The Camera Saga

As I mentioned in my previous post, my camera was stolen while we were loading up to go on holiday. I finally managed to get through to the insurance company on Tuesday, and basically I can’t claim it on the insurance: there’s an exclusion clause on our insurance policy about the car being locked. It’s fair enough for them to say that, but it’s still annoying nonetheless.

Still. Yesterday, I went into Old London Town, to the London Camera Exchange on the Strand, and bought myself a “new” (second-hand) camera. As per what I said when I originally reviewed it, I didn’t go for a Sony NEX-5 again: I was starting to get frustrated with my lack of upgrade options for the NEX-5, and felt like I wanted a more ‘professional’ camera.

So, I’ve gone for a Canon EOS 550D, which is a ‘basic’ full-bodied SLR, but because it was second-hand I also had room for an uprated lens – I went for a Tamron f/2.8 17-50mm lens, which should act as a good replacement for the kit 18-55mm lens.

The camera itself isn’t the latest model (the 600D is the latest, I believe), but it’s still a higher megapixel count than the NEX-5 (18 vs 14) and I think it still shoots HD video (not that I ever really use the video capabilities). The lens is also much better quality – I tried it out yesterday for a few pictures, and you can pretty much see the difference instantly. Macro pictures particularly look better.

The crazy thing about it is, it’s a better camera and yet – in total – it cost less than I spent on the NEX-5, with comparable accessories.

Anyway, I’m not going to write a review of the camera itself because plenty of people have done those already. But it definitely feels more like a ‘photographers’ camera than the NEX-5 did. And it feels good to have a camera now for which cheap second-hand lenses might be an option!


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