26 September 2007 12 views No Comment Print This Post

OK, if you know me, you probably can’t believe the title of this blog entry.

But it’s true. I’m selling all my camera gear.

I’ve been traveling a lot this year. I went to Costa Rica, and I’ve also been to Kentucky and Tennessee. Wherever I go, I bring my camera gear. Sometimes I even bring it to work, just in case a little something interesting shows up somewhere and I want snap a photo. I love my camera.

But lately, it’s been weighing me down. Literally. And I don’t mean the figurative kind of “literally” that every one uses. I mean literally weighing me down.

I have a Canon EOS 10D digital SLR camera body and some really good lenses. To carry them around, I have a big ‘ole backpack with filters and digital memory cards, and cleaning stuff and flashes and batteries. And I bring along my big Bogen tripod, too. It’s been cool. I haven’t complained much.

But on my recent trips, I’ve been more frequently asking myself - and my wife - if I will need “the big camera”. It’s become a bit of a drag and a bit of a risk to drag it around. What if it rains? What if someone breaks into the car while we are hiking? What if I carry it around all day, on the bus, over the hill, through the woods and don’t even take it out of the bag?

That’s it. If I’m actually making choices between walking around and having fun with my family or humping my camera gear all over - maybe not even bothering to use it because it’s too much hassle, then I’m done. It’s over. It’s gotta go.

I’ve decided to scale down. The new point and shoot cameras, like the Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom are more my style now. I’ve been really enjoying my wifes Fuji F10 because I can take photos, video and even have an ikelite waterproof case for it so I can take it in the water. Now that is fun.

I’m probably going to pick up a G9, it has RAW and I’ve learned how to take a photo that I want, not what the camera gives me. So, I can use the manual features when I want to make a nice photograph instead of a snapshot.

The only downer is that I recently bought some nicer lenses and I’m going to take in the @$$ for the depreciation in value. Not to mention the price difference in what my 10D cost new and what I might get for it now. But, I never saw it as a cheap hobby.

Check out my e-bay auctions and help save my back.

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