Today I finally got my first real digital camera, a Canon Powershot SD400. I didn’t know much about digital cameras, so I got lots of advice from the Internet, especially from this Engadget story. There was also a Nikon Coolpix and a Panasonic I was considering, but the Canon was on sale on Newegg for a very good price.
I used to think that my cellphone camera was all I needed. I wasn’t a professional photographer, and image quality wasn’t my biggest concern. It wasn’t until I actually got a phone with a camera in it that I realized just how inadequate that camera was. I am very impressed and very pleased with just how great this camera is, I don’t know how I went without it. I’m learning stuff about digital cameras and photography I didn’t know before. And the best part is that the camera works well with Linux.
One thing I do need help with is info about SD flash cards. I can’t seem to find decent information about them anywhere. What is the biggest flash card my camera will accept? Are there different cards with different speeds? If there are different types, which one is the best to use with my camera? Obviously the canon brand would work well, but it’s obvious that it is overpriced. What type and brand of card should I buy at what price? According to my math a 512MB card should be sufficient. The camera only came with a 16MB card. Also, what should I do to protect the LCD on the camera? I might get a little rough with it and I don’t want it to be scratched. Should I worry enough to get some sort of case, or is it ok to throw this thing in my backback and other stuff?
As a special treat to show off my new camera I took pictures of some of the rooms in my house and posted them on FlickR. Many of my friends have already been to my house, but some have not. So now you will get a very good look at our living room, kitchen and my bedroom. Yes, the kitchen and my bedroom are huge messes. Perhaps I will re-take the pictures this weekend after I have a chance to clean up.
