Thoughts on Buying a New Camera

I've been really struggling with the thought of buying a new camera for what seems like years now. I'm currently using a point and click 5.1 megapixel superzoom steady shot camera, the Sony DCH-1. While it is a decent camera for what it is, a "family" camera, I've got whispering thoughts of advancing my hobby a little to something more substantial.

I have a couple of friends (one of whom I believe reads this blog/ diary, HI JENN!) for whom I have SERIOUS lense envy. They use Canons. For the life of me I don't know the funky letter/digit code in the name, but I believe that both cameras fall in the realm of 9-10 mega pixels, Digital SLR, and they have plenty of lense joy to go around for everyone. :) For them, photography is a true passion, not just a hobby. Both their works are truly genius, with their cameras, I feel, adding to the quality of their combined works. The joy of being able to take finished work right off of the camera, something I haven't truly had ever, must be mind blowing. Both of them, along with another good friend, took pictures at my wedding last fall and I have to say we were truly blessed by their good nature for having done so for us. Some of the shots they took were amazing, and something my nice family camera just wouldn't be able to do.

I look at this more and more each day. I have lots of fun taking pictures with my camera already. I've taken approximately 15000 shots in the past 3 and a half years with it. One can lean either way, honestly. I feel a little left behind in my camera club because of it, but to warrant spending 500 to 1000 dollars on something like that I better darned well be willing to get something MORE out of it than what I know I can get from what I have now. I've tossed around the idea of doing some wedding photography. That would be a lot of fun, but I think I'd have to actually go buy a tie to wear to said events. To spell that out a little better, I don't even know how to "tie" a tie. :P

If it were just a matter of the money, I'd gladly go out and buy a fantastic camera. But, where I'm new in a home, where we need renos, where we need a new washer (not a new dryer, THANK YOU GREAT NAN IN LAW!!!) , it makes it a hard sell on the wife to get something like this. I tried at Christmas to get everyone to chip in with future shop bucks to get one, but I ended up getting a vacuum cleaner. :S Exciting, yes.

I have to be honest with myself for now I believe and stick with what I have. I just don't have the dough or make enough of it to justify it. :(

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Little or no gaming the past couple of nights, as I've been busy doing other things. I was trying to do a gamerscore romp, but it ended up with me saying "What the hell am I playing Ben 10 for???" and I stopped almost immediately. I did land 850 points froma rather enjoyable game of baseball though. Check out MLB 2k6 if you want a CHEAP and enjoyably well built game of baseball.

C