I have been contemplating buying a new camera for a while now. Today I saw a second hand Minolta DImage 7i for sale second hand at £495. I checked the price brand new, it is a saving of 300 quid. I have recently been paid, and can afford it.
trouble is, I am on night shift work at the moment and if I want to get to the shop it means waiting until my days off and then missing sleep. I hope it is worth it.
Now if people question me or give me funny looks about having such a professional looking camera while not being a professional photographer I can say I got it second hand. And if needs be I can be economical with the truth. (I can say I got it for £300)
Does anyone else have or know about the Dimage 7i? if so what’s it like? is it a good semi-professional camera?
Ditto what Tansu said. If you can afford it without skipping a rent or mortgage payment, and the cats and kids still get to eat & wear clothes to school (well, the cats can go to school naked), then what business is it of anyone what you paid for the camera? Lots of people have hobbies that need expensive equipment, and never return them a dime, but give them priceless happiness.
Well, the on-line price for the Minolta new seems to be about $750.00 in the US (which is, I think, about £495). Of course, that’s before VAT and whatever other taxes apply in the UK, but I’m thinking that this is a bit high for a secondhand version of this camera.
Well wouldn’t you give a relative of yours a funny look if he spent 800 quid on something that most people would spend 100.
plus the fact that most of my relatives are of that [annoying] type that don’t understand the difference between a cheap camera and an expensive one (“all it does is take pictures! why do you want to spend so much”)
and finally - I don’t want to be seen as a show off - spending huge amounts of money on non-essentials.
Besides. I was definately going to haggle. I have now changed my mind, having found out that the fuji finepix s602zoom is just as good quality wize, cheaper, sturdier, easier to use, nicer, and is the best digital camera for movie mode.
No grammar difference, just a cultural difference. In America it is our patriotic duty (patriotic pronouced with a long “a”) to spend vast amounts of money on non-essentials. It’s how we took over the world, or so we think. Give them greenbacks for outlandish luxury goods. It’s only paper.
Tell your relatives that if you wanted their opinion that you would have had your manservant beat it out of them long ago.
As a Canadian, I feel qualified to bridge the cultural gap between England and the United States.
Buy the fucking camera.
[sub]Related apocryphal anectdote, from wartime Britain where Canadian troops were stationed:
British Sentry: Halt, who goes there?
Soldier: Fuck off!
British Sentry: Pass, Canadian.[/sub]
Aaaah, I think I get you now. Family. The whole “pretend it cost less than it really did when my Mum sees it, because she still operates in 1970s prices” thing. There was a thread about that, I think, lemme see…
doing a search now, please don’t cry, little baby Jesus…
Soryr, I can’t find it. It was about sensible adult people instinctively lying to their parents about how much things cost.
Well I bought it (a new camera. not the second hand one).
Everyone knew I was going to buy something.
Look in MPSIMS for my post. My internet connection is too slow and busy (I have like 20 IE screens open right now) for me to provide a link, so go and look for it lazy people.
P.S. My Parents seem quite enthusiastic about the camera as it turns out (may have something to do with the fact that I’ve given them my old one) but my brother (the sensible one) is still baffled.
Surely the problem with buying a flashy (;)) camera is not how much it cost, but that you’ll look like a wanker when people ask you what all the buttons do and you can’t tell them? Either that or they’ll back away from you thinking that you’re gonna tell them what all the buttons do whether they asked or not.
I think my ancient Canon A1 looks just right (and still does the business).
Well there you go then - it’ll be option b. If the table goes quiet when you get back from the bar your mates’ll all have been saying “fer Chrissakes don’t ask 'im about 'is new camera”.
Never mind, as long as you don’t waste it taking endless pics of water wheels and kipper smokeries I’m sure it’ll have been worth every penny.
