My journey around this fast evolving globe of digital photography had begun clutching onto the robust hand-grip of a Sony Handycam DCR-HC42E. Undoubtedly it was a huge upgrade over the Yashica MF-2 film camera I had been merrily using till then. The new gadget looked so posh and technology rich that I missed the basic point- it wasn't a still camera! It was built for serious videography. Clicking still photos with this highly potent camcorder was like using a smartphone as paperweight. Despite the minuscule resolution, its brilliant Carl Zeiss optics could produce some decent photographs. My sole purpose was travel photography. Carrying that beauty in any trip meant not only putting up with her poor battery backup, but also paying the additional video recording charges wherever applicable.
Having already parted with a hefty sum on buying the camcorder, I was too broke to fix my unmet need. It was the phone camera of Nokia 3250 that kept my point and shoot zeal alive for many subsequent years of travelling, till I got hold of a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W350 which belonged to my girlfriend. Although I had liberal access to that pink shooter and few best journeys of my life owe their gratitude to her, she was too automatic for my taste back in those days. In spite of a thin wallet, hunt and struggle for a proper camera was still on. It took another couple of years to bring home my first capable still shooter, a Nikon Coolpix L120. It had an astounding focal reach of 25-525 mm which translates to 21x of optical zooming ability! It was the time when camera manufacturers were aggressively competing on megapixel (resolution) and zoom range numbers.
Having already parted with a hefty sum on buying the camcorder, I was too broke to fix my unmet need. It was the phone camera of Nokia 3250 that kept my point and shoot zeal alive for many subsequent years of travelling, till I got hold of a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W350 which belonged to my girlfriend. Although I had liberal access to that pink shooter and few best journeys of my life owe their gratitude to her, she was too automatic for my taste back in those days. In spite of a thin wallet, hunt and struggle for a proper camera was still on. It took another couple of years to bring home my first capable still shooter, a Nikon Coolpix L120. It had an astounding focal reach of 25-525 mm which translates to 21x of optical zooming ability! It was the time when camera manufacturers were aggressively competing on megapixel (resolution) and zoom range numbers.
