But now or wait?

Now, something you may not know, or believe, about me.  I am very reluctant to spend money on 'toys.'  A new camera is a 'toy.' 

For months, like most Americans. if we can't eat it or burn it in the car or warm ourselves with it, we haven't bought it.  We've whittled the credit card bill 50%.  But now, I've decided to take another Maine Workshop class.  And I can see my Point and Shoot has some technical drawbacks, so I've been thinking about getting an SLR AFTER the class.

But at the (photo) 'Safari' I went on about two weeks ago, the teacher said ... get it sooner so that during my class I'll be able to explore its capabilities under the guidance of a teacher.  So, I thought I was excited about the new Canon and Nikon which do video as well as great stills.  But the more I looked at them, the less I thought the video was important - and then both Nikon and Canon put good deals on their XSI and D60, by including a 18-55 and a 55-200 zoom, for competitive prices (Nikon $749, Canon $849). 

So I read every review ... really tortured my printer turning out reams of data and comment.  Finally made a second trip to the camera store and took along a memory card and show my own 'test' photos.  Came home, looked at them ... the Canon was clearly (no pun intended) superior - even a friend, a Nikoner, saw the photos and said "Message received."

So, I futzed around doing research for another day and decided, Let's Do It ... get the Canon.  So I drove to Penn Camera at Tysons Corner, found the sales guy, Peter (very helpful), and said wrap 'em up. 

SPLAT! 

To get the $849 deal (which is a $200 rebate on the lens), he has to sell them both on the same receipt, and there were no lenses in stock.  "Come back Monday, we should have it here by about 2 p.m," he said. 

I nodded and said OK.  (Whew!  I don't have to buy something.)

Now here's something else you should know.  Even though I was in retail for 10 years, with a chain of stores in the Washington area and 100 employees, I hate shopping.  I viscerally recoil when I walk into a store because I feel the sales folks are desperate to sell something and I am so other-directed that I feel I have a responsibility to buy something. So I don't go into stores (other than Apple and LL Bean.  Great sales people.  NO pressure.)

So, here I steeled myself ... tried to pull the trigger ... and had a blank in the chamber.

Question of the Day:  Should I try to find the camera and lens, today, at another store (Ace Photo or Ritz Camera) since I've got all day because my wife is still away?

Comments

[Mike McDermott]

Hey Frank,
I’ve never been good with delayed gratification – so I vote get it now! I also am in favor of purchasing locally when possible. For things like cameras, having a good store to return to for help or questions makes up for the internet shopping difference. I don’t know anything about Ritz but I have shopped at ACE. In my experience, the service ACE is erratic but when you can get their attention, they know their stuff and are helpful. ACE does try to match deals from other stores.
BTW, cameras ARE a necessity just like food, shelter, and a good bottle of wine. Happy shooting!
-my 2 cents,
Mike