Camera Shopping

I mentioned at the end of my last post that I've decided to buy a new camera.  So, I thought I would share which ones I'm considering.  First, here's what I want out of a camera:

• Something small-ish and easy and fun to use
• Interchangeable lenses
• Good in low light (indoors)

I've decided to go with the new mirror-less interchangeable lens cameras.  I think that is where the technology is heading.

The Sony Alpha NEX-7 is at the top of my list right now.

This is my first choice right now based on positive reviews I read here, here and here.  But I'm looking forward to visiting a camera store to see if I can play around with one a little.  It will take me some time to save up the money, so I'm not in a real hurry.

The NEX-7 isn't my first choice in the outward appearance of the camera body ... I was really hoping to find something cute and retro like the Fujifilm X-Pro1

or even the Fujifilm FinePix X100, my favorite for its looks

This last one does NOT have interchangeable lenses, though.  I was seriously considering it after reading this recommendation.  However, the scientist sternly advised against it, because he thinks what I'll ultimately have the most fun with is the lenses and stuff. (These FujiFilm cameras are a bit more pricey too).

The camera I have right now is the Canon PowerShot SX 20 IS.  It has a zoom lens.  And compared to other compact cameras, it seems to give some decent control over the settings in Manual Mode.  From the reading I've done, other point and shoots with manual modes do not give you as much settings control as this one does.

I have not been overly happy with the photos I've taken with this camera and have not been taking a lot of pictures in the last several months.  (Miller is probably happy about that.)  But over the last few weeks, I've experimented with it a little more, even with the manual focus, and was happy with some shots I got.  I've had this idea that to get the blurry backgrounds you have to have the low aperture values, like 2 or less.  But the other day I was trying it out at the 50mm and 100mm focal lengths and got some pretty decent pictures with somewhat blurry backgrounds and foregrounds, with an aperture value around 5.  So, I'm optimistic that while I save up for my new camera, I can continue to learn from my old one. That's good, right? After all, the best camera is the one you have right now.