It was a sunny mild November afternoon in Dallas. It was a perfect day to be out on the lake, hiking through tree covered trails, golfing, or just soaking in the sun on a grassy knoll.

But this afternoon fate would throw "us" together for a brief sensual moment. There "she" was like a diamond on display for all to see the sparkle of her beauty. She was fitted with that sexy 17-85mm IS zoom. I could not turn away. Her hypnoptic allure pulled me into the store and forced me to utter, "May I hold her in my arms?"

The smug smile of the salesperson told me that I was not the first to lust after her that day. My hands began to tremble with anticipation as he slowly removed her from the display case. With a quiver in my voice I hesitantly inquired, "My I use my own card?"

"Sure, that's a great way to test the camera and compare it with the one you own now."

I rushed back to my car, grabbed a 256MB CF card and quickly returned to the store. The salesperson offered, "Would you like to go outside and use the camera there?" "Yes, please!" I replied excitedly.

I spent the next seven minutes exploring the features of the body and the lens. While outside I shot wide and long, before turning to shoot a few inside the store.

It was over so fast that it seems like only the vague remembrance of a waking dream.

I remember that the camera was not that much lighter than my 10D. The sounds it made were different than my 10D, but not really that much louder.

As the memories fade, all I have now are those few photos I took on that sunny mild November afternoon in Dallas, TX.

All the images are straight from the camera and have only been resized to 1024x683 to save on bandwidth.

This one image is full-size 3.9MB, ISO 1600, 17mm inside the store
**WARNING LARGE FILE**
https://pbase.com/image/36083334

My thanks to Cooter's Village Camera, 12 Highland Park Village, Dallas TX for letting me have my "fling in the sun" with a beautiful digital camera. And special thanks to Randal Chism the salesperson who was very helpful. Cooter's is carrying the 20D 17-85 kit ($1999) and they also have a wide selection of lenses.