January 13th, 2008

We have ventured into the world of Digital Single Lens Reflex through the recent purchase of an used, but in good condition, Nikon D80. I should mention that the camera comes with great expectations, having been used by a great amateur, Mr Jonathan Yeo himself! ;-)

I have fond memories of my first love with photography, when I was taking my first photography class during my freshmen year in high school, at Berkeley. Back then, my friends were into photography, and so they urged me to get into it as well, and so we went out and purchased an SLR, a Canon Rebel SLR, for my class. Then I soon learned how to take photos, how to develop films, and then how to print them in a dark room. I suppose it is not quite the same thing, now that the art of photography has been reduced to capturing the World into 0s and 1s... but I must say, the digital SLRs certainly does this job very well!

This purchase is "one small step for [us], one giant leap for [our future of photography]."
Our first reactions: "Beautiful. Beautiful. Magnificent [pictures]." (in-direct quotes from Neil Alden Armstrong and Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. during the first lunar landing.)

Since then, I've been itching to take the camera outside and start shooting some pictures, but I still have to work and pay the mortgage; in the meantime, I've been reviewing some tips and information that's available online, and it's been helpful to review some of the features of the camera. As most digital camera enthusiasts will tell you, the DPReview site is definitely recommended (http://www.dpreview.com). Also, I've started browsing through Thom's website (http://www.bythom.com), which has very good information.
And it seems like everyone recommends the B&H photo video store for all your camera needs, at http://www.bhphotovideo.com.

One thing that I've always known, and now I am beginning to painfully realize, is that this is indeed a very expensive hobby. "Welcome to the [expensive] side..."
and oh, that is not a direct quote... it's just something I made up... but supposed to sound cool, like from Star Wars or something...