Mother's Day

As you might be aware, when it comes to projects, I'm not exactly the most timely or quick person around. And despite the monumentalism of May 12 (Joanne's first Mother's Day), I didn't quite have her grand present ready/purchased--a DSLR camera. In my defense, I did share with her my idea for a gift a couple of weeks beforehand, which she appreciated, but I/we dawdled on doing the necessary research. So Mother's Day came and went without anything wrapped prettily in a box. It was about that time that we finally got on the ball about looking into what best fit our needs/wants. Just after all the Mother's Day sales ended.

Actually, that's not true. Sony had the A200 and A300 with 2 lens kits heavily discounted through May 19th, and Nikon (still) has a sale on 2 lens kits for the D40 and D60. But my previous research/awareness was that when it comes to cameras, you buy the best Canon you can afford, so that's where my research started.

Funny thing, though. Camera reviews are unreadable. Or at least they are unreadable to non-photographers. 20 pages of comparison shots with very minute differences. Discussions of features you didn't know you need, but in reading about them, afraid not to have. Realizing that to make the best use of an SLR, you should know how aperture, ISO, and shutter speed (among other things) interact to get the picture you want than what the camera gives you. Trying to figure out if features like 3200 ISO, live view or 5 frames per second is really needed. Or if it's better to have image stabilization in the lens (supposedly better quality) or in the camera body (supposedly cheaper lenses). And that's not even touching the issue that what matters most are the lenses. A good camera, afterall, will reveal the weaknesses of a bad lenses, just like a good sound system will reveal the weaknesses of a bad recording.

Taking all this into account, we took the approach of looking for the best deal (having just missed out on the last batch) and finally got around to actually taking a look at the cameras. When we did that, we both found the Canon Rebels to be uncomfortable--the grips were tiny and the interface was lacking a bit compared to the Nikon (Joanne liked the Sony as well). The Canon 40D, a step up from the Rebels was too extravagant, but the Canon 30D was generally available used/refurbished at a price competitive with the Sonys, Nikon D60 or the Canon XTi. Even before we missed the window of opportunity for the Sony (A300 plus 18-70; 70-300 lenses for $600), the 30D was my favorite because it seemed to offer the fewest compromises: reasonable cost, no bloated picture size (I viewed its 8mp a good thing, not bad), extra features of Canon's prosumer line, and Canon lens availability as all good things.

But there was 2 negatives. First, the weight. It's magnesium body weighs quite a bit more than a Rebel or Nikon, and it's quite a bit bigger. Some believe, though, that the extra weight can be a benefit by providing a better balance when telephoto lens are attached. Second, when I asked Megan about it, she said "that's a better camera than I have" (she has 2 20Ds), so we thought we perhaps were getting more than we needed (or even overstepping our bounds).

She came over one day to let us check out the 20D, and soon after Joanne took another look at the other options at a Best Buy. After time holding, checking out the interface, looking at the condition of the demo models (as a sign of durability), she agreed that the 30d looked to be the best option. Next came trying to find a deal.

We already missed out on one prime opportunity. A woman listed a full kit for $500 on Craig's List. I called about it, but didn't hear anything. The ad stayed up, and I convinced Joanne to call on it as well, as it was a price too good to pass up (this was before we decided for sure it was the camera we wanted). Joanne spoke with her and found out that Kate, the seller, had received a number of calls, mostly from men, many rude, so she just decided to follow up with the first woman who called. Which made Joanne second in line if that fell through. It didn't.

Adorama sells refurbished kits for $650, which was the fall back option. Ebay prices seemed to be between $530-600, so I started tracking auctions. Last Saturday (the 24th), an auction was winding down. A 30D with a lens far superior to the kit lens was being sold by a Las Vegas pawn shop. It was missing a fair number of kit items (manual, some cables, software cd), but it was over $100 less than what I expected it to go for with under 5 minutes left. Joanne said sure put in a bid if I didn't think it would go for that low. So I put in a bid with a minute left (which was about 10 minutes after I made the comment "maybe we shouldn't even get an SLR" after Joanne made a comment about the convenience of not having that many lenses, a reflection of her leaning, at the time, to getting a Nikon D40 and the two lens kit (18-55 and 55-200)).

As might be expected to maintain karmic balance in the world, our impulsiveness led to shopping victoriously, but we were a little surprised we did so. Joanne was fine in the aftermath, but I started to have doubts. THe missing accessories weren't a huge deal, with only the software disc being an issue. What concerned me the most (but only after we won) was the missing body cap for the camera, meaning perhaps a dusty (or damaged) sensor and that the camera would be shipped with the lens attached. The other concern was that the camera came with only those things that one would take on a vacation--meaning that it was hocked by a gambler. This could go two ways--the camera could be lightly used; or it could be not well taken care of because, well, it's just a camera (I suppose both might apply). Concern continued to mount when the seller was a less responsive in responding to emails than would be considered optimal. The sales ad noted they would ship within seven days of receiving payment (which meant it wouldn't arrive before Joanne's trip up to Flag), and they sure did use that entire window, but they never did send a shipped notice.

Anywho, that's kind of a long winded way of saying "I got Joanne a DSLR for mother's day, and it arrived today". And only days after our other accessories, including the "nifty fifty" arrived.

We are now proud to present some of the pictures taken on day 1 of the Camera, or what will henceforth be known as "Owen in 30D":


Camera info:

• To purchase: Amazon, B&H or Adorama
• Canon gear reviews: The Digital Picture
• Nikon gear reviews: Thom Hogan
• Lens reviews: FredMiranda.com
• Discussion forum: Digital Photography Review
• General reviews: DP Review and Steve's Digicams
• Third party batteries: Diamondback Batteries