Later Mag,

Long distance, better glass makes all the difference in the world.

Clarity is king.

And money usually buys clarity. That's what's always killed me on my lenses. Couldn't afford to drop 2k or more on one lens. My most expensive single lens is about $700.

Thats what sucks. You have to be careful. Even some of the more expensive lenses aren't that hot. Just expensive.

That cheap camera isn't too bad.

Not great in low light but impressive for 77 bucks.

Always bought second hand stuff that was well cared for. Used to be a frequent customer of Charlotte Camera, they had the best used equipment selection in the state. Plus you got to try it out in the store before you bought it, unlike Ebay. But the internet got the best of them, eventually.

Used to love my local shops. One went under and the other sold out. Can't stand it now. I buy mine online.

My wife has a little Cannon P&S camera that I carry a lot when I don't want to haul my gear around, it does pretty well for a <$100 camera.

I always said if I hit the lottery I would open a camera store, not neccessarily to make the money but to help out other photographers and give them a place to hang out. I know you wouldn't make any money at it, not now.

It is hard. We had two local shops that were great. One was just hurting and closed its door after expanding a few years earlier. The other was bought out by Ritz and became an unpleasant place to go.

We used to have a good one here locally, but it closed several years ago, before digital got big. There's a camera store in the next city down the road, it's the only place I know of to get slides processed, or they were a year ago. They may have stopped that now. I've still got a carton of slide film in the fridge that I need to do something with.