du57in

I’ll miss you Dan.

Tonight, I lost my best friend. This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through. I feel truly blessed to have had you in my life, Dan. My thoughts go out to your family.

I love you, brother.

Camera conundrum

Deciding on a camera has not been easy. I’ve been looking for around a month now, and I think I’m finally coming to a decision.

I want something compact, but still powerful. While I’d like a DSLR, I don’t really want to get into photography like that right now. And $500 is a lot of money.

So I started looking at two categories of cameras. Micro four thirds and the high end point and shoots.

I bought an Olympus EPL-1, a micro four thirds camera, and I immediately returned it. I didn’t feel like I could just pull it out, and take a decent picture every time. Not to mention it was huge.

The other really big thing that bothered me was how it lacked the range that a point and shoot does if you only own one lens. For example the lens that came with the EPL-1 couldn’t take macro pictures. The closer you got to anything, the worse the autofocus was. The EPL-1 was around $250 with one lens. For good macros and decent distance, you need at least one extra lens. Lenses are around $300-$500. I’d be spending more on the EPL-1, a micro four thirds camera, than a DSLR like the Nikon D3100.

The other option I started to consider was something like the Canon S100. The S100 is super compact, and it takes great pictures. But it’s $420. According to all the reviews I’ve read, there’s no real reason to buy the S100 if you own an S95. The S95 is still $380 new, or around $350-$300 used.

Do I really want to spend $350 for a used glorified point and shoot camera? It takes great pictures, but that’s still a lot of money.

During all of this camera hunting, I found the one camera I’d buy if I had unlimited money. Not only does the Leica X1 look amazing, it takes insanely great pictures. The more I read into it, the more I found myself pining for a camera with a Leica lens. But for $2000?!

I quit looking for a couple days, and just so happened to have a lengthy discussion with my sister about cameras when it felt like my prayers were answered. She owns a lower-end Panasonic Lumix that uses a Leica lens. For a cheaper point and shoot, it takes great pictures. Really impressive. So I started looking at the best Lumix cameras that use a Leica lens, and don’t cost a million dollars. Which lead me to the LX5.

The LX5 looks to be the perfect camera for me. It takes amazing pictures with the Leica lens. It’s really compact. Records HD video. And It’s only $230 used from the Amazon Warehouse. The lens that’s included is, again, capable of taking amazing pictures. But with the LX5, you can go even further. You can buy an adapter ring for the LX5 that allows for the addition of filter and extra lenses. So If I even do decide I want to get some lenses and start experimenting, I can.

I’m waiting for just a bit longer to make sure there are no great sales on the LX5, but I’m for $230, I’m already sold. Once I get it, expect to see a lot more photographs on here.

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