Rough Groove

Canon 350D DSLR

350D? 20D? 350D? 20D?

So confusing at first but considering that the 20D is scandalously expensive for the same photo quality that I finally settled for the 350D. Been reading the forums and reviews and comparisons of the two equipment but I have to go with the cheaper option. List price is P65,000.00 at Canon outlets but some stores sell it at dealer’s price. I was able to get mine for just P57,000.00 with a free Canon jacket and Canon Philippines warranty. Add to it the battery grip BG-E3 and an extra battery and it went to just P67,000.00. All from JT Photoworld. I went to Watson’s at Hidalgo near Quiapo and got a 2Gb compact flash card for P9,300.00 compared to the store just beside it at P10,500.00.

Next in the horizon: EF-S 17 - 85mm IS USM to replace the not so good EF-S 18 - 55mm kit lens. Digital photography is damn expensive!

HP Photosmart 7960

Initially, I was thinking of getting a Canon Pixma ip5000: 4 colors with additional black ink for text, 1 picolitre (!) micro nozzles, the smallest in current printers, 9600×2400 resolution and with a 12 month zero % interest if purchased via credit card. I have already read the forums and reviews and found it to be a good deal as well as enough for my current needs of printing my photos. These, plus mid priced ink and paper almost convinced me to get this baby.

Until I made a last ditch search in online articles and found Vincent Oliver’s very informative site Photo-i and came upon his review of the HP Photosmart 7960: 8 color ink with a very much touted grey ink (#59) for that faithful rendition of black and white tones that in other printers without the grey ink is bound to be cursed with a color cast. Since I will be printing usually in black and white, this capability attracted me most to this printer. Nevermind if the ink is a bit expensive and HP papers are a bit hard to find, well, I can address that, but first and foremost, I go for quality b/w prints which I believe this equipment will be able to give that.

While reading other articles, my choice got more muddled when it was said that there is the latest version of the 7960: the HP Photosmart 8450. With almost the same specs including the grey ink but this time, it has network capability and uses HP’s new Vivera inks that does not fade fast. With these in mind, I went to Glorietta in Ayala and checked prices. I came upon HP Home and Business and they had the two printers available at the same price! But the 7960 was 6 months zero % interest with extra free #59 and a webcam that whetted my appetite. Right there and then, I decided to get it. Well, I don’t need networking capability and with photoquality of the two printers just at par, 7960 was enough for me.

HP Photosmart 7960: P18,900.00 with free extra #59 grey ink, webcam and 40 sheets everyday photo paper
HP Photosmart 8450: P18,900.00
Canon Pixma ip5000: P15,000.00++

*photo from HP

Hard drive’s busted

Was able to visit the Toshiba service center in Makati yesterday and it was found out that the hard disk is busted. Damn. All those important data still embedded into the disk’s platters but irretrievable. Its as good as gone unless I shell out thousands of bucks just to retrieve it. But I can manage. Still got backups of my website and important databases circa 11 January. I just need to update these files. Another way also, is to make a copy of my entire salagubang site.

Now the hard disk. I was told that stock’s not yet present and I have to wait from 30 – 90 days for it to come! Not just that, I was given a quotation of around P16,500 pesos for a 20GB proprietary disk! Jesus! I never thought that notebook computer drives are scarily expensive. Not just that, I also don’t have the option of upgrading it to a higher capacity disk since I was told that the computer’s just built to have 20GB. Darn! Luckily, an angel came to my rescue and offered me a P12,500 hard disk, same capacity, same model and brand new which I readily got. Talk of underground deals. Shhh… but still, bad for my budget.

Now I’ve learned my lesson. Back up, back up and back up.