I purchased my first digital camera, an Olympus C700UZ in late 2001.

 At the time, I didn't really see much use for a digital camera, other than to put pictures out on the web, or to view them on your computer. The reason that bought that camera was to take photos in my shop as I disassembled various assemblies. This would give me documentation of parts orientation etc.

 I chose the Olympus for it's macro capability, but also because I could get it at half price.  

 I was at Sears looking at digitals, and had pretty much made up my mind on the Olympus C700, but was still struggling with the price when the salesman mentioned that he had one on clearance for 50% off. It was a gift return, so they couldn't sell it at full price. Other than the box having been opened, everything inside was still in their sealed bags. Seeing as that camera retailed for $599.95 at the time, getting it for $299.00 was quite a bargain. I know, you can buy a whole lot of digital camera today for $300.00, but this was 2001, and digitals had just improved a lot.

 Well, to make a long story short, with one exception, I haven't used a film camera since I purchased that Olympus. I have a small fortune wrapped up in 35mm camera equipment, but digital has finally freed me from the photo labs, and has given me complete control of my images. From shutter press to print, I finally have the darkroom that I have always wanted.

 Of course I now have a small fortune wrapped up in digital equipment, because, unless you just want to send E-mail attachments, or look at your photos on a computer, you need much more than just a digital camera, you will also need a printer or two, and more cameras.

 My next digital camera purchase was a Canon Digital EOS 10D. This camera is a 6.3 megapixle digital SLR powerhouse, it is far more capable of photography than I am, it almost approaches medium format capabilities. The problem with the 10D is, it is an SLR, so, if I am going to be using it, I must carry a large camera bag full of lenses and accesories.

 To fill the gap between the 2MP Olympus, and the 6MP Canon SLR, I purchased a Canon PowerShot S400 Digital Elph. That little Canon is 4MP, with a three power optical zoom lens, and is the same size as a pack of cigarettes. It easily rides in a pocket ready for instant use, and will take photos that I have enlarged to 13"X17".

 When I first started printing photos, I just used the printer that I already had, a Hewlet Packard HP 712C, a four color, "photo quality" ink jet printer, I thought that it did a pretty good job of printing photos.

 In June of 2003, I purchased a Hewlet Packard Photosmart HP 7560, a seven color "Photo" printer. This new printer really opened up photo printing for me, the quality was outstanding. It's only downfall, was that the inks are dye based, and the prints will air fade if not printed on special vinyl coated photo paper, so I was stuck using only gloss, or semi-gloss papers.

 An unfortunate accident brought my HP 7560 to an early demise, so, in March of 2004 I replaced it with an Epson Stylus Photo 2200. This is a seven color semi-wide format printer that can accept rolls of photo paper, it is capable of printing 13"X44" panoramic photos.

 This Epson printer uses pigment based inks and does spectacular work, being pigment based, the inks aren't subject to air fade, so I can print on my favorite papers, true mattes, and fine art paper.

 Add in a good quality photo scanner, some basic software and I can now scan and repair, or enhance old film photos.

Click on the "Photos" button to view samples of my work.

                 Email your comments/suggestions to mailto:lonnie@sc.rr.com

© Alonzo walker 2004