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Hot on the heels of my transition from CDs to MP3s, we have finally invested in a digital camera. Strangely enough, we have spent the beginning of this millenium using a device known as an “SLR camera” which uses a curious material called “film”.

Now, our SLR camera is a very nice thing indeed and will continue to be put to good use when high-quality prints are required. But a digital camera gives us a smaller, more portable option that theoretically allows us to take as many shots as we’d like for free. Theoretically.

The camera in question is a Fujifilm E500: nothing fancy, just a compact 4.1 Mpixel unit that was very reasonably priced. What sold me was the “28-90mm” lens (in 35mm terms) and the ability to put the camera in full manual mode, both unusual at the E500’s price point. I could have gotten more zoom, but I find that wide-angle comes in handy more often — after all, you can only back up so much. This is by no means a fantastic digital camera — we hope to one day replace our current SLR body with a compatible digital one — but it’ll get the job done.

Thanks to the generosity of Will Luke, I now have an account at Flickr where I’ve posted some of my fledgling attempts at digital photography. I’ll spare you all the out-of-focus test shots of our cat, I promise.