slim

I had no inclination to get a new digital camera. My 3.2 Megapixel camera is perfectly acceptable. It works, and takes fine photographs. Even some video. So why did I get a new camera for my birthday?

One part envy, one part tech lust, one part selfishness.

As I mentioned previously, I forgot to bring my camera to my sister’s graduation. My brother and mother took a boat load of pictures. And the quality of their images was way better than anything my camera kicked out. Not so much the megapixel density, but the clarity and color of the photographs were impressive. Their cameras were also smaller and thinner than mine. And the displays were much larger than the postage stamp size on my camera. It didn’t help that at about the same time Cabel Sasser was writing a glowing review of his new Canon SD960 (the bigger brother of my SD780). Envy.

I’d been interested, for some time, in a digital camcorder. Something like a Flip or the new(ish) Zx1 from Kodak. Susie’s tape-driven camcorder has ghastly battery life and besides, collecting and editing tapes is a pain. My new camera shoots 720p hi-def, widescreen video. Lust.

What can I say, it was a birthday present. For my 30th. A milestone. That seemed like reason enough. Selfishness.

I put the new camera through it’s passes with photographs and video of the pets. (What can I say? They’re unbelievably cute and photogenic.) The video capture impressed me immensely, right out of the gate. The kit even came with a micro-USB to RCA cable that let’s me connect the camera directly to the television. {squee!}

The anondized metal casing gives the camera a very sturdy feeling. But the slim size is almost too small. There were several times I found myself gripping the camera extra tight during our camping trip (more on that later). Another compromise of the slim form factor is the special lithium-ion battery. No more AA rechargeables for me.

With all that said, I really do love my new camera. And I thank my mom and my wife for the joint gift.