New Toy

I have been fighting the urge to update my existing digital camera with a digital SLR camera since I first signed up for the Photography course about 6 months ago. I had convinced myself that my little 'point and shoot' would suffice. Until, that is, I actually started the course. It quickly became apparent that in order to really learn about different shooting techniques and camera settings we were all going to need the use of a digital SLR as well as a 35mm film SLR camera.

The college have a few which they loan out, but because we are at the bottom of the pile, in so far as we are a once-a-week evening class, we cannot have them on permanent loan for the period of the course, but have to sign them out for a week at a time. I figured right off that creativity does not sit comfortably with enforced time frames of a week here and there.

The other option was to borrow one from a friend who was trusting enough to loan out their expensive equipment. In this scenario, I was lucky enough to be offered the loan of both the 35mm and the digital SLR's. I nervously took possession of the film camera before the course began, but the digital was not so forthcoming. The lender needed to use it on a trip away during the first week that we were required to take a series of shots for a project, so I began to wonder if I could justify buying my own.

I have always been a bit backwards in coming forwards when it comes to spending a large sum of money on myself. I have no problem spending it on other people, or the house. I think the difficulties I have with spending on myself, particularly when it is for pleasure, stem from the years of financial hardship I endured in the early years of my marriage when I had a young family and rarely enough money to clothe and feed them. I would always go without so that I could afford to provide for them as best I could, and this involuntary reaction became so ingrained in my nature, that I sometimes have difficulty in putting myself at the top of the list occasionally now

At christmas time I usually receive a bonus in my salary, which varies in amount and is dependant on how well the company has performed during the previous year. This, I decided, is what I would use to buy my camera, although I thought it would be better to buy it now from our savings and put it back from my bonus; no sense in waiting until my course was a third of the way through if I was buying it anyway!!

So I spoke to G, and asked if he minded me doing that. He was very dis-interested at first, which I found a little disconcerting. He said "why buy one when you can borrow one?" I explained that I really wanted to be able to use it in London this week and I couldn't borrow one til next week. His next reply was "Why don't you wait for the sales in January?" Hrrumph. He didn't seem to be getting the point. If I was going to spend a great deal of money on a good quality camera, why miss half the course before I bought it?

Finally he relented "OK, if you really must have one now, but you have just spoilt my surprise for your birthday. I wanted to get you something special as it's your 40th!" lol, trust me. So we agreed that we would go and look, after researching on the internet and choose a camera, and that he would buy it for me as an early birthday present!











And here it is.

It's a Canon EOS 400D + a 75-300mm zoom lens which came half price if purchased with the camera.

I am just waiting for my compact flash card to arrive which I ordered from an online store and I'm fit to go. I hope to be able to take some amazing shots in London later in the week.