The Game of Digital Photography

I had finished a Before You Buy digital class, held at a local coffee shop, when I looked down at the table I'd been sitting at, a game table with my B&H catalogs stacked on it. I had just been talking about what a sinkhole, a moneypit, digital could be if people weren't prepared for it, weren't educated about what they were getting into. Despite the prevelance of digital photography and its increasing popularity, there are many, many people who just don't know what they're getting into.

I started this class a couple years ago, a simple 2-hour overview of digital cameras and what a person needs to consider when deciding to purchase a digital camera and get into digital photography. It provides buyers with knowledge so they are more likely to end up with what they want and can use when they go to the camera store or look online than get what the saleman wants them to have. If you go into a camera store or onine store to buy a camera and you aren't sure what you're after, it could be a roll of the dice whether you get the camera that meets (or exceeds) your needs. A few people have actually decided not to spend the money after this class and stick with film.

I'm still not satisfied with the images from my cell phone. Too much chroma noise for one thing. I don't even think it's good enough for email. Maybe just for illustration when I begin making my Christmas list. That way, my parents, relatives and wife can have an established search image in their mind's eye when they're cruising the aisles. They might not understand why they chose that item, but then they'll think, "Hey, I think Mike would really enjoy this!" It's a plan.