Heath Ledger...Totally Dead

I nearly choked on my English muffin when I read that. Seriously? Like, Heath Ledger? Dead? Sleeping pills? Really? I'm actually stunned.

Baby's First Steps

So the new camera is awesome and playing with it is sort of like doing homework except fun. Thanks to Pete, I now have a general understanding of my aperature and shutter speed and how they relate to one another and how they can be manipulated for more interesting images. I also played with the metering to get an idea of how the camera was measuring light in different metering modes and--to my surprise--I could actually see the difference in each setting. Pretty basic stuff but it feels good to be slowly learning about my new toy. The real trick is going to be figuring out how to put all this information together once I've learned it and manipulating all that ish to make cool photos. Blah.

But I'm already pretty sure I want to pick up a Raynox 250 conversion lens to do way cooler macros. The flickr group devoted to the Lumix FZ50 has a bunch of pictures up of people that have used it and the results are really super stunning. Very oooh and ahhh.

I also want to figure out how to play with my in camera picture adjustment tools. But one thing at a time I suppose.

So here's some of the pictures I've taken while just fooling around with the camera. They're not awesome or anything but they're what I have so far.

Tree bark.

Terminator.

Terminator down.

TEETH!

Creepo painting lady.

Look at that face. He's begging for food. Again.

Post-food concerned face.

Done and Done

I ordered a camera. After much pondering I decided to go with the Lumix. Emily's right, the lens quality alone justifies the cost. To get a very basic DSLR body and a smiliar quality lens, I'd be looking at a much heftier investment. I paid for 2 day shipping so it ought to be here in time for me to spend my weekend learning how to use it. Hooray!

Camera Decisions

I need a new camera. My regular, non-digital point and shoot is about to die and I'm finally feeling like I'm read to take the plunge to digital. But if I'm going to go digitial then I'd rather spend some actual money and get a camera that takes pretty choice photos and that forces me to learn how to actually use it to get those really choice photos. Plus, I have a hunch that if I had a good camera I'd be super into it.

But should I go with a sort of entry-level DSLR or some kind of superzoom DSLR-like camera? Would I even use the options available to me with a DSLR? But at the same time, don't I want options, especially if a superzoom is about the same price as a low-end DSLR?

Here's the cameras I'm looking at so far.

Superzooms

Canon S3 IS

Price: $279.00
It's only 6MP and I was thinking 8 sounded more like a number I could get behind. Why? I've arbitrarily decided that 8MP is the amount that will create good photos. 6MP is clearly too small and 10MP is so big that you're likely just creating an image that takes up more space without sufficiently improving in image quality over 8MP.

Canon S5 IS

Price: $319.00

The S5 is, from what I've read, the S3 but with 8MP. However, from some reviews I've heard that the image quality, especially when pushing the zoom to its limit, is much degraded from the S3. So...maybe the next, more costly generation isn't always better.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50S

Price: $465.88

This guy is really pushing the limit in terms of price. I mean, it's not DSLR but it's sure as crap priced as one. Plus...the reviewers on CNET seem to think that the way cheaper S3 is a better superzoom. Then again, some user reviews say the exact opposite. Hmm.

DSLR

Canon Digital Rebel XT

Price: $469.99 w/lens kit

The reviews on this guy are pretty much always positive. Good image quality, not as heavy as some DSLRs, and--most importantly--a user friendly camera that lends itself to the new DSLR user. Woo!

As you can see, I only have one option picked out if I go the DSLR route. I'm open to suggestions and comments. So yeah, if you know anything about cameras...feel free to share.

Excellent Photo Blog

If you haven't visited it yet, check out http://www.shorpy.com/. Shorpy has a huge collection of photos from the past hundred years...many of them, like the one below, from WV.



Lunch time at Morgantown Glass Works.

Giant Tumors

Before this guy started having operations, his tumors weighed about 50 lbs. Now that he's had some removed they're down to about 22 lbs. Dang.

I'm back. Sorta. Kinda.

I spent an awesome week in WV. Then I came back here and had an amazing new year's and then I promptly got a raging case of strep throat.

So yeah, I was supposed to go back to work on Friday but instead I woke up all shivery and sweaty in my bed. I got dressed and called work to say I was going to the doctor. When I got to the doctor I was all like, "Hey, doctor, I think I have strep throat and an ear infection." And the doctor was all, "When did this start?" And I was like, "Yesterday." And he was like, "Well, it may be too soon to diagnose it." And I was like, "Just have a look." So he did and of course I was right. My right ear was super infected and my glands were swollen and my throat was red and gross and he detected a "puss-like smell that's associated with strep." Mmmm...lunch.

I called work to tell them I wasn't coming in and then made my way to the pharmacy for the meds to make my life better. When I got home it was only 9:30 am. I put Buffy in the DVD player, took some NyQuil, and laid on the couch where I promptly fell asleep. I woke up periodically to take my temperature (102 degrees) or change DVDs but otherwise I slept all day until it was 11:30 pm. Then I got up and went to bed. Woo!

I hate strep. A bunch. And I get it and earaches pretty flipping often. Totally sucks. But what made me mad this time is that I was really looking forward to my Friday night. I had already spent a few days just laying around the house and I was tired of that ish. I had plans to hang out with someone that's really cool and that I enjoy hanging out with. But instead I had to tell him that I had strep and was currently contagious and ask if we could delay our plans until Saturday. But still...I will not be at my usual level of awesome today. I'll be fit to hang out with but I'll be way less interesting and exuberant than normal.

The one bit of good news I have is that Kanye West loves playing Connect four. Crazy...but totally true.