I took the plunge into the DSLR world & bought a Nikon D80 with a

Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens

Last fall I opted to pass on this camera because of the size & I was intimidated by the learning curve. But of all the DSLR’s the saleperson at Ritz had me try, this one felt the best for me. The options in cameras these days are staggering, but the experts say that they’re making DSLR’s much more user friendly.

Then I needed to decide on a lens. The feedback from our digiscrapping ladies is that the stock lens with the Canon Rebel isn’t flexible enough & I had read similarly about the Nikon’s package lens, so I decided to step it up. On the recommendation of a friend, I went with what he had purchased, but it caused me fear for 2 reasons: 1) size & 2) price. The camera body is larger & heavier than the Canon Rebel the way it is. And so I put it together with trepidation.

I’ve worked with 2 SLR’s - an Olympus OM-10 & a Minolta that’s in the closet with 2 lenses. But I really didn’t go beyond auto.

I took this rig outside yesterday to give it a try. The lens has vibration reduction (VR) which I thought was important because I have a bit of a tremble (the camera salesman noticed it).  He suggested that using the viewfinder was to my advantage because I would cradle the camera & compensate for that. He was right! I never turned the VR on for any of these shots.

I have to say on first impression that the lens is TOTALLY worth it! The range is incredible - from macro at 2 feet to a zoom (which can be pulled in closer because of the 10.2 pixels). The DSLR is SO amazing because you do the rough focusing & the camera does the fine on the lens. It’s incredible! And after a dozen shots, I wanted to adjust the depth of field to my choice & control the focusing, so I switched the camera to manual! Then I went back & forth between manual & auto trying the same shots. Another thing that struck me was response time.

The one thing that intrigued me was the focusing that seemed to be moving around inside the viewfinder. I want to know how to choose from them. (So the camera has already challenged me to learn more). The clarity & rich color is amazing. I love it!

Here are my favorite first shots (clicking a photo shows more detail):

Awesome macro from 18″!

Furthest range of lens…

Zooming in…

In-between!

   Sushi’s eyes are so blue!

manual allowed me to focus on the flowers

used Shadows & Highlights tool in Pro 2 to adjust this!

I have tried to do this with my point & shoot, but.. couldn’t.

My first experience was very enjoyable. The camera didn’t seem too heavy at all. I didn’t mind using the viewfinder. Next week I’m travelling to the ACD offices in Victoria, BC so you may be seeing more photos from this new camera!

So what do you think? I’m open to suggestions & criticism. I’m just beginning on this adventure!

My family thinks that I spend a lot of time on the computer. In the past between my work & this website it was probably true. Too much of a good thing is bad. So I’ve resolved to make some changes. Today I tried the concept of photo walking which I had first seen on Hummie’s blog. And she has a Facebook group too.

When I saw Thomas Hawk’s Principles & Guidelines for Photo Walking I wanted to share them with you. He has some great ideas & his photos are incredible.

Then today I saw a link to the America at Home project that I had read about. They have neat challenges that may inspire you or give you ideas for activities for your forum members. They have a list of Pro Photo Tips that are very helpful!

So would you like to see the results of my photo walk? It was a gorgeous fall day here in Minnesota. I took a book out to where my family was working/playing & enjoyed some time outside minus the computer! There is hope All of these were processed in ACDSee Pro 2.

This is my favorite photo of the afternoon & they don’t even know I took it! I like the shadows of the leaves on their backs.

  I love ladybugs! and this one sidetracked my reading.

My Canon S3IS totally rocks with macro! I love it! While watching the ladybug I noticed that she crawled up to the top of a leaf, then back down, on to another leaf. Back up to the top & down again. Is that representative of life?

  I used the shadows/highlights tool in ACDSee Pro 2 to lighten this photo. It’s maybe not the best photo, but the parts underneath the ladybug are pretty amazing. Do you like the photo or no?

  This is my husband’s deerstand. It is insulated with electricity & he’s adding on to it. Deer hunting is a cultural thing here in Minnesota. Guys spend hours in preparation in the fall in anticipation of a few days in November. The original was a bit at an angle, so I used ACDSee Pro 2 to straighten it.

Do you go photo walking?

Not too long ago I blogged about ACDSee’s Pro 2 beta. The main difference between Photo Manager 9 & Pro 2 is that is can process RAW images. And I’ve heard people talk about how much they love doing it, so I have borrowed my sister-in-law’s camera.  Yes, I have this dslr camera sitting looking at me waiting to be used!  Today was too hot to take it outside though.

My only concern is that I’m an automatic girl.  I tend to use auto most of the time.  So if you’re considering a dslr take that into account.  I read somewhere that if you use automatic setting most of the time, the getting a dslr is probably overkill & not a good use of your money. Another thing I was concerned about was size.  But, I’m dying to try RAW, so I will!

This is an excellent article to read if you’re interested in DSLR cameras.  They talk about considering price, technology, memory cards, lenses, resolution (megapixels) and fit (body & styling). 

How to Choose your 1st DSLR

Here are some other really good articles on choosing a DSLR

How to Choose a DSLR Camera by Darren Rouse (excellent in-depth article)

Video on How to Choose a Digital SLR Camera

An excellent set of Digital Camera Reviews