The Big Gun

Da-dum, Da-dum...

Just when you thought it was safe to start reading the blog again, here's another article imploring you to do yourself a big favor this year and when you are flush with cash after Christmas, and before you see the Master Card bill,buy a good camera.

And there is one more I'd like to mention...Canon Xsi

This is the sort of High Priced spread, not so dear as a Nikon but not so gentle on the budget as a Pentax.

It is a 12 megapixel camera with all of the bells and whistles the others have, well almost but we'll talk about that later.

It is a joy to hold with all of the controls falling just where they should so that when you grow bold enough to explore settings other than A, they'll be where you can find them

And like the others they'll probably come with an 18-55mm lens. Now if you get a chance buy body only. That 18-55 will just get in the way and when you realize that it is useless you'll move it all around the house and eventually the dog will find it and them it really is useless. So skip the dog and just don't buy one.

One of the nice things about Canon is they offer a great starter lens, a 55-250 lens which is just about all you will need for the first year or so. Better yet, they are cheap, inexpensive, KEH has one excellent plus for $84 dollars and one like new with caps and hood for $105. That's a lot of glass for not much bucks. You'd feed that to the kids video game in three months.

So buy a body only and stick that 55-250 on it and get started.

The body has a great huge honking LCD on the back with all of the shooting information right where you can see it. The rest of the controls are where you would expect them to be so there's not much of a learning curve.

One more thing, the on/off switch located on top is a hard click switch. That means it takes some effort to move it and that is a fantastic idea. You won't be confused about whether you turned the camera on or off. That solid click with keep you informed and save the life of your battery.

The Canon uses a LP-E5 for power and like it's rival you can buy a battery grip which holds two LP-E5s or a half dozen Double As in the BG-E5 battery grip. So you won't run out of power when the family drops in from the whirlwind trip to the Galapagos an expects you to put them up for six to eight months while they recover from jet lag and a mild touch of parrot fever. Yep you can document their stay so that when the EPA declares your house a Biohazard and orders it bulldozed you'll have evidence to use in court.

XSIs are close to Pentax in price range, KEH has a $175 and a $168 price tag on their offers and KEH is one of the most reputable resellers so you can buy with confidence. Look around and you might find one even cheaper. It is always wise to buy the best you can afford but with electronics they either work or they don't. So if you can live with a body that's seen some use you can saver another fifty. Just depends on how serious you are about wowing the next door neighbors.

So there you have it the three best contenders for your January sale gift to yourself, there's not much to separate the pack. Canon seems to be right popular here on the coast and if you can't manage your desire to get it now, you can find a lot of Canon glass. Just be careful, the guys who have seem to think a lot of their goodies and It is always wise to check with KEH, Adorama and B&H first to make sure you don't get hosed.

There's a lot of Nikon stuff floating around but it makes the Canon equipment look like a white sale at Pennys.

So my favorite flock of photographers and painters who take photographs that ends the seminar for this year with a word or two about storage and glass lurking in the background.

Take a chance, get a good camera and see what wonders you will behold.