Finally, A DSLR To Call My Own

On January 2, Kenny and I dropped Riley off at Nola and Nopsi’s house around 5pm and headed off on a special errand. We went to Lakeside Camera to finally purchase a DSLR camera. Kenny tried to give me one on a number of occasions throughout the past year or so but I could never make up my mind as to which one I wanted.

I started out thinking I’d get a Canon, mostly because I’ve had a little PowerShot for years and liked it. However, I eventually decided to go the Nikon way, and I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D7000.

I also didn’t expect to buy the kit, which includes a body and a lens. However, neither Kenny nor I realized that the D7000’s kit doesn’t come with the standard 18-55mm lens most kits include; instead, it comes with an 18-105mm lens. HUGE difference. I did think I would want the 18-200mm lens, but after trying it out in the store, the extra weight bothered me enough to discount it. The 105 is going to be just fine for what I want to do, and it was a bit cheaper to buy the kit instead of a separate body and lens.

No longer able to throw my primary camera into my purse and go (although I will still carry my little Powershot with me a lot of the time), I also ordered a Lowepro Passport Sling camera bag to go with my new Nikon. I haven’t really used it yet, but I do like the bag. It seems to be pretty roomy, especially because I don’t own any additional lenses, and it has lots of interior and exterior pockets for memory cards, personal items, and even my water bottle. Good stuff.

It’s a little hard to believe, but I didn’t take a single picture with my new camera until a week after we purchased it. I did have to wait a couple of days for my two SD cards to arrive from Amazon, but I’m not sure why it took me so long. Maybe it didn’t really sink in that I have my own fancy pants camera until then. It could have also been that life wasn’t very exciting around here for that week, but that’s no excuse.

But then the sunset was exceptionally pretty one evening, so I grabbed my big girl camera and headed out onto our back patio to play with it a bit. This was my very first shot:

Not very impressive, considering I had it on Auto and the flash popped up, but the colors are pretty. I fiddled around with some different settings, but it’s quite obvious that I have much to learn. I read through the manual and also did a little searching on Google, but all of the dials and buttons and options are a bit intimidating. However, I know all it will take is a little practice.

And having this little guy as my main subject will certainly make practicing easy.

So thank you, Ken, for bearing with me and being patient while I hemmed and hawed over this monumental {to me} decision. I am supremely happy with my choice, and I appreciate you coming with me to pick it out!