Filling Hours

Okay, so I'm STILL trying to upload all those Vietnam photos of my students and stuff (really slow internet here in KL) but I'm nearing the end and will be posting soon.

In the mean time, while it takes me 4 hours to upload 20 photos, I've been busy drooling over this:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_e30.asp

And this:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_e3.asp

Oh how the camera gods taunt me!!!

I love my E-500 but it's starting to look a little puny and after several overseas trips with me, it's taken a few hard knocks. Shamefully, I've neglected it a bit. I haven't been carrying it in a camera bag. It's taken on a bit of sand at the beach which scratched one of the mirrors inside. The eye piece broke off somewhere along the Pakistan-India border (okay, that's replaceable but still an annoyance). And even though I've had it for 4 years, I still haven't taken it for a single cleaning.

But I'm also getting good enough that I'm really feeling the limitations of this camera and desiring something with a little more umph. Something with a swivel screen, more aspect ratios (specifically, 16:9), live viewing, a durable body for shooting in the rain and those inevitable drops, remote control capability, longer exposures, faster shutter speeds, faster auto focus (this is a big need), more mega pixels (the E-500 has only 8), better image quality, a battery grip (holds two extra lithium batteries PLUS takes AA) for those long stretches without power in most countries, and then there's just the simple pride and bragging rights that comes with owning one of the most exciting new DSLRs on the market today!

I must get one! I'm vowing that before my next big trip, I will have a new camera that challenges me and better fits my needs. Hold me accountable, blogland! Maybe I'll start a savings meter on my page to mark my progress...