The Camera

The first in a series of "The ..." posts, is our newest baby-essential item: Our new dSLR.  We're both researchers, so we read a fair bit about various SLR rigs, and here's the result:

It's a Pentax K-x. We chose it based on a zillion reviews, but the features that really sold us are:

1. Fantastic low-light shooting capabilities. Because it's not always sunny in paradise.
2. Super-duper fast burst speed (~5fps) coupled with a similarly speedy shutter speed (1/6000 sec.)   Because as the inimitable Ferris Bueller one said: "Life moves pretty fast.  If you son't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it."  
3. Wide ISO range (up to 6400 - again about the low-light shooting.)
4. HDR Capture. (Can shoot three simultaneous shots at different exposures and combine them.) Funky cool feature usually handled in post.
5. AA Batteries.  Lots of stuff runs on AA's, including this camera.  We've got lots of good rechargeable AAs.  The two can play together, so we don't need to lug around another charger and special batteries.
6. It shoots HOT pictures.  It's arguably the best entry-ish level SLR right now, and it puts up some pretty stiff competition to higher-end cameras when it comes to image quality.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, we humbly submit the first three photos shot when we arrived at the a few days ago.  (More will follow, I promise!)

And if you want to check the camera out yourself, they do indeed sell it at Amazon.  And it comes in various colors!  Dig it: