DSLR shopping (done)
¶ by Rob Friesel
Well, gentle readers, yesterday I wrapped up the hemming and hawing and took the DSLR plunge. Motivated in part by the impending baby and in part by a good Memorial Day Sale deal, I picked up a Canon XTi.
A. & I ventured out yesterday to hit a couple of stores and try our luck with the advertised sales and their not-always-advertised deals. The main objective was to get a little bit more hands-on play time with the front-running models (i.e., the Nikon D60 and the Canon XTi) and shore up the decision. I had found a couple of good deals online (Amazon.com to the rescue) but figured by the time we factored in shipping, there was a chance I would spent about the same amount at a brick-and-mortar store. Plus (as mentioned above) the last thing I wanted to do was commit to one without having had another chance to get a feel for the controls.
Our first stop was out of the XTi but we did spend a few minutes with a D60. After about 10 minutes screwing around, I decided that the D60 would be acceptable but there was something unfamiliar about the controls and the icons that bugged me out. We left there and moved on to store #2. They had both the XTi and the D60 in stock but neither camera was sold “body-only” — so that combined with the lack of 50mm primes combined with the less-than-great sale price… We moved on.
Store #3… Well, they took care of us. The price was right, the sales person was knowledgeable and friendly and candid. And though they carried neither a body-only kit nor the 50mm prime… Well, she convinced me. I’m glad I went ahead with it:
Left on the to-do list? The kit lens is a great starter, I think but everyone keeps bringing up that fast 50mm prime. Oh… And does anyone have a recommendation on a good “backpack style” camera bag?
Special thanks out to Chris, John, and Justin for their feedback, recommendations, and tips.
Leave a Reply