New cam

I bought a new compact camera on Saturday. The main reason that I bought a compact, was because I needed something small and elegant enough to fit into a dinner bag. Imagine me saying that a few years ago – I would have said that dainty cameras were for wussies!
Maybe it’s me just being sentimental. After attending several gatherings without taking any photos, I realised it wasn’t a good thing to not have any pics of me with my friends! My Olympus C5050 is too bulky to bring to nice dinners, and it acts up sometimes.
So I was standing inside the camera shop, holding a Canon Ixus 50 in one hand, and a Canon Ixus 700 in the other. Thanks to having read a few psychology books (Christian and general), I started analysing my desires.
Why, for instance, did I want to get an Ixus 700 all this while, when I hardly ever print my photos? At most, all I needed was 4R. The Ixus 50 would do fine, because it was cheaper and smaller.
Then I realised I wanted the bigger 700 because there was the security of having more megapixels, in the very unlikely event that I would them. And also, I would have bragging rights with any friends who owned less advanced cameras (gasp!). It was a disturbing realisation.
But if I really wanted an advanced camera, I’d get an SLR instead! Getting the 700 would be neither here nor there for me. And I’d pay $150 more.
After some deep deliberation, I settled for the smaller and slightly older 50, because I knew that was all I really needed. It was more difficult making this decision, than expected. It was actually humbling.
I’ve been happy so far with the Ixus 50. I will post some sample pics on Flickr soon, once it turns August back in the US and I get more bandwidth to burn.
[BTW, those using Flickr Pro accounts – is it really worthwhile? I’m wondering if I should upgrade to one because there’s no way I can find a more user-friendly system to install on my own server.]