After all these years I’m ready to break-down and get my first Digital SLR. I bought this 35mm N80 back in 2001 at a camera store in Sacramento… I forget the name of the place. But I got this just when the first semi-affordable DSLR’s were being produced. Those were still highly expensive for my budget at that time.
Looking back, I wish I had just made the jump to digital. The N80 served me well during our time together, but it wound up costing me a small fortune getting all the images I took developed and digitized. (I posted most of my work in various online galleries.) It got to be so much of a hassle until I all but quit doing serious photography back in 2007. Actually… it wasn’t just an issue of budget, there were some other setbacks I was going through at the time. So this has just been sitting in my closet the last several years… totally decommissioned. .
I’m feeling it again, and I’m a little tired of taking pictures with my cell phone. So I’m now looking to get a reasonably priced camera body. I’m presently weighing my options as far as brands go. I’m leaning more towards Nikon, because that’s my preferred manufacturer and I already own a series of compatible lenses. I also know I would prefer a model that has the kind of LCD Monitor that’s adjustable and can be viewed from any angle, like the Nikon D5100. (Not pictured below, I just like the color!) I’d also like whatever model I choose to be able to shoot video at 1080p Full HD… it’s my understanding that a few feature length films are being shot entirely with these DSLR’s. I’ve no plans to produce any low-budget movies at this time, but I still find that prospect appealing.
On the odd chance I don’t invest in an SLR this year, then I will definitely pick up one of the Olympus PEN models. (A small Rangefinder type.) Nice price, compact, and just as powerful. (imo) I should have a confident decision made about this by the end of February. I will keep this topic updated with what happens.
