At the risk of totally spamming this thread, here I am again.
It just arrived
It's tiny. I don't know what I expected, but the box it arrived in was mahoosive, and the camera is a little weeny thing; it's thinner and shorter (and lighter) than my olympus xa but a touch longer.
The optical viewfinder doesn't look that obtrusive on top of it, which was something I was worried about, and indeed is very bright and looks fab. I can't see the full frame with my glasses on (but that's better than without them on, when I then can't see any of the frame coz I'm a blind fucker): I have to move the camera from side to side to see either edge of the 21mm frame, but the 28mm frame just fits in.
I've switched it on. It's a bit noisy when the lens is coming out, and when it tries to focus, but having turned off the annoying beep it isn't
too bad (but sly photography in a crowded place could be a problem unless people are sufficiently distracted - we'll see).
I love the design of it, sleek, black, rubbery grip, and kinda old skool
Thank god they didn't make it silver
It comes with a veritable ton of paperwork and manuals, which is good, and I can tell already it's going to take a while to get the hang of it. It comes ready set to auto-focus and fully auto setting, so you can switch it on and getting snapping right away. I turned it to M to fiddle with the dials and it was nice having everything at my fingertips (my D50 only has one dial, so this seems even more advanced to me than that!). Turning it to aperture priority, the setting I use the most, I noticed that aperture settings showed up on the screen but shutter speed didn't - I assume there is a way to change that? I'd like to be able to know what both settings are regardless of mode. I need to spend some serious time going through the manual.
I haven't even loaded to software yet, or put an sd card in it, so these are all very tentative first impressions - but I absolutely can't wait to get out across the foggy, misty graveyard this afternoon with it
If anyone wants to know - I got it from
http://www.thedigitalcamerashop.co.uk - not a spam-like plug, but I know I always get worried when ordering online from someone new, and I read a lot of stuff about models from pixmania coming with all French instructions and a French warranty (which is probably why they are so much cheaper there). I was able to track my order online, they used DHL to deliver it, and were very quick. They also have a phone number on the website, which is reassuring should you not be able to email them. Well, just to say I had a good experience with them anyway.
Right, I'm off to install the software, give the battery a charge to full power, dig out an sd card, and read through that 7,000 page manual (well, okay, 200 pages
)
Thanks ed for your gushing praise of this camera - I'm glad it convinced me to take the plunge.
It's teeny, I'll carry it everywhere with me. I'm a little afraid it will make all my other kit a little redundent, but I'm sure the honeymoon period will work off eventually.
