Since the inception of this site (and for three years before it) I carried a battered silver Canon Pureshot in my pocket for the purposes of taking spontaneous pictures–mostly of food. I purchased the camera with money I raised as a waiter at Murphy’s Restaurant in Atlanta. I took it with me everywhere and the camera itself often inspired much of this site’s content. For example, if I saw something peculiar I’d snap a picture of it and when I got home I would remember to write about it. (I almost did that today or yesterday with something in some food store and now I forget what it was!)
Tonight I went to dump the pictures from my camera on to my computer. I turned the camera on. It was in “take picture mode.” I tried to slide the slider to “look at picture mode.” This is the mode it needs to be in for it to dump pictures on to my computer. Only the slider slid too easily. It wasn’t grabbing on to whatever made the camera shift modes. I grew frustrated. I pushed harder. No sliding. I pulled the slider off and saw metal slots.
This is where tragedy stems from stupidity. I stuck a pencil in to try to move it. Pencil bits broke off inside. Then I tried to use a pen. Then scissors. Then (most stupidly) a knife. This mutilated the internal slider bits. They’re all bent crazy and I still never got to “look at picture mode”–and now my camera is filled with pictures you’ll never see!
However, perhaps this is serendipitious. After all, it’s two weeks to my birthday—have the fates alligned in my favor? We all know that camera campaigning on this site was never greeted with much favor. Perhaps I can pester my family and other loved ones to chip in for a camera? If I do, what kind of camera should I get? I liked the pocket convenience of my Canon pureshot, but perhaps I should upgrade to something fancier–something that will yield splendiferous pics for my readers. Your input is much appreciated—the quicker the better. This site feels naked when it’s pictureless! Stop staring at its privates and help us out!
Not to rain on your “I’m getting a new camera” parade, but you could just buy a USB card reader. They’re like twenty bucks. I always use one anyway so I don’t run down the battery on my camera while transferring pictures.
(Or, to undo the parade-rainage, I heartily recommend the latest Canon PowerShots, especially the SD200/300 line–they are *absolutely tiny*, about the size of an iPod Mini, and take really good low-light shots. Easy manual controls, big screen, around $300, and did I mention so-frickin-tiny-you-won’t-even-realize-you’re-carrying-it?)
I’m biased. I have a Fuji Finepix digital camera and I love it so much that I will possibly buy Finepix cameras for the rest of my life.
I recently lost the USB cord that attaches the camera to the computer, so I went to Best Buy and got one of these (also suggested by Brian above): http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1089890841617&skuId=6785393&type=product.
It is so awesome and only $20. Even if you get a new camera, I recommend it. Now I carry mine with my camera all the time so that I can download the pictures to any computer at any time. It’s small, so it’s easy. Very handy. Try it out and free those food pics!
Love the blog, btw.
I swear by Canons–I have a big digital SLR, but I got my husband a Digital Elph a few years ago, and the thing is great. It’s so tiny and convenient, but it takes great photos for a point and shoot, especially in low light. It can also take a few seconds of video! Fun!
The one I got him looks like an older version of this.
I swear by my Canon Powershot (Ixus in the UK). I’ve had three over the last few years, not because they broke, but because I kept losing them. They are virtually unbreakable as far as I can make out, and I really do punish mine, carrying it constantly in my clanking bag full of crap, dropping it in crowded places and generally mauling it.
My first one was a present from my boyfriend, and he wishes he’d kept it for himself instead of buying the crap Nikon that he has.
I love my Canon digital Elph (S400-purchased when first offered) – it’s always in my purse and on the few occasions that I’ve inadvertently left it at home, I feel as though I’m undressed. I, too, recommend a card reader; I leave the USB cable permanently attached to the back of my office PC and use the card reader everywhere else. I hear the siren call of one of those Sonys with the large LCD display, but I am resisting.
I’m sure you know of this web site, in the event you’re shopping around:
http://www.dpreview.com/
I love my Olympus C-740, but you shouldn’t get one, because its biggest drawback is that it’s… well… big. If I can’t put it in a purse you certainly couldn’t carry it around in your pocket.
But maybe Olympus makes smaller models too? I bought mine because people told me it was a good brand for cameras and it seems to be holding true.