The digital camera I own is a little Canon PowerShot A530 / 5.0 mega pixels. The lens cover door doesn’t close. Sometimes it doesn’t open. It takes decent snapshots but I want something a little more powerful. I’m going to be on top of the Eiffel Tower for goodness sake.
I went to the Camera Shop - http://www.lansingcamera.com/ - located at 6006 S. Pennsylvania Ave, Lansing, 48911. It was 5:42 PM. The store closes at 6PM on weekdays. I know how annoying it is when you want to close up shop and some newb bursts in messing up your “I want to get the hell out of Dodge” vibe. My desire was just to ask a few questions, test drive a few cameras and realize I don’t have enough money to purchase what I would want for a camera to use on this grand trip. There were a few people printing pictures at a strange looking conglomerate of machines with screens. Suddenly I felt overwhelmed and way out of my league. That is until the exuberant Woody asked how he could help me. I told him I wanted a digital SLR for around $500. He informed me that I won’t be able to get one for that price. However, I was in luck. I braced myself. I actually looked up expecting Terry Hanks of Sundance Chevrolet to pop out of the back room yelling “Have I got a deal for you!” That didn’t happen thank goodness. What did happen was that Woody reached into the display case and told me about a used camera that he ‘just got in’ that he could sell to me for $450. He continued to inform me that the camera came with two lenses. Now I don’t know much but what I do know is that accessories are expensive and I’m getting two lenses to start off with, and that I may be getting something good for my $. Woody figured new with both lenses the camera would be in the neighborhood of $800. I know that a lot of cameras don’t come with any lenses and could cost a lot more. I told Woody that I am ignorant and asked him to show me some stuff with the camera. He said that it was a great camera for a novice and began to show me how to get started. It seemed easy enough to basically put the machine on automatic, wait for the beep – which means it grabbed a focus and push the button. ‘Look ma, I took a picture.’
Woody has a catch phrase. It is ‘I’ll tell you what.’ And with that he said if I buy that camera that he’ll give me a little discount on the memory card. I asked about the foot for a flash. He said ‘I’ll tell you what I have a flash here that I’ll sell you for $???.??’ Then he said that all I needed then was a camera bag to carry it all in. Insert catch phrase here and blammo he gave me a deal on a camera bag. Now there was a counter full of stuff and I turned into a 12 year old boy, with eyes wide, mouth gaping and reaching for my big boy debit card. He told me he would be glad to help me out whenever I came in with any pointers and advice that I would need in the future. Insert catch phrase he handed me a notepad with a case and calculator. Catch phrase again he gave me a pen. Yes, it got a little silly. Another customer stopped what he was doing to watch the spectacle of impulse buyer’s chaos. He nodded approvingly and said I got a good deal. I said either that or I got swindled. That is a lot of money for just coming in to ask some questions and look around. I imagined what images I would be able to capture while I was on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower. My heart was racing, my breath was weighted but I was eagerly excited. The time was 6:05 PM when I walked out of the store. I guess I wasn’t an annoying window shopper after all.
I raced to my special lady friend’s house and her son was playing catch with a neighbor kid. Perfect, I thought. I get to test out my new toy. The problem was getting them to stop posing. Soon there was a balance of them playing freely and making sure I got that “cool shot”. It was fun. This is the kind of camera that makes a novice look like they know what they are doing when they get that awesome ‘lucky’ shot.
I went to the Camera Shop - http://www.lansingcamera.com/ - located at 6006 S. Pennsylvania Ave, Lansing, 48911. It was 5:42 PM. The store closes at 6PM on weekdays. I know how annoying it is when you want to close up shop and some newb bursts in messing up your “I want to get the hell out of Dodge” vibe. My desire was just to ask a few questions, test drive a few cameras and realize I don’t have enough money to purchase what I would want for a camera to use on this grand trip. There were a few people printing pictures at a strange looking conglomerate of machines with screens. Suddenly I felt overwhelmed and way out of my league. That is until the exuberant Woody asked how he could help me. I told him I wanted a digital SLR for around $500. He informed me that I won’t be able to get one for that price. However, I was in luck. I braced myself. I actually looked up expecting Terry Hanks of Sundance Chevrolet to pop out of the back room yelling “Have I got a deal for you!” That didn’t happen thank goodness. What did happen was that Woody reached into the display case and told me about a used camera that he ‘just got in’ that he could sell to me for $450. He continued to inform me that the camera came with two lenses. Now I don’t know much but what I do know is that accessories are expensive and I’m getting two lenses to start off with, and that I may be getting something good for my $. Woody figured new with both lenses the camera would be in the neighborhood of $800. I know that a lot of cameras don’t come with any lenses and could cost a lot more. I told Woody that I am ignorant and asked him to show me some stuff with the camera. He said that it was a great camera for a novice and began to show me how to get started. It seemed easy enough to basically put the machine on automatic, wait for the beep – which means it grabbed a focus and push the button. ‘Look ma, I took a picture.’
Woody has a catch phrase. It is ‘I’ll tell you what.’ And with that he said if I buy that camera that he’ll give me a little discount on the memory card. I asked about the foot for a flash. He said ‘I’ll tell you what I have a flash here that I’ll sell you for $???.??’ Then he said that all I needed then was a camera bag to carry it all in. Insert catch phrase here and blammo he gave me a deal on a camera bag. Now there was a counter full of stuff and I turned into a 12 year old boy, with eyes wide, mouth gaping and reaching for my big boy debit card. He told me he would be glad to help me out whenever I came in with any pointers and advice that I would need in the future. Insert catch phrase he handed me a notepad with a case and calculator. Catch phrase again he gave me a pen. Yes, it got a little silly. Another customer stopped what he was doing to watch the spectacle of impulse buyer’s chaos. He nodded approvingly and said I got a good deal. I said either that or I got swindled. That is a lot of money for just coming in to ask some questions and look around. I imagined what images I would be able to capture while I was on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower. My heart was racing, my breath was weighted but I was eagerly excited. The time was 6:05 PM when I walked out of the store. I guess I wasn’t an annoying window shopper after all.
I raced to my special lady friend’s house and her son was playing catch with a neighbor kid. Perfect, I thought. I get to test out my new toy. The problem was getting them to stop posing. Soon there was a balance of them playing freely and making sure I got that “cool shot”. It was fun. This is the kind of camera that makes a novice look like they know what they are doing when they get that awesome ‘lucky’ shot.
Soooo I bought a new toy, some kind of digital camera with two types of zoom lenses. An Olympus E-500 EVOLT 8 megapixels. I think it makes me look like I am some kind of picture taking guru. It will definitely make me look like a tourist. I have a month to learn how to use it so I can take great snapshots that no one will want to look at when I return from my trip. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." – Sunset Boulevard
Please don’t go to the Camera Shop and tell them that Melik said that they will give discounts at the counter. However, I do encourage you to check them out if you are shopping for an inexpensive snap shot shooter to very expensive pro equipment, printing needs and equipment.
~Melik
I love my Olympus E-510 EVOLT 10MP. Got it 3 years ago and love it!!!
ReplyDeleteWow - 10 MP? You must be printing billboards with that thing. This camera is fantastic. I am amazed at how great the pictures that come from this. I am awestruck.
ReplyDeleteso if the camera you bought is in the photo, what did you use to take the picture? :-)
ReplyDeleteRemember, dude...you shot pics with my EVOLT at Common Ground in 2009.
ReplyDeleteI have the E-500 which is only 8MP
ReplyDelete