light! And it fit so nicely in my hand.

And sure, I knew I could go home, get on Amazon, and order whatever I wanted, but I decided to buy the T2i then and there, and gain the benefit of not only a store purchase (in my hands immediately, rather than having to wait for shipping), but the reputation of the store behind it, which came with a free two-hour class on my new camera, 100 free prints, and a VIP membership for all other photo processing needs.

I walked out with my new Canon, which came with a kit lens of 18-55mm, with apertures ranging from 1:3.5 to 5.6, as well as fixed lens of 55mm, with an aperture of up to 1.8. Which, I’m slowly learning, means as opposed to the kit lens, the fixed lens can open several times wider, to let in even more light. I also got two UV filters, one for each lens. In combo with a faster shutter speed, I’m well on my way to getting even better shots! Plus, the T2i can allow picture taking up to 3.5 frames per second on continuous shooting mode, for real action shots.

So far, I love it! I’m reading The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Photography Essentials, and trying to learn more, but otherwise, I’m just experimenting with lots of shots. I think my pictures of the day are getting better — today I had two people comment separately that they could see a difference in my last few pictures, and I have a feeling the Third Quarter Extras set on Flickr is going to be expanding exponentially!

I’m already planning my next purchases, too — a Gorillapod, a lens hood, and a lens in the 100mm range for telephoto shots. And I can’t wait to test things out at Paula & Keeley’s wedding next weekend, and on my vacation at the Jersey Shore later this month!