Wowa!

The wait is finally over!  After months of patiently waiting for the camera of my dreams to arrive, I surrendered… gave up… raised the white flag… and cancelled my order. 

January 31, I placed that order.  It was backordered several times and finally set to ship on April 17.  That day came and went with no word from Sony.  My inquiry was answered with a “we have no idea when it will ship”… so my hunt for a new camera started all over again.

I wish I could say it was an easy process.  But, the HX7V (the one I cancelled) was so perfect, ideal and mind-blowingly wonderful that it was hard for anything else to compare.  I loved the price and spent weeks picking that one out.  After picking myself up off of the floor following the cancellation, I started my hunt all over again. 

Deciding between a point-and-shoot and an SLR was the first step and one that I struggled with all along.  Even after ordering the amazing camera, I was having doubts.  So, I decided it was time to set my sights a little higher.  Finally, after many days of agonizing over my choices, Scott and I decided the Sony NEX 5 was our best option.  It not a true SLR, but a smaller “interchangeable lens” camera.  Apparently, Sony is hard to find everywhere right now – even the older stuff.  So, after many trips to different stores, price comparisons, bargaining… we purchased one at Ritz Camera in the mall.  (I had to go with black, when I wanted a silver…. but beggars can’t be choosers, right?)  Photo from Sony.

I have to send a big shout out to Ritz… we looked A LOT of places and I did a ton of on-line research.  Their staff was a huge help.  We visited their store three times in the last few weeks, worked with three different staff members and they were all so knowledgeable.  I assumed they would be more expensive because they are a specialty store.   Instead, they had a better deal and threw in a few extras (like a camera training class, 24 free prints and a free photobook).  Loving it!

The camera has officially been mine for about three hours.  We spent far more than I would like to admit and I still want to vomit when I think about it.  (I don’t spend money very well… unless it is on beer… then it flies out of my pocket).  Hopefully this icky feeling in my belly will wear off soon so that I can just enjoy my new toy. 

I couldn’t stand the wait, so I played around with an un-charged battery for awhile.  I LOVE how fast it is, how it feels and the background defocus is so cool.  I think the biggest hiccup is going to be the zoom.  It is pretty weak on the basic lens and the telephoto lens costs more than the camera itself, so that isn’t really an option (for a LONG time).  Fingers crossed that I don’t mind it too much. 

I have a TON of stuff to learn about this photography thingy.  But, here are the first shots.  What do you think?