Looks like we agree on a lot :) I take up photography in stints of a few weeks to a few months. I get inspired to do some photography, take some photos, then l

Looks like we agree on a lot :) I take up photography in stints of a few weeks to a few months. I get inspired to do some photography, take some photos, then leave it for other pursuits. The last time I took it up, my gut reaction was that I needed to replace my old Canon A1 with a modern DSLR. Prices had come down significantly, and I couldn't possibly do good work with my compact, right? Well, rather than rushing out and buying a DSLR, I decided to go shoot with my compact SD870IS. I'm so glad I did. It gave me a chance to re-focus on the basics without worrying about what settings I was using. I left the camera in full auto and focused instead on LOOKING at what I was about to shoot. I was really pleased with the result, and I'm 100% convinced that it improved my photography as a result. Some examples of the photos I shot with the SD870IS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3224710694/in/photostream/lightbox/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3224710694/in/photo... http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3224711584/in/photostream/lightbox/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3224711584/in/photo... http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3223853289/in/photostream/lightbox/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3223853289/in/photo... http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3224779424/in/photostream/lightbox/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3224779424/in/photo... I could not have taken the shot of the grasshopper with a DSLR because A) I wouldn't have been able to grab the camera, mount a macro lens, and get ready to shoot in time, and B) the DSLR wouldn't have fit in the space I had to put the camera to get that shot. Then again, I couldn't have taken these shots with the compact because I couldn't quickly change settings for good DOF (first photo) and I'd have missed the moment because of speed (arguably for both). http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3296469446/in/photostream/lightbox/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3296469446/in/photo... http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3241790710/in/photostream/lightbox/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradleyland/3241790710/in/photo...