I have decided that I want to upgrade my little Canon point and shoot to something a bit nicer for my trip to Europe. My first instinct was to go for the best (entry level) DSLR on the market. But, as I researched the top cameras out there, it became apparent to me that it may be foolish to invest so much money for something that is just a casual passion. I am not looking to make a return on my camera by selling my pictures. I am really not going to be using my pictures for anything other than my own enjoyment (and the enjoyment of my family and friends, of course), and although I love the art of taking pictures and playing around with the settings and effects, it is ultimately not a serious enough hobby to warrant such a purchase. There is also the unappealing thought of lugging a bulky piece of equipment around Europe with me. I would either be wearing this giant thing around my neck or wearing a camera bag, and I know I would always be worrying about bashing my camera into things, and that is definitely not the way I want to spend my time while hopping around Holland, Belgium, and France.
Still, the allure of a "fancy" camera nagged at me. Of course, the big draw with a DSLR is the option of changing lenses. That idea was very attractive to me, until I talked some sense into myself again. Lenses, of course, are one of the main components that make the camera high quality - and they don't come cheap. Lenses are quite often more expensive than the whole camera itself, and unless I am going to make some money on it, or at least get my money's worth out of all these expensive lenses- I really don't see the point.
So, there it is. I talked myself out of purchasing a DSLR....comforted by the fact that I could always get one if I really, really wanted one, and that by that point it would be better than what's on the market today anyway.
Fortunately for me, the more I research, the more I find that the non DSLR cameras are getting to be more and more DSLR quality every day. So, so long Canon Rebel T2i, T3i, and Nikon D5100. I will save the extra hundreds I would have spent on you for a rainy day....or spend it in Europe. ;)
Now that I have decided against a DSLR, I have narrowed my choices down to two cameras; the Canon Powershot SX40 HS, or the Sony Cybershot HX9V. I am seriously torn between these two. The Canon has a staggering 35X optical zoom, and it does allow for filters to be used with the lens. But, it is still pretty bulky and awkward...and the bulkiness was, as mentioned, one of the turn offs for me when I considered the DSLRs. I really don't want to lug the thing around - not just in Europe, but anywhere.
The Sony was brought to my attention by my brother. My brother is one of the smartest guys I know- without being biased and without exaggeration. He, like myself, wants to buy the top of the line in pretty much anything, especially anything tech related. We get this need for superiority from our mom. She always had top of the line - from gadgets, to our Ethan Allen furniture, to our cars, to clothes and so on. She had a couple of extremely expensive Konica Minolta cameras - which we still have, and are still quality, but are obviously antiquated at this point in time, not to mention huge and heavy, but I digress...My brother really knows his stuff, especially where cars (he isn't general manager of a car dealership for nothing) and cameras are concerned, so I value his advice much more than any online reviews. He had recently bought a DSLR and returned it after a little use. The size was an annoyance for him as well. He told me that he had researched and found that the Sony (Sony, by the way actually has bought out Konica Minolta) was among the best on the market - and it was small enough to fit in his pocket! The specs are very close to the Canon. They even use the same CMOS sensor. The HX9V also has a patented panorama technology that allows you to simply sweep the camera from side to side to get an amazing panoramic picture. Also, it has a wide angle lens, like the Canon, which was a big concern for me. The only potential downfall I had with the Sony was that it didn't have as much zoom (which is clearly why it is so much more compact), it does have a really great 16X optical zoom, which is nothing to sneeze at...but obviously it is not as impressive as a 35X optical zoom. As silly as it may be, that is my hang up.
"I want to be able to take pictures of the moon!" I said, to which my brother sensibly replied;
"Jeanine, how many times are you going to take pictures of the moon and how many times are you going to take pictures of friends and family?"
Point taken.
But I never said I was always sensible and rational. I told him that there were at least 20 times in recent memory where I have wanted to take a picture of the moon! ;)
I spoke with Lenny about the choices I was trying to make, including my stubborn, ridiculous hang up on shooting the moon - and he brought up a good compromise, he suggested we get a digital telescope at some point. I promptly looked up prices and images of the moon (and planets) taken from digital telescopes and found that they were pretty friggin' amazing. However, it would not be instant gratification as we most likely wouldn't be getting this digital telescope anytime soon...so, I remain utterly confused about which camera to purchase. I will let you know which one I eventually choose. It's a fun conundrum to have though, isn't it?
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