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Just recently I’ve been obsessed with buying a new digital camera. It was hell! So many choices, so many reviews, so many "deals." Just when I’d decided that I desperately needed the Canon Powershot SD1000, a friend convinced me that I really needed image stabilization which the SD1000 doesn’t have. So I decided I needed a Sony Cybershot DSC-W80, but I couldn’t find a good deal. I started thinking maybe a Nikon, and Costco had a pretty nice Kodak Easyshare, with a coupon…then suddenly the Canon SD1000 went on sale in a big way, and I was once again sorely tempted. I knew I wanted a point-and-shoot, not a DSLR, and my budget was not huge. I combed over digital photography web sites, looking for guidance and hoping someone would tell me what camera I could get that had:

1. At least 7 megapixels
2. Image stabilization
3. A price tag at or below $200

It wasn’t going well until yesterday, when I finally found a great camera for a great price (and it wasn’t one of the models I’d even considered previously). But first, my digital camera history.

My first digital camera was the Nikon Coolpix 880. A really really nice camera at the time (I received it as a Christmas gift in 2000, I believe). It was more camera than I probably needed, and while it was smaller than the Sony Mavica I used to borrow from a previous employer, it was still on the bulky side and not fun to take on vacation or to special events. Still, I took a lot of very nice pictures with it. But eventually I decided I needed a "pocket camera" to carry around with me. Smaller and lighter was what I wanted, so I went a bit cheap and got my next camera…

The Nikon Coolpix 2500. I went down from 3.3 megapixels to 2.0, and worlds away in quality. I don’t know what it was about this camera, but I really should have returned it. It took the shittiest, blurriest, most horrible digital photos I’ve ever seen. I was so disappointed in it. Yes, it was small and kind of cool looking, but the quality just wasn’t there. Mediocre camera (this one) + not very talented photographer (me) = digital photography hell. This is the camera that soured me on Nikon for years to come, probably unjustly. Next up…

I did something smart. I did lots of research, read reviews, and bought myself a Canon Powershot A80. Although I wish I’d converted to something that used a faster media type sooner (the A80 still uses CompactFlash), I otherwise have not regretted this purchase. Almost all of the pictures in my Flickr pool and on this blog were taken with this camera. I love that it uses AA batteries, even though that makes the camera a little bulkier. It’s still smaller and lighter than my original Nikon. I don’t use the swing-out capability of the LCD all that much, but it’s nice to be able to flip it over and click it into place to protect it when I take the camera somewhere. This is a GREAT camera. But I still yearned for something smaller and lighter, with more megapixels, and that holy grail of image stabilization. Enter…

The camera I ordered yesterday, the Pentax Optio A30. Reviews have been good, and the feature set is pretty outstanding for the price (I managed to get a great deal – just under $200). It has 10 megapixels, a brilliant LCD, image stabilization, and a lightweight, compact form factor in a sturdy, all-metal body. In short, everything I was looking for, and more. I’ve been so nervous to choose cameras ever since the Nikon 2500 fiasco. I hope this camera turns out to be as awesome as it seems from the description and reviews that I’ve read.

I also ordered an extra SD card and battery for it. All of this should be here by the end of the week. I’m so excited! I’ve mostly been taking pictures of my daughter, but my hope is that with a smaller camera that’s easy to slip in my purse and take anywhere, I’ll take more photos. Maybe even some pictures of adults or landscapes or objects! You never know.

Veronica is just over 15 months old now, and the rate at which she learns new things is stunning. She constantly surprises us with new words, reactions, behaviors, and abilities. Here are some of the words she uses regularly now (with translations, where needed):

Mommy
Dada
Baby (refers to herself, said with exaggerated syllables: “bay-beeee”)
Bobo (“Bootie,” our cat)
Baba or bobby (bottle, milk)
Hi (also very exaggerated: “haaaaiiieeeee”)
Shhh!
Shoe
Bye-bye
Beep
Muh! Muh! Muh! (milk, or sometimes “pick me up”)
Ock! Ock! (“quack! quack!”)
Kee (music)
Mmph! (this usually means “no”)
Poo-poo

Of course, there’s lots of other vocalizing, but I’m not sure what most of it means. Luckily, we are able to pick up on the important wants and needs, and she is content to babble the rest for our entertainment. She also giggles, growls, imitates funny noises, gives hugs and kisses liberally, and says “Awwww” when something is soft, cute, or cuddly, like when she puts her head down on the sleeping cat’s body, or her fuzzy lambskin pillow.

Siouxsie has a new solo album. SIOUXSIE SIOUX, people! Not with the Banshees or the Creatures, just her. And apparently she’s just going by “Siouxsie” now, no last name. Like “Madonna.” Or “Jesus.”

Amazon has the CD, called “Mantaray,” for $12.97; or you can buy the album download from their spiffy new MP3 music store for just $8.90! Individual tracks are $0.89. There’s also a mind-blowingly freaky video for her single (“Into a Swan”) on the product page linked above. I recommend watching it repeatedly. Then buy the download and listen to it wearing your best emo gear (that’s what we called “goth” back in the day, kids). Then, just for good measure, buy the CD too and give it to someone you love for Sweetest Day, Halloween, or Chrismukkah.