March 19, 2009
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Time to buy a new Camera?
Lately I’ve been wondering if i need a new camera…and some things have been brought to my attention in regards to the size of the pictures on my entries. I was on a computer that runs at a lower resolution (1024 x 768) and my pictures just fit on the screen with the xanga side bar…and the pics did look somewhat obnoxiously big…. 
However, all the monitors at home and at work run a minimum of 1280 as width….in the beginning i just did this xanga of food i ate really just for myself…then people wanted words and lord knows i don’t have the patience to go back and grammatik/revise/spell check it…….then they wanted prices…then they wanted the pic of the front of the restaurant….and lets not forget about all the annoying comments left by my little sister. my how this eatsite has evolved… 
…all the SLR and borderline SLR’s are still quite bulky for me…(i am master of the segway) 
G9, G10, and even the Nikon borderlines are just too big…and so far i haven’t found a PAS that has a faster shutter speed and options as my PAS…and this is important, since i only have a small allocated amount of time to take these pics…people are waiting to eat!!! waiting while i take a shot of the entire dish and a closeup too. 
The other thing is, i think my camera has lasted so long (including the battery) is that i never use the flash…all my shots are flashless, repeat, and man handling the ISO… 
and of course Macro for the close ups….jeez, i love natural light…its like THE BEST in all photo situations. 
Though granted, alot of the fancy shmancy restaurants are/have horrible lightning…but on rare opportunities, AMAZING NATURAL LIGHTING presents itself…and optimum droolage is achieved…. 
I am pretty sure i don’t want to go to an SLR, cause i know i’m not gonna carry that thing around… 
Well as my viewer, what are your thoughts? are the pics too big? too blurry? Any camera recommendations?
maybe i’ll listen to them. lol.Canon PowerShot SD550: Born 2005 
Megapixels: 7.1 Weight: 0.4 lbs Memory: 4gb SD LCD size: 2.5″ Price: $239 (at the time)
Comments (24)
Was at the Dealership getting the ride tuned up.
walked next door to TGIF and tried some of the food that people recommended.
the entrée wasn’t that good…i really think the JD sauce should stick to the wings and ribs…on everything else its just not that great, but the fried mac and cheese, and the fried string beans with supplied dipping sauce were pretty good….
then again it is TGIF…so take from this review what you will. *shrug.
tis all good! keep it up!
If the camera continues to work…just hold onto it, you’re getting great shots!!
What are you shooting w/?
Can I eat off your plate once you are finished taking photos of it?
its cool man ill always get my slr on my back whenever i’m out eating
but man your old camera is still diesel my friends dad has 3 of them actually mom daught and son, and yet he is a studio photographer.
Hi, I found your blog a year ago through a link on Chowhound. Great site! I’m partial to the reviews on Queens’ restaurants, because I chow at the same areas.
Your photos are fine, but then I do have a 1280×800. I don’t think you should worry about the older screens with lower resolutions- they’ll upgrade eventually. I think there might be a visitor widget that you could put to see what resolutions your visitors are using but I can’t think of it on top of my head.
If you are still interested in high ISO capable cameras that are also portable then you might want to check out the Fuji Finepix F100fd and F200EXR (latest and maybe better). The Panasonic LX3 is also worth considering, but I’ve heard its portability is between the Finepix and the G10. The LX3 is also an awesome camera if you want some serious manual control and it shoots HD at 720p.
sorry i dont think it’s the camera, it’s your technique. your shots are boring as all the food is shot in the exact same way -extreme closeups and off center. granted, you dont do any food styling or photoshopping afterward, but there’s no creativity that makes any picture on this blog a “great picture”.
@icantsee - i use a Canon SD550 (http://www.xanga.com/Azriha/571645628/item/)
@myskinnyfiles - of course, though you can understand some of the impatience i deal with when i take pictures of friend’s plates…lol.
@lCrAzYAzNl - word, and that’s why you’re the camera dude of FatNation.
@animentis - thanks for the compliments, i’ll make sure to check out those cameras. i actually started out with a FUJI…that thing was a HUGE PAS…
@mariesmist - thanks for the insight.
i lot my SD550 during halloween and got a SD1100IS. Both work(ed)great!
That’s the fried mac & cheese? Holy shiznit! I gotta get me some of THAT! And you mentioned me cuz you
me. Duh. I have to say I miss the 550′s features sometimes while using the 1100is (I think? I forget what I got, but you know what it is) that I now use, but the load time is slightly faster and there are minor improvements over the 550… but not where it counts, such as manual functions. Which you also know. Bah. I’m still not sure I made the right decision but then again, at what, $10 that I paid for it, not that bad, I guess.
I didn’t know TGIF offered non-major-branded root beer. That’s cool.
Is that the JD chicken? I remember trying every JD item on the menu when I was in late high school/early college, and the pork chops were aiite as was the chicken, but the ribs were the best and the steak wasn’t too bad either (out of the JD items). But I’m biased against ordering chicken, especially white meat, in American restaurants.
As for the pics, I think they’re fine, I don’t have problems viewing them and I usually run my res kind of low… Now for a dSLR… if you want to buy one… well, hmm… I kind of want one too. I would recommend staying in the Canon family but beyond that, I don’t know enough about the models (I stopped researching when I decided I was not going to get one last year). BF might know though… he’s done research before (not for me).
Now I want that mac&cheese hard.
How come I can’t edit my comment? I want to change that last word to “bad”
I’ll be the first to admit that I know near nothing about cameras, lighting, and food photography but in my humble opinion, your pictures (and ESPECIALLY the ones in this photo) are almost always fantastic enough to make me drool onto my keyboard (or maybe that’s the food itself looking tantalizing?). In any case, I have no complaints about your photos. I am a huge fan of both your photos and your blog in general.
LOL. Recommendation… the canon G9.. dunno if they still sell it. It’s still a point and shoot camera but it’s like a baby SLR… dunno if it’s still in production though.
OMNOMNOMNOM!
why not DSLR?
I usually think that the food at TGI Friday’s is pretty mediocre, and I really don’t get too excited when my friends or coworkers want to go and eat there, but your pics makes the food look really and makes me think that maybe they aren’t so bad. So in other words your camera is just fine, and I think it takes beautiful, CLEAR up close shots just fine.
is that fried cheese or something like that? i love it!!! so hungry now… :’(
i think ur photos is good,i wont give up a camera when it’s still work.
canon is nice, if u want onw then maybe you can buy the newest model. i m not using the newest one, mine is IXUS 80IS
I was too busy looking at the fried mac and cheese to notice what you were writing about, i’ll be honest.Also, did you know that the fried green beans have more fat and cals than actual french fries?!
food pics are meant to be big to portray a sense of presence.
but not so big that you’d have to scroll horizontally in the browser…
my laptop’s running on 1024, and i think the pictures are JUST PERFECT, azriha.
as some thinks the problem is your technique.. but i just want to defend you..
i think you shoot pretty instictively and you don’t put any MSG (i mean photoshopping)
I LIKE YOUR PICTURES.
the pictures are good, pretty clear, but i’ve seen clearer pictures on better cameras…so i guess if you want super clearer pictures then you’ll need a better camera..but in my personal opinion i wouldnt spend so much money on a camera lol. nice pictures though
@moonbunny - Well did you get your fried mac fix?
@janieishme - Thank you! your appreciation helps me keep this site going! Hope you and your BF have been eating good! =)
@survive_style_five - Thanks for the suggestions, but as stated, the G9 and G10 are too clunky…too big…though their shutter speeds are faster if not as fast as my SD550.
@ootchan - shway too clunky.
@KETARITA - honestly? franchises are usually not my favorite places to go to unless i’m craving specifically for certain items from them. However, i do recommend staying with the good shtuff…As Hooters has decent wings, TGIF got good JD wings and JD ribs…and some of the appetizers are hit or miss (really depends on that specific restaurant sometimes, par example, the TGIF in my neighborhood has awesome JD wings and JD ribs, but the JD wings and JD ribs 20 blocks away sucks soooo bad.), out back, got to get the bloomin onion, and charlie browns? only go there for their lobster fest specials….mmm mmm good.
@smellslikeme - yup, fried mac and cheese…very very good. =) Yesh i like my camera alot, and you are right, if it works…why give it up?
@heyjulsiscoo - i wouldn’t mind eating with you…where are you located? 0_o
@jam_on_pancake - you’re the bestest. thanks for coming to my defense…my pictures, however, are nothing compared to yours…how yours encapsulate beauty and artistry that explodes as the minds eye attempts to fathom every crevice of information it discloses in blatant and subtle detail.
@LaoPinkDiva - Thanks!
@AzrihaEatsWorld -
Phillly philllyyy, philly where I am from
@AzrihaEatsWorld - Nope, I’m going to try to make my own this weekend probably, using from-scratch mac&cheese… mmm… gotta figure this out…
Is that dipping sauce or just a decorative drizzle of cheese?
@moonbunny - just a drizzle of cheese, though it would have been awesome if it was a drizzle of spicy cheese…mmmm spicy cheese…