For the love of photography

For about a year now, I’ve been looking into upgrading my camera. Photography has become my most favorite hobby in the past couple of years (thanks in no small part to a young BOY!) and my point-and-shoot was just not cutting it anymore. When a camera does not do what you want it to do, it is time to cut the strings and move on.

You may have noticed this past spring that for a little while, my photos got quite good. This is because this past spring my good friend, who heard that I was looking into DSLR cameras, loaned me her Nikon D70s for a couple of months. Consequently, this past spring I fell in love with Nikon. I realized after using it that I cannot go back to my old camera for very much longer, and I fervently began doing research on the Digital SLR market.

I now knew that I wanted a Nikon; I just didn’t know which one. (I wanted a D70s until I found out that model is no longer available. OR, it’s available at places like Amazon for oh, almost twice as much as the upgraded, much better version, just because you can’t get it anywhere else any more. No thanks; I don’t want it that badly.) In the meantime, I tried to get myself a new camera for free by entering Nikon’s Moving Pictures Photo Contest with 17 (!) of my photos, hoping to be chosen as one of 60 winners, who receives a Nikon D60 camera. (This was not my camera of first choice, but a fine DSLR, indeed, if it was going to be FREE.) Well, no such luck. YES, YOU CAN BELIEVE YOUR EYES, I DIDN’T WIN IT. So I went back to the drawing board and continued to agonize over which Nikon model would provide the best quality-value ratio. I dropped by several camera stores to hold my chosen contenders in my hands; for I knew that I wanted something similar in size and ergonomics to the D70s.

A few weeks ago, I made my final decision. I chose the semi-professional Nikon D80, which is actually on its way out, so price-wise right now, it’s a good value. It has many of the same features as the prestigious D200 for a substantially lower sticker price. It is touted as perfect for the advanced amateur or enthusiast photographer, both of which categories might be used to describe me.

I still feel like I’ve spent a king’s ransom on this machine. But I also think it was worth it. I got the service plan for 4 years, because having that, they will repair/replace the camera for almost any reason. If in the next 4 years, MY SON SPILLS JUICE ON IT, which the sales clerk helpfully pointed out, or if I’m so clumsy as to DROP IT – the camera will be replaced. The only circumstance that is exempt from this plan is immersion in water. Folks, I will make sure to FIGHT THE URGE TO IMMERSE MY NEW CAMERA IN WATER. But should I forget this crucial little detail, when we are together and I head for water, in order to immerse my new camera in it, please stop me.

If you still can’t tell how awfully excited I am for my new camera, let me just sing it to you:

This Nikon is MINE, MINE, MINE. Yeah, yeah, yeah. La, La, La ...