Over the summer, I bought a Nikon D60.  It's a phenomenal camera and one of
the most important qualities it has is that it is FAST and for me, that made
a big difference.  Let me explain.

In the 60s and 70s I was a camera buff, I ran around with a top-of-the-line
Minolta (could not afford a Nikon (sigh),) taking pictures all the time.
Many of my pictures made it to the student paper at college.  Also there was
a properly equipped darkroom at the university and I learned how to develop
and print my own material.  I upgraded the camera a few times over the
years, but as we know cameras were not changing much in those days.

In 2000, I got a Nikon Coolpix 995 as my first real digital camera.  This
one had a 3 megapixel sensor and add-on lenses.  I bought an Epson printer
to go with it and I went to town with pictures.  After a while, I came to
hate the camera, the shutter lag was horrible and startup time was measured
with a calendar. I had a wide assortment of pictures of back of heads and
children running around and away from the camera.  The caption on these
pictures had a common thread:  "Just a few seconds before the picture..."  I
got so frustrated with the camera, it would only come out in very special
events, taking one or two posed pictures and then back in the closet.  I
even used my old SLR to take some pictures, and while I loved the
responsiveness and the ability to compose the picture in the viewfinder
(including depth of field, etc,) I was really unhappy about using film
again; it really reduced my options as I could do so much more with digital.
Plus film limited the number of pictures I could take.  

I decided that my next camera would be a D-SLR with interchangeable lenses
and it would have to be fast and with a high pixel count; I was also hoping
to have a 24X36 mm (FX) sensor.  So, I waited and read some reviews every
six months or so.

Finally, Nikon released the D60 and I read a lot about it.  It was a D-SLR
with interchangeable lenses.  Its sensor is 10MP, but it is the DX format,
meaning that it's smaller than the FX that I wanted so the lenses have a
1.5:1 magnification effect.  But what was most critical to me was the speed
and responsiveness of the camera.  That was the big feature touted by Nikon
and reviewed by many.

So, I took the plunge and the camera showed up at my doorstep a few days
later.  I'm one of those quys who actually read the entire owner's manual
and this one has a big manual, because it has a lot of features.  The very
first thing I tested was the responsiveness of the camera; how quick does it
start up and how's the lag between pressing the shutter and getting the
picture?

In a word, this puppy is fast.  I can push the button to turn it on and by
the time the camera reaches my eye, it's ready.  When I press the shutter,
there is no lag that I can detect; the picture gets taken there and then.

And the pictures are great, at 10MP, the resolution of the digital camera
exceeds the equivalent film camera's approximate 8MP resolution.  I realize
that resolution is going to keep on climbing, but 10MP is extremely usable
for my purposes.  I am now considering a new printer to do this size
justice.  An Epson printer, of course.  Film has passed into oblivion, there
is simply no reason to use film-based cameras in this day and age, unless
one has more money than sense and there is no way I would recreate a
darkroom in my house; my darkroom is my computer and printer.

The camera is a usable format, not as big as an equivalent 35mm camera and
not as heavy but it has a very solid feel to it.  There is a wide panoply of
features in this camera and for an old camera buff like me that ran around
with a manual SLR adjusting aperture and shutter speed as needed, this
camera caters to those whims as well as doing everything for me if I so
desire.

I bought a Lexar professional SDHC 4gb card for it, and it has room for 510+
pictures at the fine setting, the Lexar has the fastest throughput around.
I charged the battery when I first got it some months ago and I have take
about 400 pictures so far, many with flash and I have yet to recharge the
battery.  My old 995 chewed up AA batteries with vigor and drained the
rechargeable ones with enthusiasm. I always had to carry a spare set or two
if I was going to some kind of event that would require more than 20-30
pictures.

The D60's sensor is made by Sony, but the camera and lenses are pure Nikon.
I have since bought a higher magnification zoom lens for it (should be here
tomorrow,) also with the vibration reduction feature and I am having fun
with a camera again. I have taken action pictures in series, and while that
would have required the motor drive on my film SLR, the D60 keeps on
shooting and with the Lexar, it doesn't ever have to stop.

To top everything off, the price of this camera and the lenses is quite
affordable.  While the FX sensors still have prices in the multiple
thousands, this DX sensor camera is in the higher multiple hundreds and the
lenses designed for it are in the lower hundreds.  What's not to like?

Warning, pontification ahead.

With the advent of digital cameras, one needs to decide whether (s)he wants
a camera made by an electronics company or a camera (optics) company.  My
choice has always been for a camera made by a camera company.  Nikon gets
its sensors from Sony, an electronics company, and packages them in cameras
with lenses that it knows how to build.  Nikon knows cameras and it shows;
Nikon also offers a wide range of accessories for their cameras, precisely
because they are a camera company and they understand the needs of a
photographer.  The only other brand I would consider is Canon; I consider
the rest to be a pile of third rate junk.

So Art, good luck on your Quest but as for me the Quest ended when I
purchased the D60, now the adventure resumes; photography is fun again.


Denys...

-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Art
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 11:05 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [HP3000-L] Anybody There?

Hi All :-)

   Haven't seen any emails since Friday???

 

   So a quick update on the digital camera quest.. Patrick S. gave me a
simply awesome site www.DPReview.com for learning and reviewing Cameras!
Several (meaning lots!) of people gave some great input. John K. gave some
really good insights on being wary of the bias towards Nikon which is a
great camera company. but maybe a great digital image company is what I
need?  

 

   Looking at the Canon 50D & 40D. but for those who mentioned it. talked
with the Sony Store Camera guy (he owns a 400 Aleph I believe) did say that
since they had acquired Konica which had (I guess) acquired Minolta that the
Sony digital cameras would use the Minolta lenses - PROVIDED the Minolta
lens was made after 1984!

 

   So, the Quest continues!

 

Art "Withdrawal symptoms are setting in" Bahrs

 

=========================================

Art Bahrs, CISSP

[log in to unmask]

 


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