Things I'm Not Buying Anytime Soon
I've been hoarding Amazon gift certificates and putting off buying audio- and regular books to see what Our Lord Steve came up with this year, but I'm feeling pretty meh about it. I have a Nano, I've been drooling over the Touch's wifi abilities, and a Shuffle would be better for swimming. I don't want a video camera - I have too much to sort with photos, let alone video - and I just didn't see anything compelling about the new Touch, except the price. If I'd known the launch was going to be this disappointing, I might've bought the Touch before my road trip, bc there are many places that offer free wi-fi and few that offer free/any Internet. Maybe for my next trip, although given that I turned down the use of a kindly nerd's Internet in Missoula, maybe not. After all, the ol' second gen Nano is holding up pretty well.
I've also looked at lens replacements. I realized that if I found and bought a wide-angle p&s, I'd probably never shoot with my slr again. I also realized that while the lens had a hard life, it was also a third party lens, and maybe that's why it didn't last as long as I felt it ought. It's not me, it's Sigma. Anyhow, I'd forgotten that I'd been drooling at Canon's 10-22/3.5-4.5 USM for-cheap-SLRs-only lens even before it broke. An Amazon review suggests buying Canon's 17-55/2.8 IS USM first, and I believe it would be more generally useful, since it would cover the "normal" range as well. It's also 50% more expensive. The lens I'm replacing was a 20/1.8, so either way I'll be missing out on the aperture, but I took 90% of my photos with that lens and found I liked the wide angle very much, so maybe normal is overrated. Phillip Greenspun says fixed wide angles are better for architecture, so I guess I'm considering the 15/2.8 as well, although I'm not sure if the 1.6x conversion factor on the 30D overrides the fisheye factor.
Won't be needing either a new iPod or lens anytime soon though, so I guess I'll order those books instead. Even there, since I'm not going on any expeditions anytime soon, I'm not buying more climbing books (well, except the geology one) and since I haven't heard back from the new climbing dude in a while, maybe not double boots either. Mmm... saving money...
I've also looked at lens replacements. I realized that if I found and bought a wide-angle p&s, I'd probably never shoot with my slr again. I also realized that while the lens had a hard life, it was also a third party lens, and maybe that's why it didn't last as long as I felt it ought. It's not me, it's Sigma. Anyhow, I'd forgotten that I'd been drooling at Canon's 10-22/3.5-4.5 USM for-cheap-SLRs-only lens even before it broke. An Amazon review suggests buying Canon's 17-55/2.8 IS USM first, and I believe it would be more generally useful, since it would cover the "normal" range as well. It's also 50% more expensive. The lens I'm replacing was a 20/1.8, so either way I'll be missing out on the aperture, but I took 90% of my photos with that lens and found I liked the wide angle very much, so maybe normal is overrated. Phillip Greenspun says fixed wide angles are better for architecture, so I guess I'm considering the 15/2.8 as well, although I'm not sure if the 1.6x conversion factor on the 30D overrides the fisheye factor.
Won't be needing either a new iPod or lens anytime soon though, so I guess I'll order those books instead. Even there, since I'm not going on any expeditions anytime soon, I'm not buying more climbing books (well, except the geology one) and since I haven't heard back from the new climbing dude in a while, maybe not double boots either. Mmm... saving money...