Digital Camera Search Part One

Lately I've been given the opportunity to buy a new digital camera. I've had several, which were honestly all impulse purchases, but this time I get to shop for one.

Circa 1998 was a Logitech B&W camera, held 32 pictures, and you lost the pix if the batteries wore down completely. Until I got new batteries, I was taking 32, rushing home, downloading, and rushing back. Ugly as sin were those B&W "photos", measuring a massive 376x284 - in today's parlance, that's a tenth of a megapixel.

Shortly thereafter, a helluva deal came my way in the form of a Casio QV10A color camera. A whopping 320x240, this one was even less at .07 megapixel (is that 70 millipixels?), but at least it was color.

Around 2000 I knew someone who had a bit more disposable income than I who had bought an Olympus D460L - a whole megapixel, and able to suck in so much light that I just had to have one, but alas, not just yet. For it was about that time that NMHP came along and issued cameras to all the groups. That camera was another Olympus model, the D360L, and was my companion for the next couple of years.

Around 2002, I had acquired some extra cash and found my next camera - on sale somewhere - an Olympus D490Z. Two megapixels, and just as much light-gathering capability as the other two I'd played with. I still have this one.

More disposable income later, I threw caution to the wind and plunked down several hundred greenbacks for my first serious digital camera, the Olympus C5050Z. Oh my God. What a camera. These babies were in a class all by their lonesome. We'd reached the big time with five megapixels! I still have this one too, but it threw a fit about a year and a half ago - look for a later post on digital camera repair.

As a stop-gap, I got a Kodak consumer camera. At seven megapixels you'd think it would be better than the old five megapixel, but don't go there. Suffice to say it gets me by.

So... Marilee and I just re-financed the house, and I get to buy a new camera. dSLR or ProSumer (love that word)? Expensive or really expensive? So I've been shopping - online, of course. And since I can no longer run down to CompUSA to actually hold one, it'll be even harder to choose. Oh, I could go down to Pictureline and handle the gamut (then buy elsewhere of course) or take my chances weight un-hefted. Don't think so.

All I want is something that fits nicely in my hand, not too heavy, has a hot-shoe, takes SD cards, easy to carry, and passes muster from Marilee, since she won't let me buy a cheap camera. Gotta love her.