buying a camera

I've been doing some research over the past couple of months on Digital SLR's, as I'm keen to buy one to get creative on our trip .. or at least take some photos with it. Mum has always taken beautiful photos on her SLR, and I really enjoyed using SLR in high school photography and other times that I've had the chance to use one. The added benefits of digital will be perfect for capturing and (deleting and trying again, then) downloading images to Hank's iPod, to CD and to this blog. After searching on choice.com.au I was originally keen on the Canon EOS350D, and I was lucky to meet an owner who let me use hers ~ I was soon smitten.

I was all but sold on the 350D, but went into a retail store to do a bit of asking around as well. The guy there thought I'd be better suited to an Olympus E500, which was very similar in specs, but also has a built-in dust reduction system and needs fewer lenses to cover a greater range. Seeing as we'll be in a range of environments, and having to carry the weight of an SLR, these were definitely benefits that had appeal.

The main thing that I wasn't keen on with the Olympus, though, was that the start-up time (between turning on the camera and being able to take a shot) felt like ages, whereas the Canon's is instant (practically). I felt that this would be something that would annoy me when it came to taking 'spontaneous' photos. I won't want to keep the camera on, as it will waste battery when not in use, but if I have it set on auto, I'd like a camera to be ready to take a quick shot of something when I do want to use it.

I did some more reading on dpreview.com, and was still dreaming about the Canon, when I read that they were about to bring out another model ~ the EOS400D ~ which had fixed up some problems of the 350D, and includes the cleaning system similar to the Olympus.

Well, now there's no swaying me. I like the look of the Canon; it's familiar to me because Hank's had a compact digital of theirs for about 5 years; and it's still in the price range that I expected to pay. The only other thing that could make it a better decision would be in reducing the weight of the lenses. I'll just not complain too much on those long treks ...

I really wanted to buy it for my birthday which is at the end of this month but if I wait, and buy it within a month of us leaving, I can get the duty-free tax amount back. That makes good sense. I'll be able to use that saving to buy another battery and extras, and I'll still have a month to play with it and get use to handling it before we leave...but I just have to endure the extra month wait before buying it!