My camera situation has evolved quite a bit the last two months… first there was the addition of the 10-22mm lens to my ancient (2+ yr old) Digital Rebel. And with that i needed a better bag to carry it in (enter, Botkier Satchel), which was perfect running around Paris. But the day i got back, i couldn’t resist and picked up the new Canon 40d, and that coupled with the 10-22 has been my baby i’ve been carrying everywhere. The reviews are just starting to roll in, but overall, i’m smitten. And as much as people seem to hate having to manual focus on live view (and there are some work arounds) ~ i’m just thrilled to be able to see it live at all! And the fact that you can zoom in so ridiculously close while in live view, actually makes the focusing far better than i could have ever done on my slr… combined with a 3” screen this is really fun for my “put camera on floor to shoot” tendencies - and it’s SO much faster! And feels more solid than the newer rebels.

Anyhow, next phase of camera evolution… i need a good strap. My old camo neoprene one from high school is reaching the end of its lifespan (it used to be on my AE-1). So when i saw these Red Monkey straps at Acquire, i think it was love at first site. Rockstar strap for my camera? I can pick any leather i want? Distressed, dyed, painted… And these guys are the real deal (their press archives are full of rockstars who have been wearing their guitar straps, and their watches seem big with the celeb set too… very cool story behind them as well)!

Tags: accessories - camera - gifts - shopping - technology