Battleangel | Personal

I finally decided to remedy the slightly embarrassing lack of a digital camera. I’ve been planning and ranting about digital photography for more than a year now, yet I could never find a camera that I was happy with. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been following the online trading of used cameras, specifically Nikon D70. In the end it proved futile however. The D70 is still a much too new product to be sold at really radical prices. And the only really cheap camera I found over the countless searches slipped through my grasp as usual (likely due to the email problems of last week). Maybe it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, the D70 is still an expensive camera, and perhaps a bigger bite than most amateur photographers can chew.

Luckily, another opportunity presented itself in the form of Canon A80, which is no longer produced and deprecated, at least in name, by A85 and A95. Still a damn fine camera though and there might still be an opportunity to get it cheap from some retailer who is sitting on a heap of this “obsolete” model. Things are moving awfully fast in the world of digital photography right now. Autumn is a killer when it comes to launching new products.
Considering that the A80 has long been on the top of a very short list of consumer level cameras that I have been brooding over, it was a done deal. For me it was either consumer or dSLR. Prosumer cameras never fit into my equation. It was only a matter of which deal presented itself first. So here I am with a Canon A80 and taking the first steps in digital photography …

Pros:

• Marvellous picture quality for its class
• Manual control
• Swiveling LCD
• Compact Flash storage
• AA Batteries
• Extremely power efficient

Cons:

• Focal range (38 – 114)
• Tripod mount
• LCD is kind of small
• Build quality is low overall

Accessories: Taking my time, making sure accessories are entirely possible to extend to future cameras. Ironically, accessories will probably hold a relatively higher value than the camera itself. But it’s just the way it is. Perfectly logical since most of them will surely outlive a consumer level camera.

• Batteries + charger
• Tripod normal + mini tripod
• Bag / protection
• Compact Flash memory – 512MB CF ULTRA II on order

The future? I’m still on the lookout for a dSLR. Specifically Nikon D70. If I find this pastime worthwhile it is likely that I complement the gadget collection with a dSLR. More cameras mean more niches that are covered.

See also:
- Canon A80 “Useful” Review
- DCRP Review: Canon PowerShot A80
- Megapixel Review: Canon A80