The West Ring

Sorting through my photographs to upload them to the new (and improved ) website has triggered the desire to do a bit of photography. Not just taking snapshots, which is what most of mine are, but actually to try and take some great photographs. And not just of the hounds…

Not wanting to sound like a bad workman, but I know that to achieve that aim I really need a new camera, specifically a digital SLR. My budget is fairly limited so the obvious starting point was to look at eBay, where I was slightly surprised how well D-SLR’s hold their value. And then I looked at the prices of lenses!

I had been researching furiously during the week, but my biggest problem was not knowing what I wanted! Should I buy a new camera plus kit lens, or go secondhand and get an extra lens or two? And if I were to buy a new one, what make? One piece of advice I had been given by a colleague (thanks, Stephen) was to chose a make and stick with it. That way any kit I buy would be usable after upgrading. After reading various articles on t’interweb I was siding with Canon 400D, but most of them mentioned that the grip was slightly too small for comfort. So, I popped into both Jessops and London Camera Exchange in Guildford on Saturday to get hands on with it and compare and contrast with the Nikon D40x. It has to be said that the grip is slightly too small, even for tidgy-handed me, but it’s not enough of an issue to rule it out.

Once I was back home it was time to jump back on eBay. Still not knowing whether to buy new or secondhand, mind you! I placed bids on a few cameras, but they all went beyond the price I felt comfortable with. The upside of course was the complete lack of auction fever. It was quite heartening to know I was being very rational about it all. After these failed bids we (checking with the boss is always good policy) decided that a new Canon 400D was the right choice. Rather than just going off and buying the nearest available one I compared and contrasted what was available both on eBay and other online stores. Some of the eBay ones were refurbished ones with only 90 days warranty, so they were ignored.

I decided to take a break from it all and went to feed the dogs. In that short space of time, Jennie not only found the Canon Outlet eBay store but spotted, bid on, and won a 350D! Yes, she did actually check with me first, but when I heard the price it was a no-brainer. When I’d previously been looking the 350D was on average £80 cheaper than the 400D, and I had decided the 400D was worth the extra. We got our 350D for £223, and that’s nearly half the price of the newer model! (And no silly postage charges, only £5.99)

Ok, this is actually a refurbished product, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it was broken and repaired, it could just be one that was opened and returned, or a demo. Whatever the reason, it’s been fully checked and has a year’s Canon warranty, so that’s good enough for me! And being that cheap, it leaves me a bit of money for another lens…