My Minuscule Moments

  I tend to over think things so I rely on our Father to guide me in decision making and following through with that in action  ; )  I'm known for trying on 27 pairs of jeans, to only find that I like 3 of them.  But once I find something I like I usually fall deeply in love with it after the dire search is complete.  Then there's those items I buy on a whim that seem  fun at the time but make my stomach ache in knots later, thus resulting in my returning them.  I can't help stewing over buying even little things like pyrex dishes or coffee creamer in an unknown new flavor for the fear of that 'what if I don't like it and can't take it back' feeling.  I regret to say this drives my husband crazy but he loves me enough to deal with my minuscule moments.  When I love something, I LOVE it.  Like a certain brand of makeup, jeans or tennis shoes.  They are well loved and used frequently until their dying day.  This sometimes makes it hard when it does come time to replace the passing product because I compare the new to the old.  Like when I dropped my super duper loved digital camera.  I dropped it outside while enjoying a nice sunny day, with my then 1 year old, on the bare pavement. 

It died right before my eyes and I was stranded.  If anyone knows how many photos I have collected in just the past 6 years, it wouldn't surprise you to feel my loss.  My current count is a little over 30,000 pictures! So began the search for its replacement.  I felt rushed and unprepared.  I wanted to stick with the same brand and style of my lost camera but couldn't buy the exact same Panasonic DMC-LZ7 again since technology is constantly changing.  I also knew I wanted a longer life battery since I bought AA's by the dozens previously.  So with a little list of priority I set foot and began shopping.  My checklist included: Panasonic as the brand, a rechargeable lithium battery, pocket size, video capable, and easy to use point & shoot operation.  I landed on a (not so cheap) Panasonic DMC-ZS5. 

It has features I don't know how to control but I typically stick with the 'sport' setting because I mostly take pictures of my active boys.  I thought then (but don't agree now) that the higher the megapixel the better quality camera you get. A website that reviewed this camera stated the comment
Sharpness: The wide-angle end of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5's zoom produced some moderate blurring in the corners, though the effect doesn't extend very far into the frame. http://www.imagingresource.com/PRODS/ZS5/ZS5A.HTM
I went from  7.2 to 12.1 megapixels, 6x optical to 12x optical zoom, and AA battery to rechargeable Lithium.  I like the HD video feature of my new camera more than my old standard video one but I feel I never get the same quality photo I used to.  The new camera, having a wide screen, seems to leave a 'grainy' look to the background and foreground often.  My old camera had exceptional zoom and bright, clear, up-close abilities.  I always received super shots with it at almost every click of the shutter.  Thus setting my expectation for the newer camera.  I will say I like my new one compared to a lot of others out there, but I don't know if I'd say I like it so much that I would pay double the price I paid for my old one.  I would have just liked to find my old one with a rechargeable lithium battery but like I said I thought the better the technology the more I'd love it... boy was I wrong.  I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't just return it.  This is the expensive lesson I learned on buying something through a discount place.  You may think you are getting a rockin' deal but I really ended up paying for it in the end.  I purchased a camera I COULDN'T RETURN...  I could only exchange it for another camera there.  I thought I could trust this particular store because I bought my LG HDTV that I couldn't be happier with at the same place.  My heart sank the day I brought it home but I have tried to learn how to use it to the best of its ability.  This happened because I was buying it on a whim, in a rush, and without comparing a wide variety before committing myself entirely.  I hope to gain more knowledge about this camera to make it capture the shots I'm looking for.  I think maybe it might just be too advanced for my novice knowledge whereas my old one could have been suited for beginners ; )  So the conclusion I have to come up with is maybe it's not the camera, it's the OPERATOR! LOL