(no subject)

[arethinn]

Due to having been out of work for eight and a half months last year, I am going to get a huge tax refund, on the order of $2000 total. This means that I am in the market for two things I've wanted to have for some time, but couldn't justify the cost of: a laptop and a digital SLR.

The laptop doesn't need to be anything too beefy; I just want to be able to sit in my living room and browse the web, maybe run Office, play Infocom games, and like that. Bottom of the line might even do it for me, since "bottom" is still pretty powerful these days (keep in mind my main desktop is only 1.2 GHz, 1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive, and it suits me fine, although I confess it is a tad laggy trying to run Photoshop CS2 if I have other stuff open). I don't want to have to touch Vista with a ten-foot Pole named Poklewski if I don't have to, so I am perfectly willing to consider a Mac, depending on the cost. About my only specific requirement is for a 15" screen - 14" is too small for me. It's not a huge deal if it's not the thinnest, lightest thing on the planet either, since I don't intend to be lugging it around with me everywhere I go.

For the camera, I'm not sure what I want to use it for the most, if that makes any difference (probably only in what initial lens I would want to have). I don't really like the "handfeel" of enotsola's Canon EOS 300D (? i think it is); I find it awkward to press a button while turning the shutter-speed thumbwheel to change the aperture, for example, since my hand is a bit small to perform this operation with where the controls are located (I am rather used to twisting a ring on the lens, anyway). The ability to drive an autofocus, auto-zoom lens is not necessary since I am not attached to that feature (my film SLR can do this, but I don't have any AF/AZ lenses for it, so I have never gotten used to having that behavior), if there is any such thing as a digital SLR that can't do that. (I have done *no* camera shopping since buying my 3mp mostly-point-and-shoot three or four years ago, so I am pretty clueless as to what is out there.) I will probably be doing low-light and longish-exposure photography, so a camera that can perform well under those conditions (read: less noise) is a good thing. I have already got SD cards so using that memory format is also a bonus.

Any recommendations or anti-recommendations for either of those?

Comments

[twopiearr.livejournal.com]

My own well-known biases aside:

Avoid Sony Viaos at all cost. They are cheaply made pieces of shit and fall apart faster than any other laptops I've ever come across. Avoid Dells on similar logic, but they're not nearly as bad.

Also, never buy a used laptop - laptops have a shorter lifespan that desktops to start with, partly due to the more rugged use scenario but also due to the greater heat and smaller moving parts issues.

[padaviya.livejournal.com]

I agree with what twopiearr said about not buying a used laptop. I was warned about this when I bought my laptop. The reason I was given is that laptop parts need to be replaced too often to make an old laptop worth it.

Wish I could help with the digital cam. I'm still using film. If it helps at all, my canon rebel is great. I think canon and nikon are usually the best for their price.

[ungarsfragile.livejournal.com]

You want a macbook. The baseline macbook is $1100, has two 1.8 ghz processors and a 60 gig hard drive. They're extremely thin and extremely light and have a gorgeous 13 inch widescreen (i know it sounds small compared to a 16 incher, but the fact that its a widescreen makes it a lot bigger than comparable PC notebooks).

I have a macbook. I love my macbook.

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

That's outside my price range. I was hoping to get away for $600-700, but in any event no more than $1000 because I want at least half of it for the camera. $1100 plus tax will be almost $1200. So I guess a Macbook is out of the question. What's below a Macbook? Or is that the only laptop Apple makes these days?

[kernowmagick.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm..... I would proably go for the macbook and a cannon digital rebel as a package that would come to $1800 and you would have a great set up.

I have been working as a 'new media' pro for the last 10 years, as a technician, lecturer, teacher and artist. I have used Mac's and PC's but if possible I always use Macs. They are rbust, bot hthe OS and the build quality.

Saying all that, I'd would be tempted to visit a few shops and take a look at some PC's and Macs and also cameras. See what you think would suit you best and go with that.

[padaviya.livejournal.com]

I would have liked to have gone with a macbook, but it's true that they're expensive. My Toshiba Satellite M70 was $800 CDN, it's a 15.4 inch screen, about six pounds, 60 gigs space. It's not a mac, but it's a good computer, and the only thing cheaper I could find were Acers, and I've heard a lot of horror stories about Acer.

The only criticisms I have of my Toshiba are that the speakers started going fuzzy after about 8 months and that the screen has a fair bit of glare. It's find if it's just you using it and you can adjust it to yourself, but if there's a group trying to watch a movie on it, it can get irritating.
And my power cord just bit the dust yesterday, but luckily I still have a few weeks left on my warranty.

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

As I said, though, I don't like the Digital Rebel's control layout, particularly for aperture control. I'm figuring at this point it may have to be some kind of Nikon, but I was hoping someone would have something specific to recommend.

[rainman1432003.livejournal.com]

Have you checked out http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/inspn?~ck=anav ?

I think that you have to ask for Vista (or not)

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

1) Someone else warned me off Dells, which is an assessment I'm inclined to agree with given my experience with them at work.

2) I really don't want to buy online, because of shipping costs if nothing else.