I began taking pictures about when I started scrapbooking, 7 years ago when APS was all the rage. I had a little Fuji point & shoot and it did alright. I bought another higher resolution APS, and then made the jump to my ZLR (zoom lens reflex; all the capabilities of a DSLR without the removable lens). I loved it, and it took great pictures; I'm pretty convinced the
camera took great pictures, not me.
Well, that's the camera that committed camera-cide. So I made the jump into a DSLR, but now I'm not convinced it was such a great step. It's not a problem with the camera, but rather with the limitations of a DSLR. My Fuji had full manual, and a great super-macro mode. (Buying the lens to get me there with my DSLR will run $300-$400, if not more.)
I am really regretting making this step, but I wonder if it's because at the same time I bought the DSLR, I was beginning to immerse myself in learning photography technique. There is so much to learn, it's almost like you're put back at the beginning of the learning curve, and I have to un-learn what I've been doing and re-learn it the "right" way. It is so
unlike, say, an expensive musical instrument. A crummy piano sounds crummy, and while an accomplished player can make it sound okay, it's still a crummy piano. But a Fazioli or Steinway can make even the novice sound a little better. I was looking for that type of analogy with my camera, but it doesn't work that way, because this type of camera only does exactly what I tell it to do, kind of like a computer. So my limitations are immediately obvious every time I take a picture.
Part of my frustration as well is my stubborn refusal to put my camera in auto mode, which was my mode of choice with my ZLR. I had just started messing with aperture priority when it went away.
Have any of you experienced this same sort of guilt? Remorse, maybe? Frustration and self-doubt? Am I not being patient enough with learning the new skills to see that the new equipment is advantageous? I'm just probably looking for encouragement that I didn't waste my money on something that will continue to be a major financial investment. I also want to buy the two lenses I "need" right away, but have to defer a while until I can save the money. So the ants in my pants are causing another part of the frustration.
Thanks for listening! I appreciate you all very, very much.
Sarah
