I got the Rebel!

I got the Rebel XTi in the mail today!  Yes!  Complete with tripod, lenses, filters, etc.  It's April 16th.  Four months to go, and then goodbye Massachusetts!  Four and a half months and goodbye USA!

April 10^th, 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 » 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.

Next is the HD camcorder purchase.  I need to buy it before June 1 so I can play with it before my Alaska and Oregon trips in July.  I've narrowed it down to the Canon HV20 and Sony HC7.  I'm not looking forward to dropping another $1k on travel gadgets, but it's an essential piece of my luggage.   Oh, you can probably tell who my two favorite tech gadget companies are huh?

Oh, and I'm posting this on April 15th, but wrote all of the above on April 10th....I wanted to wait until I actually got the laptop in the mail to submit this post using the laptop.  So, I'm using the laptop!!  It works...for now...cross my fingers...it is an Ebay purchase afterall...

 

So I'm finalizing my itinerary (only 4 months until I leave!!) and here are the general locations I'll be going to, and the rough dates I'll be there: