In case it wasn’t apparent, last weekend I became a master. To be a little more precise, last Saturday I received my Master’s Degree in Human-Computer Interaction in a commencement ceremony at Indiana University Bloomington’s Assembly Hall. Congrats to me and all my commrades. If I may speak for all of us, it has been a great experience, life-changing in fact. Hopefully soon I’ll write up a summary of my experiences here. But first things first:
I need to buy myself a present!
I received a number of great gifts, many of which included cash. Now, if I were a good money-saver I’d probably plug this money into a 401k plan or other long-term investment opportunity, but alas, I am not said money-saver. I’ll get around to doing more of this saving in the next few years, as I make somewhat more money than I’ll be able to easily spend…hopefully.
So what should I get myself? A lot of ideas have crossed my mind. Part of me wants a portable video game system. It looks like no matter what job I end up with, I’ll be travelling a lot next year. A PSP or some sort of GameBoy would probably be nice while sitting in airports. But I keep reminding myself that I don’t really like video games all that much. I buy a game and play it for a week, then inevitably get bored. It’s just how it works with me. Instead I think I’ll just buy more books with the money I’d spend on video games. I like reading more anyway.
A new digital music player would be nice. My trusty shuffle seems to have conked out. This is quite ennervating…especially since I’ve only had the thing for a little over a year. Apple is balking at the idea of fixing it, which upsets me…and I refuse to pay the $110 fee that it costs to fix it when i could just buy a new one for $99. I shouldn’t have to pay anything at all, though…it’s a software issue, not hardware. They just need to flash on a new version of the OS. I’ll take it to an apple store next time I’m in a big city…until then I’ll use my big iPod…which seems ever-so-giant at the moment. I don’t know how that’s possible, but my 60 gig iPod Photo just feels huge when I try to pack it. I like to try to minimize weight as I travel, so the iPod just feels a little unruly. Still, at this point I’m depending on Apple to fix my Shuffle so I don’t have to spend money on a new one. So I’ll wait on the music stuff before I ponder buying new…
This all leads me to begin thinking about my digital photography. I really like taking pictures…and have become quite attached to my old Canon S200. I know how it works…I’ve figured out all the modes and buttons, but for some reason I feel like I need something new. When I think about the long-run of my photography hobby, I know that 2 megapixel images just aren’t enough. I want to be able to blow up pictures and make them big…just in case. I also know that newer cameras have cool new features that might improve my photography.
Part of me really wants a Digital SLR camera. The prices have dropped significantly, and it feels like this is the next logical step. There’s one big BUT though when it comes to SLR photography, in my mind. It’s an attitude change. With my tiny little point-and-shoot, I can put my camera away when I’m not using it, back in my bag, and become just another person in a crowd. With a big huge bulky SLR camera, you’re always a photographer, because the camera is giant. I just don’t know if I’m ready for that.
Still, I think I’m going on a number of trips this summer, and it would be nice to take good pictures and really learn something about photography. So I ask you, the internet. What do you think? Is Digital SLR photography worth it? Why do/don’t you do it? Why am I fit or not fit to do it? Oh, and if you’re in the know, what cameras should I check out?
I’ll look forward to your responses as I figure out what I should gift myself…
5 responses to “Graduation & Josh’s Present State”
[…] My advice to Josh is to think of being without money for a month, including savings, with only grace periods and continued extended family support to get you by. What is it that you would want more than anything? Sock enough money away for that thing, and buy yourself some peace of mind: Whatever happens, you know you can at least still get X. We’ve long spent all of our X money. […]
If you’re thinking at all about a portable gaming system, the Nintendo DS would be my recommendation — the DS lite is coming out next month, so if you were going to get one, I’d wait for that (same price, smaller size, brighters screens).
The big thing with the DS is that Nintendo is trying their best to broaden what constitutes a “game” — they’re actively working to create games for people who don’t necessarily like traditional games all that much.
Some of the highlights:
Animal Crossing: Wild World — A very freeform game: you can do things for people, earn money to pay off your mortgate, chop down trees, go fishing (ok, so this is probably a bad explanation of Animal Crossing, but it is pretty fun).
Brain Age — A collection of stuff that’s intended as sort of mental exercise games.
Electroplankton — A sort of “not-game” that just lets you play with odd little creatures in order to create music.
Nintendogs — Basically a “raise a puppy” simulator. You can talk to your puppy (with the built-in mic) and you can even pet your puppy (with the touchpad).
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — A sort of court-room comedy game where you cross-examine witnesses and try to pick apart their testamony.
Trauma Center: Under the Knife — Imagine sort of a digital version of the game Operation (thought a bit more complex).
There are also a lot of more “normal” games available for the DS as well, but I just figured I’d give some of the highlights along the edges of what’s out there.
Though I will provide a word of warning — if you get a DS and Nintendogs, avoid letting any women you know near the two. (I’ve heard that the usual result is that you’ll wind up having to buy yourself another DS if you ever want to play again)
I talked to your mom – I was able to get you a Yankee ticket 2 rows behind us.
I did a lot of investigation on DSLR’s and purchased a Nikon D70s (which has come down in price since). If you want to take good snapshots, buy yourself a good point-and-shoot. The sensors are smaller and yoiu’ll have less flexibility with zoom, but they take good shots and are small. DSLR’s give you better picture quality, better optics, more lens options, more settings – what you want if you want to be a photographer vs. a snapshot taker. Neither is good – it’s all about how much time and money you want to invest in photography.
I’m happy to talk to you re: DSLR’s…
I like Kevin’s advice and recent posting. With Jen and my wedding coming up, we’re that much more in love with Quicken for making sure we don’t go completely crazy with money frustrations.
However, due to some unexpected income, we were able to buy the camera we’ve been pondering over since about Feb. We got the Canon S2 IS, which so far we adore. I did quite a bit of looking around, and for a DSLR-like camera, its pretty potent. We bought it so we could take nice quality (5MP) photos with a decent zoom (12x optical) while on our honeymoon. It also takes quite good quality videos with stereo sound at the full optical zoom length. About 9 minutes of the highest quality video on a 1GB SD card. Its definately not a DV camera, but it can also take much more video with less quality, which should work quite well for the upcoming capstone project stuff.
i think dSLRs are awesome. i love my D70. it feels great in my hand. it takes excellent pictures. i can mess with all the features and almost always get a picture of what i want. though as you’ve said, one of the disadvantages is having to carry it around and be the “photographer” and often “tourist.” for that reason, i wish i had both so that i could carry around the one that matched the situation. check out http://www.dcresource.com/ for camera reviews. it’s a great site.
id also recommend getting one of the national geographic field guide books. my dad let me borrow his 35mm one and it has some good photographic basics (equipment types and shotting tips for different situations). they have a digital version, which i assume would be just as good.