(no subject)
So I am considering throwing down a huge amount of money and buying a digital SLR. I really, really want to take more pictures. I used to be really into photography when I was younger, but I kind of got out of it in high school. I started trying to get more into it near the beginning of college, but my camera was shitty. I now have a nice camera, but not particularly good for photography--it is good for taking pictures at museums, or of vacations and nights out with friends. It is very good for taking everywhere with me and taking pictures of things that catch my eye. For that, it is a fabulous camera, and I do not intend to get rid of it. However, it's not good for taking "serious" pictures, if you will. I don't have enough flexibility with the controls--it is designed for camera idiots, which I mostly am, but not entirely, so almost everything is in presets that you can't alter very much. Also, its capacity is limited by what it is. I also get a bit bothered by the fact that I cannot look through a lens--I have to always use the digital screen on the back, and that bugs me. I feel detached from what I'm doing that way. So I've decided... I'm throwing down money on a digital SLR. I'm waiting till after Christmas, in hopes that there will be sales, plus I will get Christmas money. It's looking like I'm going to be leaving the semester with about a grand left over, if I'm very conscious of my money these next three weeks before I leave, and I think I can do that. So that right there is just about enough to buy a damned nice SLR, plus whatever I get from Christmas. Hopefully it will result in me having enough money to buy an SLR and still have savings left. I'd rather not go into spring semester already living paycheck-to-paycheck (heh, waiting till after Christmas will also help me know whether or not I'll have a job... because if I don't have a job, no matter how badly I want an SLR, I'm not getting one!).
So, here's where you fine folks come in... If you happen to know of a really good digital SLR that you think I should check out, let me know! Due to how much I adore Kara's D70, I'm looking into both the D70 and the D50 (they just came out with the D80, so here's hoping the price will drop on the D70 or D50!). But I'd also like some others to check out. I'll also be going to stores when I get back to the States, but it's always good to approach situations with a bit of knowledge beforehand.
The fire fighters are on strike again. This time they were on Rue Faubourg Saint-Antoine (the road I walk to get from my apartment to the metro at Bastille) and they were lighting lots of trash on fire (and... a port-a-potty?) and knocking over fire hydrants again. Faubourg Saint-Antoine had pretty much become a several inch deep river. It's just insanity. Sheer insanity. Amusing, though.
I also went to the museum of modern art run by the city of Paris. It was nice, but nothing hugely remarkable. It was very different from bigger, more well-endowed collections (Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, MoMA, etc) in that they just plain can't have the really big names and the really fancy stuff. But it was definitely a pleasant afternoon, although nothing worth raving about. It was free, though, and that is enough for me. I love free things.
Tonight I'm going to the "soirée indie rock" at la Flèche d'Or with Anna, and hopefully Adam. A bunch of local Parisian indie rock bands. This can only be interesting. None of us want to stay out late, though, so I probably won't watch the whole thing, but again, free. I love how much free stuff there is in Paris. :)
So, here's where you fine folks come in... If you happen to know of a really good digital SLR that you think I should check out, let me know! Due to how much I adore Kara's D70, I'm looking into both the D70 and the D50 (they just came out with the D80, so here's hoping the price will drop on the D70 or D50!). But I'd also like some others to check out. I'll also be going to stores when I get back to the States, but it's always good to approach situations with a bit of knowledge beforehand.
The fire fighters are on strike again. This time they were on Rue Faubourg Saint-Antoine (the road I walk to get from my apartment to the metro at Bastille) and they were lighting lots of trash on fire (and... a port-a-potty?) and knocking over fire hydrants again. Faubourg Saint-Antoine had pretty much become a several inch deep river. It's just insanity. Sheer insanity. Amusing, though.
I also went to the museum of modern art run by the city of Paris. It was nice, but nothing hugely remarkable. It was very different from bigger, more well-endowed collections (Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, MoMA, etc) in that they just plain can't have the really big names and the really fancy stuff. But it was definitely a pleasant afternoon, although nothing worth raving about. It was free, though, and that is enough for me. I love free things.
Tonight I'm going to the "soirée indie rock" at la Flèche d'Or with Anna, and hopefully Adam. A bunch of local Parisian indie rock bands. This can only be interesting. None of us want to stay out late, though, so I probably won't watch the whole thing, but again, free. I love how much free stuff there is in Paris. :)