My Equipment

Early Days

Where it All Started: Nikon Coolpix 775

I have had lots of different cameras over the years, starting with the point & shoot 2 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 775 in August 2003. It was only good for "casual snaps," but it did fine for that & it got me started. At the time I was not convinced that digital would replace film, but it took me no time using this to see that it would, and that I would embrace it. Besides the elimination of film & processing costs as a barrier, digital provided a perfect match: my computer skills and my camera/photography skills as one single entity. I've never stopped since.

Canon Digital Rebel/300D: Now THAT'S more like it!

Any person with real aspirations about quality photos that are above the "kiddie snaps," though, needs an SLR (single lens reflex). At this time digital versions were very expensive, but I caught a break in November 2004 with the Canon Digital Rebel/300D, getting it (second-hand) for $550 at a time that the going rate was $900 in Best Buy or maybe $680-700 online. It was the only time my "main" camera has been anything other than a Nikon. I replaced it with, in fact, a Nikon D50 in September 2005, also (again) catching an even better price break with it--getting it for $500 brand-new at a time when it was going.for $800 in Best Buy or $700 or so new online. (I also got a good chunk selling off the old, to where moving over cost very little net.)

In 2007, for the 1st time, I was able to have two SLRs--one for my wife & I to "beat around" in a casual sense, a "better" one to continue the artistic pursuits as always. I added a D40 as the "casual" SLR. Helen's birth made this a necessity, as I knew my wife would want a quality SLR camera for taking photos of the kids, but I would not want her wearing out the "nice" SLR to do so. Now she had access to an SLR as a quality camera for Helen & whatever else, sparing my "fine China" SLR from enduring heavy wear & tear.

Now

Nikon D3000

As of 2011, we have 2 SLRs. The "everyday" one, the one I don't mind her using along with me, the one that is almost always around wherever we are, is the Nikon D3000 [link]. It has a Nikon 18-105mm VR lens attached, an upgrade over the 18-55mm VR it typically comes with. Even this "beater" model is better than any of the early ones, as nice as they were. 10 megapixels, it can easily make 20x30 inch posters of landscapes. It has a huge 3" LCD screen on the back. It has 11 autofocus points in the viewfinder, whereas older versions only had 3, and it also has viewfinder gridlines, both a big improvement.

It is the perfect "everyday" camera for several reasons. One, it is more "used" than the nice one. It has a few nicks on it, merely cosmetic, but they give it that "casual" feel that makes one not as nervous handling it in "everyday" conditions so much, sort of how one with an older pickup truck isn't shy about throwing stuff in the back of it but someone with a nice-shiny pickup is neurotic about not scratching it, even though throwing stuff in the back is in fact the very thing it's made to do. Also, although it's not an ancient model, it's not as recent in its technology, especially regarding its sensor, as the nicer one is, yet it's not TOO far removed from it either, making it a perfect "middle ground" between having high quality on hand but not wanting to "waste the best" on stuff that maybe doesn't merit it. 

Thus, I'm relaxed about the wife wearing it out on nonsense, or ME doing so, yet it doesn't feel inadequate for the "good" stuff which comes along either.

Nikon D5000

For the past 2 years this has been my "good" model, the Nikon D5000 [link]. It is an "upper-entry-level" camera if you will, whereas the D3000 is solidly "entry level" period. It has features the D3000 doesn't have, but that the wife won't miss. Its 12mp sensor is newer technology. It is in mint condition, looking as new as the day I purchased it, and the same goes for the Nikon 18-105mm VR mounted onto it.

If it's "everyday" stuff, the Nikon D3000 is it, and I can still do "poster" shots with it if something like that happens to materialize. However, if I am about to, say, hike to a scenic spot anticipating beautiful photographs, something where I specifically anticipate "poster" shots can be taken in that situation, then I take this Nikon D5000 with me.


If the D3000 is a 2008 Ford Focus "LE" with 55,000 miles on it, the D5000 is a 2010 Ford Focus "XLE" with 8,000 miles on it. The D3000 isn't the D5000, but it isn't a 1992 Ford Escort "economy edition" with 210,000 miles, the bumpers dragging the ground and the engine about to blow up either.


What About Video?

For video clips, which I'm far more casual about all the time, I use a Kodak Zi8, a "flip/palm" type of device. It records straight to memory cards and didn't cost but $70 or so. It has no zoom (except digital, which doensn't count) but it records 720p or 1080p clips, close to HD quality, far better than the older point & shoot cameras in their movie-mode. It goes everywhere with me like the Nikon D3000.