I Finally Found the Love of a Lifetime

*sigh*

Isn't she lovely?
Isn't she won-der-ful?
Isn't she precious?
Less than one minute ........

Wait, what am I talking about? Oh yeah, my shiny new camera. (Sorry about the plagiarism there, Stevie Wonder. My bad.)

This pic doesn't do it justice...it was taken with our other slightly less lovely, wonderful, precious camera. Our first foray into the world of digital photography was with a little Samsung pocket-style camera. The pics were okay....a couple of them were really good. My main beef, from day one, was the AA batteries that died after about 15 shots. When I used that camera, I made sure to have an extra pair of batteries in my pocket at all times. Note to self: Future camera MUST have rechargeable batteries OR the purchase price MUST include a lifetime supply of double As. My second beef was the fact that there was no view-finder. In order to take a photo, I had to look at the little 2 inch screen and I haaaaaate that feature. Hello? I need a viewfinder!

Anyway, this particular camera (a digital Canon Rebel EOS XS....more power to you if you actually know what all of that means) has been on the market for several years. When I first spotted it, I think it was priced around $1200. Yikes. Why a Canon, you ask? Our first SLR camera, purchased way back in 1996, was a Canon Rebel. It was easy to use, even for a beginner like me, and took fantastic pictures. It was my faithful companion until we took it on a trip to North Dakota in the spring of 2005, where it abruptly died. I was forced to use our "backup" camera, a little pocket size Canon Elph (do you see a pattern of loyalty here?), until Christmas. Nick bought me a new camera body (my 2 lenses were still in good condition, so he saved money by purchasing just the body). It was still a film camera....the digitals hadn't come down to a good price yet.

I would have been fine with that camera, but using film is becoming more and more of an inconvenience. It's becoming harder to find film to purchase. Harder to find places to develop the film. And harder to justify the cost of the film and developing. Plus, I happen to love taking pictures, so the digital is much more cost effective for me. I can take 20 pictures of the same scene and just delete the ones I don't want.

We had been watching the prices steadily drop on the digital SLR cameras....Eventually, I came to the decision that I'd be happy with Canon or Nikon. As it happened, I opened up the Best Buy flyer on Sunday to see My Beloved on the back cover...it was a reasonably priced package that included a second rechargeable battery and a 75-300mm zoom lens. WHOOPEE!! Nick promptly drove to Best Buy to bring her home.

The kids are starting to think the paparazzi are stalking them (and with the awesome zoom lens, I'm free to take shots of their every nose hair). I've probably taken over 100 pics already. Once I get the software installed, I'll download my pics to share with you. I'm still learning and I'm debating if I should take a photography class to expand my knowledge. So far, I'm very happy with my new toy. The photos are fantastic...sharp color, quick response, rechargeable batteries, AND a viewfinder!

I'm in heaven.