Guest Shutter – Brc’s Excellent Adventure

Brc sent this most excellent tale… 

So Saturday night I decided  that if I wanted to buy a digital SLR before the holidays I had better get my act together and do something about it.I emailed Shrew and Ivoryhut with some camera deals I had come across and asked for their advice. They not only helped me decide which camera was right for me, but Ivoryhut passed along news of a great deal she had seen at Costco. After a flurry of emails I decided I was going to buy the Canon Rebel XTi. Shrew finally convinced this lifetime Nikon girl to go Canon. So this morning I called Costco before they opened and they said they had the kit that Ivoryhut had seen, but they only had 4 left on the floor. We had lots of snow last night and this is what the car looked like when I looked out the window. I’ve gotta get the snow off that car and get to Costco!!!!

Dear hubby said he would clear off the car, but he left a layer of ice that was below the snow…. arghhh. Costco opens in 15 minutes and they only have four kits left… gotta get to Costco.
 
Okay, car cleared off. Driveway still full of snow but I’m going to plow through it. Little Subaru is good in the snow. But Costco opens in 4 minutes. Better hurry! 
 
There it is. Hope there hasn’t been a run on Canon Rebel XTi’s in the past half hour…

Here I am. Two left. Phew. I’m just in time.
 
I loaded my new toy into the car…
 
Did I mention that I’m incapable of being at Costco and not buying more stuff than I came for? I mean their paper towels are da bomb. And the juice and milk are a really good deal compared to my local supermarket. Oh and the pizza and the pasta too. Um and the bread. Uh, well, the cereal is really cheap as well. Can you see my new camera there in the corner? I would have bought my favorite wine, but there’s a very archaic law here that you can’t buy alcohol before 11am on a Sunday morning. So see!!! I saved some money after all. Yes siree I did. 
 
So now my camera is sitting on the counter in its box. I’m a little afraid to open it as I’ve never actually seen or held the camera in person. I might have to go to a local camera store to check it out before I open it. See now you’re getting a peek into my real personality.Alright, alright I’ll open it. Oooooo look at all the goodies that were inside the box. It comes with the camera body, an 18-55mm lens, a 70-300mm lens, a 1G memory card, a polarizing filter and a camera bag.
 
Look how purty the camera is.
 
Now for the real test. Take some photos without reading the directions… Here’s what I’ve got. First photo is from the old camera followed by the same photo with the new. What do you think?

Test #1:  Run the faucet into a glass. Take a picture with the flash:
 

Test #2:  Photo of EMC standing by the window. No flash.
 

I’m thinking that I should have taken the SLR  plunge a long time ago!!! Thanks to Shrew and Ivory for giving me the push I needed. 

 

AND…thanks to brc for this very exciting and special post.  Many happy wishes and clicks with your new camera!