The Man Without a Camera

If only...

Those of you who have read my blog before probably know that I don’t own a digital camera. You can tell from the stock photos that I’ve “borrowed” from the internet. You can tell from the thanks I gave to Linda for letting me use her camera. You can tell from the captions and comments under my cell phone photos claiming that I still don’t have a real digital camera.

Jeesh! You’d think a digital camera was a must-have commodity like a cell phone or an expensive one like a new car. And I know that my cell phone has a camera built into it but have you seen the kind of pictures it takes with its 1.3 megapixels? We’re talking 1994 technology here! Using my cell phone to take pictures for my blog is akin to using a microwave to roast a chicken. It may get the job done but the results are unappealing.

So what’s a poor, broke slob like me to do? I suppose I could go out and buy a super cheap digital camera, but that only results in low quality, low resolution pictures. Plus cheap cameras have very little storage space and usually only come with digital zoom. I want a camera with an optical zoom, like traditional cameras, not one that simply makes the pixels large, like digital zoom does. And image stabilization sure would be nice. Is that asking too much?

Actually, relatively good cameras with all the features I want are available from a variety of manufacturers at prices that range from $89 - $129. You can definitely spend more but these lower end cameras are great for the novice photographer, like me. I peruse the Best Buy and Circuit City websites looking for camera deals with as much fervor as a kid going through the Sears Wishbook at Christmastime. Camera deals abound.

So why haven’t I bought one yet? I just can’t seem to justify spending the extra money right now. But somehow I can justify buying a $22 bottle of vodka to make some martinis or spending $40 at Blockbusters on a bunch of “previously viewed” dvds. I’ve never been good at managing money and I guess I have some of my financial priorities mixed up a little.

Perhaps the next time I go to buy a bottle of vodka, I’ll stop and put the money aside instead. When I get the urge to buy movies, I’ll put the money aside instead. When I go to buy something that really isn’t necessary, I’ll put the money aside instead. Perhaps I’ll just stand on the corner with a tin cup and a sign that says “Will Blog for Digital Camera.” Or perhaps some really cool person who reads my blog will take pity on me and treat me to a camera. [wink wink] Yea, right. And perhaps I’ll make my turkey in the microwave this Thanksgiving, too.