Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of research on the best compact camera to get. Besides the usual pre-requisites like size, weight and LCD screen, I was adamant that I was going to try to get the best mini-DSLR possible (if there is such a thing).

Having caught the DSLR bug, I couldn’t possibly settle for a crappy little compact which would take mediocre images. I needed something small enough to fit into my clutch bag on a dinner date but yet have the ability to great pretty damn good images.

I googled extensively until I came across the Canon Ixus 980 IS. My sis had an older IXUS and I have heard good reviews about it from her. In addition, a lot of the photographers I know said that this particular camera is pretty much a “photographers compact camera”. I was intrigued. The one bonus feature about the Canon Ixus 980 was the Manual control capability it offered.

I was sold.

Until of course, I discovered the price.

Currently retailing at £329.99, it is a hefty price to pay for a compact camera. I could get another lens/flash for my D90 with that amount of money. The surprising thing however was that even with the latest Ixus (Canon Ixus 990 IS) which was released as its successor, the 980 is still a favourite choice amongst consumers (particularly photographers). What baffled me even more was the fact that Canon totally abolished the Manual controls on the 990 even though they knew how popular its predecessor (the 980) was because of its Manual controls capabilities and knocked down the resolution from 14MP to 12MP.

The Ixus 980 was a clear choice for me but I soon resounded to the fact that I was going to have to wait for a little while longer in order to save up for it.

Until one evening after work…

I was passing by a local second-hand electronics store only to discover an immaculate looking Canon Ixus 980 sitting in the shop window. On further scrutiny, I realised it was going for £150! I immediately went in to have a look and low and behold, it was pretty much brand new. I mean, this guy (I’m guessing it was a guy…) hadn’t even taken the wrist band out of its packet and tied it to the camera. Neither did he even remove the film over the LCD screen.

Now, what would someone do when faced with a bargain like this…
You grab it! And that was exactly what I did.

And I have to say, it is a brilliant piece of kit. With its 14Megapixel resolution and full control over aperture, shutter speeds and ISO settings, it’s almost like a mini-D90. The Auto mode works a treat as well (for J).

Exactly what I was looking for. I’m pleased.

I bought a few ultra huge rings a few days ago and because they looked so pretty, I decided to try photographing them to see if I could take a good enough picture.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I’m not particularly good at still-life photography (as you could probably see in my first attempt at using off-camera flash a few months back). Now, these were especially difficult for me due to the reflective nature of the surface finish of the rings coupled with the jewels etc.

At first, I was using my 50mm f1.8 for the job. However, the built-in flash on my D90 triggering the SB-800 interfered with the final exposure mainly due to the fact that I was positioning the camera way too close to rings and getting huge reflections off them. The white balance wasn’t quite right either.

I therefore, switched off all the lights in the room (yes…I was shooting in complete darkness), swapped to the 18-105mm and zoomed out considerably. ISO set to 640, Aperture f5.6, Shutter Speed: 3″ (D90 mounted on tripod). The images now were turning out to be pretty good. I was reasonably happy with them when I reviewed them on the computer and and didn’t bother with any post-processing and this was my best shot :

I’m fairly pleased with them actually. But an expert might disagree. Anyway, iIf you’re interested in the set-up (taken with iPhone):

When I blogged about our recent DIY project, I remember mentioning how quickly I felt things were progressing. How fast it seemed to be coming together with J working on it all week rather than just on weekend. I also remember being so excited to get my hoover out and get cracking on cleaning the mess up once this was all over.

Truth is…it took a little longer than I thought it would. 2 whole months. My fingers were itching to get rid of the utter mess J caused during those 2 months but it’s finally over and I’m so pleased with the result. We now longer have to live with a hole in the wall. I finally have some space to store my shoes!

I would have been satisfied with an understairs which, bluntly speaking, would simply be a hole in the wall with a door to make it look pretty and normal on the outside. I wasn’t particularly bothered what it looked like on the inside.

However, being ever such a perfectionist, J insisted on “doing it once and doing it right” (his quote not mine). He painstakingly boarded up the entire cavity (including the walls and floors) – making sure to leave a removable plank for the toilet plumping adjacent to it.

Filled all the gaps between the boards and filed them down – twice.

He painted them – twice.

Laid the floor with carpet tiles ( I would have been satisfied with the cement floor).

And got white shelves to go with the now white cupboard. Not to mention the amount of time and effort he took to source for the exact same skirting board just to make it blend better with the rest of the skirting board in the hallway only to end up ripping the ones off our master bathroom instead (he’s just created another DIY project for him there…).

But I’m ecstatic with the end result! It’s perfect! I was amazed how much space we’ve gained.

1 DIY project down…a gazillion others left to do…It’s fun having a house!

At the risk of sounding like I’ve been living under a rock these past few years, I have to confess that I have never heard of Missguided. Until now. I was randomly flipping through a magazine one day and chanced upon an online discount code for Missguided. I went onto their site and was pleasantly surprised. Great clothes with a well-mapped out website. Good clean pictures and best of all…very very reasonably priced clothes!

To give you an idea of how cheap it is, the Lace Dress with Gold stitching was only £27.99! At first, I was afraid the items I bought wouldn’t be of good quality or may even border on looking like something off the shelves of QUIZ. But I was pleased to find that that wasnt the case! The multi-coloured sequin skirt which would have easily costed me in excess of £40 somewhere else, came in at a very reasonable £21.99. The most expensive of the lot I bought was the Natasha Square Panel Dress retailing at £33.99 and it looks different from anything else I have in my wardrobe and also oh so chic!

One thing you do have to note is that the sizes are rather small. I reckon a Missguided UK 8 equates to an ASOS UK 6. Deliveries are at the standard £3.95 which rivals ASOS’s new Super Saver of £1.95. Returns are a little complicated than I would like it to be as it’s not as straightforward a process as ASOS and you have to pay for returns (unlike ASOS who have now recently offered free returns).

However, all in all, despite the delivery and returns issue, the low prices and the on-trend fashion it offers, I still think it deserved to be another bookmark addition to my online shopping tab.

P.S: I do apologise for the lack of posts in recent days. I am back and ready to blog!

You know Christmas is around the corner when they start selling Christmas cakes in your favourite coffee joint.

This weekend, J and I popped into town for our weekly dose of coffee.

He, a black extra-shot Americano while I enjoyed a skinny…extra hot…vanilla (2 pumps not 3) latte.

Oh! not forgetting a piece of cake to share. There certainly is nothing better than sitting back and enjoying each others’ company over a nice cup of coffee. Bliss!