Digital SLR Cameras

Big deal, right? Well, once we got to looking, the price range is enormous. Anywhere from $500 to $1,000.00. She got me to give in like she always does. So I agreed to about $600.00. She found one. I was pleased. Then she said, "Oh yeah, I need a lens for it too." What?!? It doesn't come with a lens? "Not a good enough one." Apparently to capture pictures of our kids playing peewee soccer, we need to be Alfred Stieglitz.

We've been through numerous digital cameras over the years. We had a Kodak Easy Share camera that my wife loved. But it got damaged during our big Christmas van wreck of 2009 (more on that in a later hub) and so we bought a "new and improved" version of the Easy Share and it just didn't take very good pictures. We have proven the old maxim, "You get what you pay for" over and over, so we have begun saving a little longer before buying. Especially since we got rid of the old credit cards. For example, we bought each of 6 kids who are in school a Samsonite backpack for about $100. Sounds like a lot, right? Well, we were buying our kids between 1 and 2 backpacks EACH a year because they would wear out. So take $40 per year for cheapos, or buy one that will last for several years and you come out better spending the money up front.

We found those Samsonite backpacks because our middle daughter had to have a pacemaker installed and can't carry a backpack, so she needs one with rollers. This is a kid who is point man on her soccer team and runs head on into boys twice her size because "that's her ball" and she can't carry a backpack over the lead on her shoulder. Anyway.

Back to cameras. So I need a $600 camera and a $200 lens now. Not without the power of crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is a new phenomenon with the internet where large numbers of people pool their collective knowledge on a subject which reduces the chance of error--if it's done right. My wife has figured this out, so she started asking around on her "momma" boards about successes and failures with digital cameras. Here is what she found:

"LOVE the Canon T2i. Had a Nikon prior, but Canon is way better"

"I have a Nikon D5000. I like it a lot, the only drawback for me is that I am limited to lens that will autofocus within the lens, though that isn't really a problem because I haven't bought any extra lenses and when I do, the tops of my list will all work with my camera. If I were buying today I would get a D7000"

"I have pro level cameras but if I were buying today to start out, I'd go for the Nikon D7000 if it was affordable, and if not, then I'd go for a used D90 or D300.

I've shot with Canon Rebel XS, XSi and XT cameras but I'm not familiar with the recent Canon Rebels."

"I am a huge Lumix fan."

"All Canon's entry level DSLRs will autofocus with all the current lenses but some of Nikons do not. Both are great brands -- I shot with Canon DSLRs for over a year before switching to Nikon."

"My SIL has the D3000 (the older version of the 3100) and she loves it. She only shoots on auto and gets some very nice shots. You'll definitely be able to get some great shots right out of the box (once you get used to the camera and adjusting your lens) and once you're comfortable with it, you can get into the more complicated settings."

"Check out Ken Rockwell for a review."

"Manual zooms on both the Nikons & Canons. If you want to be able to to zoom in very much at all you will likely have to get another lens other than the ones that come standard"

"The lens that comes with the Canon t2i kit, is a good lens, but for closer type pictures. I still use mine a lot. If you're going for Zoom...the IS is a HUGE MUST! I just got one that is amazing. Play play play. It's the best way to learn with the DSLR's. There are a bunch of sites too that you can go to that help you learn to play with all the options. "

All those soccer moms have different preferences, but one camera stood out. So it looks like the Canon t2i is it. Every once in a while a company makes a product that it can't top. So far, everyone loves the Canon t2i and says not to bother with the next version.

What does the Canon t2i offer? A large viewing window for one. My old Minolta SG7 student camera in college had a little viewfinder you had to peer through. Now you just look at the tv screen on the back of your camera. My parents had a state of the art VHS camcorder back in the day. I'd heft that thing onto my shoulder and I was the coolest. Now your Canon t2i takes full HD video as well. Darkroom? I always enjoyed the effects I could create in the darkroom in my photos. Now just load the SDHC card into your PC and you can do anything a professional photographer can do if you play around with it long enough.

I'll come back and update this review after my wife plays around with her camera long enough. Who knows, she might even let me use it!

Update: This camera is the real deal. Great pictures...and for an amatuer user, it has great automatic settings. I have taken some great action shots of my kids playing soccer. The autofocus has the ability to toggle between two focal points so you can catch action both near and far when shooting across the field. I still haven't been able to take many pictures since my wife is usually hogging it. At any rate, if any camera setup is worth about a thousand bucks, this one delivers as promised!

Smarty Pig Micro Savings Account

Smart. Simple. Savings.

I stole that. That's SmartyPig's slogan. And it is true. I don't remember how I stumbled onto SmartyPig, but I'm glad I did.

The first time I mentioned SmartyPig to my wife, she said, "Smarty what?" Then proceeded to tell me how we were not going to put money into something called SmartyPig because there was no way a reputable bank would call itself SmartyPig. Well, SmartyPig is actually a niche market of BBVA Compass. And boy is it a good one.

Here's the gist: Throw out your credit cards and start saving for the things you want like a real adult. Set a goal, like a KitchenAid mixer, because you couldn't normally afford one. You put $25 or more in to open the account. You set a target date to save the money by--3 months, 6 months, a year. You contribute to the goal every month automatically from your regular bank account. You get to see the progress toward your goal. You can even share on Facebook and accept contributions if other people want to help you out.

So I convinced my wife to let me try it. Now she wants SmartyPig accounts for birthdays (we have 8 kids so it is always somebody's birthday), Christmas, big ticket items we need to replace like our washer and dryer, a KitchenAid mixer, summer family vacation, you name it, we can save for it. Then, when we are ready to cash in, we can get a "cash boost" by getting Amazon gift cards or cards from other retailers and getting bonus cash added to our final dollar amount. It's awesome. This is one of my favorite things I've ever stumbled upon. And we have been able to completely eliminate our credit cards because we now have an alternative to plan responsibly to get what we want. What better lesson could we learn and teach our kids at the same time?

KitchenAid Mixers

You get what you pay for.

If you read any of my reviews, you will see this maxim at least once. And I have come to believe it. When my wife and I first got married, we were the king and queen of outlet and liquidation shopping. We could not pass one of those salvage stores.

Don't get me wrong, we still hit those. But we are looking for the rare deal where you get a "best of breed" (thanks Jim Cramer) brand for a heck of a price. We went down the road of buying cheap and we got cheap stuff. It broke. It gave out. It didn't perform as promised. And usually at the most inopportune time: with company on the way.

So we've decided to get smart and quick throwing good money after bad. The last straw for me was when we bought a Sunbeam stand mixer when my wife really wanted a KitchenAid. The Sunbeam was $99 at Walmart. It looked and felt heavy, but was plastic. Still, we didn't think we could afford the $300 for a KitchenAid. So we bought it. It lasted a year or two, then gave out. Burnt up mixing a cake. So my wife bought a $9 hand set which promptly burnt out and wore her out as well. So she got another...it's possible she bought a 3rd, but I have lost count.

So I opened a Smarty Pig account (see my hub on Smarty Pig). We had saved 2 months short of our goal when Amazon ran a special on Kitchen Aid mixers. Not just a kitchen model, but the pro series. We were able to close our Smarty Pig goal early by cashing it as an Amazon Gift Card, saved around $100, and had our mixer two months early! Which means I had to buy my wife something different for her birthday. That might have been a good thing since jewelry is better than a mixer to say, "I love you."

Anyway, the mixer is a hoss. This thing would stir hardened concrete (almost). Again, I will reiterate: You get what you pay for. If we had settled for a standard kitchen model, I think we would have been happy, but we wouldn't have known what we were missing. Need potato chips? Add an attachment. Need pasta? Add an attachment. Need raw nuclear material processed? I don't think they make an attachment for that yet. But wait a little while.

The pro series we got is a beautiful black pearl color. It has a bread hook that mixes bread so i don't have to knead it by hand. It has a whisk that keeps me from standing there to get "stiff peaks" out of my eggs. Finally, the beaters made short work of 5 pounds of peanut butter with a pound of honey (my kids love sandwiches).

Save your money. Buy the best. Get a KitchenAid.

I love my Kindle

I waited almost 2 years to buy a Kindle.

But every time I tried to think of something I wanted more, I couldn't. Finally, with gift money I recieved from family for finishing my doctorate, I gave in and bought a 2nd generation Kindle with 3G access. I loved it so much and began plowing through book after book (I've read 30 or so in the last 8 months--much of it public domain material that cost me nada, zero, zilch, $0) that my wife bought a 3rd generation and we gave our freshman daughter one for Christmas. Our daughter's is a wi-fi version and I would recommend sticking with the more expensive 3G models.

I have always said, you get what you pay for and the 3G model is no exception. You can turn it off to save battery when you don't need to buy books. Turn it on when you want it. You don't have to hook it up via USB to a pc or find a McDonalds or Starbucks to get online to set it up or buy stuff you want.

Why the Kindle instead of the Nook? Amazon invented this type of eReader. I'm not saying the Nook isn't good, but they are touting their color version and you just don't need it. If you are strictly wanting to read text, the e-ink of the Kindle is unbelievable. It creates absolutely no eye strain whatsoever. The commercials that show you reading on the beach are a bit of a stretch...you can do it, but the "no glare" is true if you hold the Kindle at an angle from the sun. The screen is a matte plastic covering so you get a slight glare until you angle it. However, the iPad and the Nook have gloss plastic or glass screens, so glare is unavoidable. I'm not saying those are not good devices for those of you about to get offended...I am just saying that the Kindle is the best option if you strictly want 1,500 volumes of text available at your fingertips.

You can also register several Kindles in your name so they all contain the same books. If we'd have known this, I would have bought the other two Kindles under my account so we all had the same library. Oh well, hindsight and all. They simply would have been registered as Kevin's Kindle 1, Kevin's Kindle 2, and Kevin's Kindle 3. No biggie. But you can lend books under a limited basis. I think this will get better as the demand grows. The Nook might even be ahead in this area.

If you buy a Kindle, order a top quality cover at the same time to protect it. Our daughter sat on hers the 3rd day she had it. Cracked the screen and it was shot. Amazon offers a one-time replacement for half price during the 1st year. So, our daughter had to save her money up and replace it herself. I wasn't buying her another one. But we did buy her a cover. And we bought one for my wife and I too. Mine is a nice, black leather one that fold back nicely so I can still read with one hand.

I switch back and forth between my right and left hands. The reader is easily light enough to hold while using your thumb the navigate forward and backward in the book. It has a small joystick or arrow pad that lets you move a cursor around the screen. When it stops on a word, you get an instant definition of the word. You can add your own highlighters and notes as well.

Finally, you can send other ebooks to your Kindle through publishers like Smashwords just by sending them to your own Kindle email address that is created when you buy one. This is by far my favorite purchase for myself in years and years. I even started publishing my own series of short episodes for 7 to 14 year old kids called "Adam Powerhouse" on the free Kindle Direct Publishing platform just for kicks and grins.

Treat yourself and get a Kindle. Your brain deserves one.

Is Rango a good movie for kids?

Don't let the PG rating fool you.

Don't get me wrong. Rango is hilarious. But this cartoon was made more for adults than kids. We thought the PG rating was because it was a Western and would have some action.

Nope. "Hell" was used liberaly throughout the movie. One character used "Damn!" for no reason. I must admit, I began to get worried whenever Rango was talking with a Barbie torso that had one arm and he said, "Are those things real?"

It is too bad Hollywood continues to throw this junk into kids' movies and I am learning to expect this type of crude content from Nickelodeon anyway. My suggestion would be to keep the kids away from this movie unless those words are commonly used in your house--which with my experience as an educator, I know these words aren't a big deal in some households. The other day, I heard a kindergartner drop the "F bomb" in the bathroom and his teacher nearly came unglued. But kids hear this stuff at home. What makes me even madder is when a parent comes up to the school and reams their kids for repeating what they hear at home. One time when I was a middle school principal, a mom came up and said, "What the hell were you thinking? I can't believe you'd talk like that at school, dammit!" Boy, that's world-class parenting for you right there.

Should I buy groceries on Amazon?

We have 8 kids.

So we go through groceries at our house. My 2 year old and 3 year old eat from sunup until sundown. Don't ask me how they do it. They weigh 18 and 26 pounds. My oldest is a freshman in high school and she weighs 90 something. All 8 are tiny like their mom. Yet, they eat like NFL linebackers.

So how do we do it? Honestly, I don't know. The grace of God for one. School breakfast and lunch helps us keep our sanity since we aren't fixing 30 meals every day. Even dinner is a challenge. Now, my wife has decided to go vegan so we are fixing carby stuff for the kids, weird vegetarian stuff for my wife, and I am trying to lose weight so low calorie stuff for me (but I gotta have meat with most meals so I can't just eat what my wife is having).

We have not perfected the system of buying groceries from Amazon. For one, you need to be able to plan about a week out on meals and my wife is an impulse eater. I used to fix up a calendar for the month, buy the stuff that was on it, and then every night she would say, "I don't want what's on the calendar for tonight." So, we had something off a different night. Or something not on the calendar. Or we went out because I got mad and refused to cook.

With Amazon, we can buy our favorite things and save a chunk of money. With Amazon Prime, we get our stuff in 2 days. You don't believe you'll save money? If we go to Walmart, we buy off brand cereal for about $2 to $2.50 a box. That's ok. We like off brand cereal, but in our 12 passenger van, we get 14 mpg at $4 a gallon and we live 70 miles from a Supercenter (yeah, we are that far out in the boonies). So instead, we can buy name brand cereal by case (4 boxes to the case) for $7 to $9. Slightly less and we didn't have to drive anywhere to get it. If we are going to drive that far, I'd rather spend my time at the Mongolian BBQ having Kung Pao stir fry than pushing a cart through the store anyway.

You really need to spend some time looking through the groceries Amazon has to offer. When you decide to start buying groceries through Amazon, get an Amazon Prime account so you get free 2 day shipping every time you order something. That way you don't have to order a whole bunch at once. Just load your grocery budget onto an Amazon gift card (see my other hubs) and buy things AS YOU NEED THEM or think of them. You'll feel good about saving money!

Should I buy pet supplies on Amazon?

I hate spending money on our dog.

I hate pets in general except for fish. I'm allergic to every type of pet but fish. Pets stink (I challenge you to find a pet store that Febreze could make a dent in). And my kids and wife love our Chihuahua, Izzy. Izzy showed up on our doorstep a week after the neighbors shot our dog, Goldie. So I lost the argument that it was too soon to replace Goldie.

So an outside dog I tolerated was replaced with an inside dog I am incredibly allergic to. Once my asthma is under control, the allergist will let me begin to get allergy shots. My wife thinks it is all in my head. My lungs tell me otherwise. Anyway.

I don't want to spend a lot on pet supplies. I'd already dropped about $1,000 getting Goldie back to health for the kids since she was an abused, abandoned puppy that showed up on our doorstep. After the neighbors killed her while we were on vacation, Izzy showed up and we spent a lot on her getting the same things done. She was older, had obviously been taken care of and somehow lost, and she didn't need as much work. Luckily, she survives on small amounts of food, dropped chips, and stray Cheerios.

But, like all Chihuahuas (I'm guessing since I don't have a frame of reference--Goldie would have eaten a sweater for lunch), Izzy has to have sweaters, leashes, premium food, dog treats, special shampoo, and myriad other things that make her better dressed and fed than me. So, a dog I don't want nor need is costing me money. My wife can order that stuff off Amazon with our monthly budget and I never have to see it.

Me, suspiciously, "Oh, is that a new sweater?" My wife, innocently, "Oh that old thing. Izzy's had that forever."

Plus, she saves money. My wife, not Izzy. Izzy just sleeps on top of the couch or on my pillow when I'm not home so I nearly die in the middle of the night so she isn't going to dignify herself by discount shopping. My wife will shop around on Amazon until she finds the pet supplies she needs and then it arrives at our doorstep in 2 days and I am none the wiser. Now, if only she would buy a pet brush and try to get rid of some of that extra hair. I can't take much more.

When my allergist said dog hair was my worst allergy, I asked, "Does this mean we should get rid of the dog?" Apparently he has been down that road with someone else's wife, because he said, "No. That is a lifestyle decision you and your wife will have to make." Dangit.