(no subject)

[inahandbasket]

Boston Folk,
selling my car now. I want to make this happen today or tomorrow.
If you're still interested, I put up a craigslist ad.
http://boston.craigslist.org/car/67641360.html

E-mail me, or call if you have my number if you're interested.

I won't lie to my LJ friends, it's not a perfect car, but it's served me VERY well and should keep going for a lot longer.
The ad sums it up pretty well. Drives great, has cosmetic problems.
$500 if one of you wants it.

Comments

[freak1c.livejournal.com]

Hey dude, I have 2 questions for you:

Are you liking Zipcar?

What Digital camera did you buy again? I'm in the market for an SLR, and my head is swimming with prices and ISOs and Shutter speeds, etc...I need some guidance! Also - where did you buy it? I was really close to getting suckered into buying from this shady bait n' switch website.

[inahandbasket]

Loving zipcar, thus the selling of my car. ^_^

I bought the Canon Digital Rebel. They just released a new version, the Rebel XT. It's got a bunch of upgrades, and is a better purchase. Can be found for under $1k easily.
It's main competitor for the quality affordable DSLR crowd is the Nikon D70. The D70 comes with a better basic lens, but you pay more for it. I bought my Canon with the 'kit' lens, plus a really sweet lens, for about the same as the the D70 with the kit lens alone. For me it was definitely the best deal at the time.

If I were buying now, I'd have trouble deciding between the D70 and the Canon Rebel XT. They're both nice cameras, the Rebel has a smaller body (which I like) but the Nikon has a bit more of a pro feel to it. (The rebels are definitely "consumer" cameras, but still very nice.)

The way I see it, the major quality and cost come from the lenses you purchase. With either the Nikon or the Canon system, you're going to invest in lenses which aren't going to lose much value over time. The bodies will get obsolete quickly. I went with the cheaper of the two bodies, so that I could afford nice lenses, figuring that I'll upgrade the body someday anyway, and that way I could get my lens investing started.

Oh, where to buy. I got mine used from someone, which is always an option but can be iffy, as I'm sure you're aware.
If I'd bought new:
Buydig.com, which is the same company as Beachcamera.com but often has better prices for some unknown reason.
Great prices, not a rip-off site.
Right now, they have MY rebel (not the new XT) with the kit lens, for a mere $674. Pretty damn good deal. If you don't mind upgrading the body in a few years, I'd say that's a really good starter one. The XT by contrast is $950. The D70 with kit lens is $1200.

Oh, don't forget a compactflash card, I'd recomend a 512mb at the minimum. The UltraII cards are great, and you can find a 1gb one for under $100 pretty easily.


Let me know if you want me to babble more, I'd be happy to. ;o)

[freak1c.livejournal.com]

Cool about Zipcar, I think when I sell mine I'll probably try it out.
It'd be cheaper than parking around here.

Thanks for the input on cameras. I actually forgot to mention, or rather I played it down. See, I'm a bit obsessed I'm afraid. When I go to buy something new, I do so much damn research it's exhausting.

I haven't had a good digital camera yet, just point and shoot, but I do shoot film - Both Medium Format and 35mm. I'm getting the digital so I can be more spontaneous, and not worry about processing costs.

So here's the ones I'm looking at: (I'm using my tax return to do this with, so I have a little $$ to play with.)

-Canon 20D - I like having the option to add the vertical grip (I like my cameras big). Plus, the 8MP is nice.
-Nikon D70 - Just cuz it seems silly not to look at it, with the price being so good.
-Fuji S3 - This is the one I'm in love with, but can't afford. I found it for a great price, but from what I've read about the website, it's a big ol' scam.
- And - the one I think I'm gonna end up getting - the Konica Maxxum 7D. It's got a great anti-shake technology in the body, so the lenses can be cheaper. Vertical grip available, and it's got a lot of manual controls (I'm used to shooting totally manual.)

Anyway - good to hear that buydig is on the up and up, I'll probably go with them or just hit B&H.

Once I get it, we should get together and go on shooting expeditions!

I'd like to hear more of your opinions on cameras. I'm a big ol' tech geek!

[inahandbasket]

Ah, you're going for the next range up from what I was looking at. ;o)

I have a vertical grip for my rebel, I know they're out there for most cameras. I'd be surprised if there was a digital SLR out there without at least a 3rd party vertical grip available.

My dad has the Nikon 70D, it's a nice camera, but between those options (canon/nikon) I'd definitely go with the 20D. It's faster, sharper, and smoother in just about all respects. The 10D the closest competitor to the 70D, and the 20D is significantly better than the older 10D.

The Fuji S3, yeah. If you can find a place that will sell it to you affordably, it'd definitely be the best option on your list, but I'd be wary of too good a deal.

I barely looked at the Konica Maxxum, because it was just being released and was out of my price range when I bought mine. Do you know Steve's Digicam site? Great reviews, great site. http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/maxxum7d_pg7.html
He seems to have loved the Maxxum 7D, which is a good sign. He puts it on a pretty even field with the 20D.

One of the great things about the Canon cameras is their extremely low 'grainyness' or noise at all ISOs. The Nikons, Konica, and even the Fuji have more noise than most Canons. It's one place they really stand out, and it's what won me over to buying one. (Plus the price, I'm a cheap bastid.)

The nice lens I got for my canon is one with Image Stabilization, and I can tell you that it's a great feature. Having it built into the body on the Maxxum is huge.

The only reason I'd be wary of the Maxxum is that it has a much smaller lens selection than the bigger names, so you'd be somewhat limited in what you can get for it.

Honestly it's a great crop of cameras you're looking at, and I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them. Look for features you like, and a lens system/selection you're happy with.


And yes, we should go shooting. ;o)