April 10th, 2007:
Camera and laptop have been bought! After months of price watching and online user review reading, I've picked out these essential gadgets for my trip.
For the camera, I decided upon the Canon Rebel XTi. I knew I wanted a DSLR camera since they take exceptional images, but I was torn between the Rebel and Sony's A100K. Both are around the same price, but Canon is known for their optical imaging abilities. Plus, I know people who swear by the Rebel. Sorry Sony! I bought 3 lenses for it also; a 0.5 Wide-Angle, 18-70mm, and 70-
For the laptop, I went with a Sony VAIO VGN-SZ390PW1 (whew, say that ten times fast). It's less than 4 pounds, has 160GB of hard drive space, 2.16GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, a/b/g wireless connectivity, dual-layer DVD burner, Windows XP Pro, and I found it for under $2k. I spent a LOT of time searching for just the right laptop. There are so many specifications, and so many manufacturers to choose from. I narrowed it down by looking at laptops that had the following specs:
1. Windows XP Pro: I'm not a Mac user, and I don't want to deal with all the Vista-related bugs since it was just released.
2. At least 160GB of hard drive space:
a. Figure 4GB for OS and software (Video Editing, Microsoft Office XP, etc.)
b. HD video data takes 7MB/sec or 420MB/min (I found different numbers online, but chose this since it was higher, and I didn't want to short-change myself).
i. Figure storing 4 hours of video data on laptop at any one time: 100.8GB
c. Photos from Canon Rebel XTi are about 9.8MB each in RAW format
i. Figure storing 1000 images at any one time on laptop: 9.8GB
d. Music: I'll need some of my favorite tunes while I'm traveling
i. Figure 10,000 songs at about 3.5MB each: 35GB
e. Est. total needed ยป 151GB
f. Note: Every so often, to free up storage space for new data, I'll FTP the data to whereiscliff.com and make back-up DVDs to mail home to Ma.
3. At least 2GHz processor and 2GB of RAM: No real reason for this, but it sounds good. I know I need lots of memory for editing video, and a faster processor is never a bad thing.
4. Less than 4 lbs: To lessen the load on my back and lap
5. Less than $2k: for cost savings
6. DVD-burner: for making backups to send home to Ma
I bought both these items off of Ebay since that's where I found the lowest prices. They should be delivered later this week. I'm crossing my fingers they work and don't die before Sept. 2008. That's a long time to cross one's fingers you know.
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