I had just finished reading this article about one photographer's addiction to buying gear...when UPS arrived at my door to deliver my latest purchase...a Canon EOS-M...a camera that hadn't even been on my radar...because it had received such terrible reviews...then it went on sale over the 4th of July holiday for fifty cents on the dollar...and I couldn't resist at least trying it...
Yep, that's what I told myself..."I might as well order one and give it a try"..."after all, I just gave away an older camera"..."I deserve a new one"...and "I already have lenses that will work with it"..."if I buy the optional adaptor"..."the one that costs almost as much as the camera"...
On and on...the rationalizations...and justifications...spewed forth...until finally I reflexively hit the checkout button...thinking to myself "if only I was a good enough photographer that I could get demo copies for free evaluation"...
Are you laughing yet?...I was...it was clear I had learned nothing from that other photographer's tale of woe...
In my defense, Canon had released a firmware upgrade the previous week...one designed to speed up the auto-focusing system...slowness being the chief complaint that reviewers cited as a reason not to buy the camera...so for half-price, there really wasn't a single impediment I could think of to prevent me from giving it a shot...
Sorry...really bad pun...
I'm still playing with the settings...I haven't read the manual...and already I am liking this camera quite a lot...it fits that niche space in between my point-and-shoot that can't quite capture the subtleties and bokeh...and a pro DSLR that is big and heavy, so it doesn't fit in a purse or travel well by air...if you want to take anything else with you and still meet the carryon restrictions...
Can you feel the rationalizations and justifications still flowing?
And about the slow auto focus?...even with the firmware upgrade, focusing remains slow...but when you put the camera in manual mode, turn off all the auto functions and shoot RAW, here is what you get...which I think is pretty remarkable for a $299 investment...