Great Debates

Less filling/Tastes great

I’m a Mac/And I’m a PC

Sony/Xbox

Windows/Linux

News paper/television news channel/internet news source

Paperback/hard bound book/eBook

iPod/Zune

OIF I/All the other OIF’s

There will always be disagreements due to brand loyalty and personal experience. Whether it is about what qualities make an adult beverage the best, which type of computer is better, which game system is top of the line, or which operating system for your computer you should use, people will always passionately back their views on something.

One could say I sit on the fence for most such disagreements. I could care less about adult beverages for one thing. Some computers are simply better suited for some situations than others…same with video game systems. As far as operating systems go, it is all FORTRAN to me.

I have noticed over the years that for video editing/creation or musical listening Apple makes some pretty good programs, but to use their full potential you need to run them on a Mac. If I want to do “office” type stuff nothing beats a Microsoft PC. Although Firefox is a great system, I still prefer the look of Safari (even if it doesn’t like my PC that well).

There is one debate I will immediately jump into with a passion though:

Nikon versus Canon cameras.

I admit my experience with Canon cameras is limited to my old point-and-shot 35mm film camera from last deployment, and my FS100 digital camcorder that I have with me this deployment. When I decided to give photography a serious amateur effort a few years ago I did a few weeks of online research and review reading on both Canon and Nikon models. The common points against Canon were poor ergonomic design (didn’t fit/feel “right” to a lot of people including myself), smaller lens selection, and at the time price.

The things that drew me to Nikon were the high glass standard (they know how to make lenses), good ergonomics, fair price, and the fact that any lens made by Nikon will fit on any film or digital SLR camera body (although with some it requires an adapter). True there are some Canon models that can share lenses, but being able to use 30+ years of lenses on just about any camera body I buy can’t be beat. OK Nikon's logo also looks cooler to me than Canon’s does. Another influencing factor would be brand loyalty. My dad has had a Nikon for as long as I remember (with lots of lenses begging to be taken out of his camera bag and used again). I also had a Nikon digital point and shoot camera before deciding to move on to a digital SLR.

Lately I’ve been feeling quite down. One of the reasons being that I haven’t been able to unwind in my usual ways (it’s a desert, why can’t I take a Humvee off-roading in it?). Of those ways I miss taking pictures the most. My Canon is a nice little camera, but the overall quality isn’t up to my standards. Today I decided to forego fast food for the next month or so and purchased a digital SLR for use over here…yeah you guessed it, I found a Nikon. If finding happiness just from the feel of holding a familiar item in one’s hand is a sign of mental illness then I need to be evaluated because I’ve pretty much been on Cloud 9 since about 1330 hrs. today. With luck I’ll soon have official permission to take photos not only in Iraq but here in Kuwait as well. I have a plan for what I’d like to do with them, to be blogged about at a later date after I flesh it out a bit and have it cleared by Public Affairs, and so far it’s already helped me vent some steam. Hopefully I can translate those pent up issues into some great photos of this deployment and region of the world. Either way though I’ll be doing it with a real camera…a Nikon ;)

Everyone be safe.

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