Nikon missing market segment

Russ C · Jan 30, 2002

Is it just me, or are there a ton of enthusiasts like me out here waiting for a reasonably priced Nikon DSLR? How many people have Nikon glass sitting at home gathering dust, while they are out with their CP 99X or 5000 or (gasp!) G2 or F707?

We don't need all the bells and whistles of a "Pro" (D1,S2) DSLR. Cut out the dual storage (S2), firewire,...etc. How about just a basic DSLR with CF/USB/4-6 megapixels with all the standard Nikon metering and flash?

All I can say is not only is my Nikon equipment not getting used, it's also being considered for Ebay! (Seriously thinking of going all Canon, since I bought the 420EX for the G2 and Canon is looking to be the King in the "enthusiast" DSLR market.) Come on Nikon!!!

Greg Gebhardt · Jan 31, 2002

Russ C said:
Is it just me, or are there a ton of enthusiasts like me out here
waiting for a reasonably priced Nikon DSLR? How many people have
Nikon glass sitting at home gathering dust, while they are out with
their CP 99X or 5000 or (gasp!) G2 or F707?

We don't need all the bells and whistles of a "Pro" (D1,S2) DSLR.
Cut out the dual storage (S2), firewire,...etc. How about just a
basic DSLR with CF/USB/4-6 megapixels with all the standard Nikon
metering and flash?

All I can say is not only is my Nikon equipment not getting used,
it's also being considered for Ebay! (Seriously thinking of going
all Canon, since I bought the 420EX for the G2 and Canon is looking
to be the King in the "enthusiast" DSLR market.) Come on Nikon!!!

It possible that Nikon does not want to get into every nich. But if the money is there, they will!--Greg GebhardtJacksonville, Florida

Stan Disbrow · Jan 31, 2002

Russ,

This is the realm of Fuji with the S1 and now, S2. Maybe Nikon will pick up the S2 and relabel it. Maybe you can take a serious look at the used market. You should be able to find a very reasonably priced used S1 soon. Or, you can try ebay for Kodak 400 series DSLRs. I just sold my DCS 460 (6mp) there for $2k. One of those would make good use of your dusty Nikon glass and it fits your description quite well.

Stan

Russ C said:
Is it just me, or are there a ton of enthusiasts like me out here
waiting for a reasonably priced Nikon DSLR? How many people have
Nikon glass sitting at home gathering dust, while they are out with
their CP 99X or 5000 or (gasp!) G2 or F707?

We don't need all the bells and whistles of a "Pro" (D1,S2) DSLR.
Cut out the dual storage (S2), firewire,...etc. How about just a
basic DSLR with CF/USB/4-6 megapixels with all the standard Nikon
metering and flash?

All I can say is not only is my Nikon equipment not getting used,
it's also being considered for Ebay! (Seriously thinking of going
all Canon, since I bought the 420EX for the G2 and Canon is looking
to be the King in the "enthusiast" DSLR market.) Come on Nikon!!!

--Stan

Ger Bee · Jan 31, 2002

Go to Canon - your old Nikon glass will not give optimum performance on the new gen of digital product - not that it is so bad but it will just not deliver the same sharpness as the old lens did with film.

One really needs the new AFS 2.8 or better to get the max out of the likes of a D1 series – I’d strongly suspect – not unlike the Fuji S1 – that 2.8 lenses are the absolute minimum that will be need with the amateur versions of the Nikon/digital cameras and even 1.8 needed in all but the best of light to work properly.

Russ C · Jan 31, 2002

Whoa, I'd never heard this before. How can a lens that produces very sharp images on film, which still has much more resolution, all of the sudden lose all that resolving power when focused on a lesser resolution CCD? Or are you saying that larger apertures are needed for focusing and exposure sensors to work properly?

Would you consider these lenses "obsolete" for use on a D1/S2: 85 1.8D, 50 1.4D, 35 2AF, 35-70 2.8D, 80-200 2.8D, 28-105 3.5D, (Tamron) 20-40 2.8 ????

And are you saying that old Canon (used) lenses are better for their DSLRs? Or still the need to have the latest and greatest?

Ger Bee said:
Go to Canon - your old Nikon glass will not give optimum
performance on the new gen of digital product - not that it is so
bad but it will just not deliver the same sharpness as the old lens
did with film.

One really needs the new AFS 2.8 or better to get the max out of

the likes of a D1 series – I’d strongly suspect – not unlike the
Fuji S1 – that 2.8 lenses are the absolute minimum that will be
need with the amateur versions of the Nikon/digital cameras and
even 1.8 needed in all but the best of light to work properly.

Russ C · Jan 31, 2002

No thanks. I'm not looking to spend $2K or more on 2-3 year old electronics. I would be willing to spend up to $2K on something current. Simple, but current.

Stan Disbrow said:
This is the realm of Fuji with the S1 and now, S2. Maybe Nikon will
pick up the S2 and relabel it. Maybe you can take a serious look at
the used market. You should be able to find a very reasonably
priced used S1 soon. Or, you can try ebay for Kodak 400 series
DSLRs. I just sold my DCS 460 (6mp) there for $2k. One of those
would make good use of your dusty Nikon glass and it fits your
description quite well.

Stan

Russ C said:

Is it just me, or are there a ton of enthusiasts like me out here
waiting for a reasonably priced Nikon DSLR? How many people have
Nikon glass sitting at home gathering dust, while they are out with
their CP 99X or 5000 or (gasp!) G2 or F707?

We don't need all the bells and whistles of a "Pro" (D1,S2) DSLR.
Cut out the dual storage (S2), firewire,...etc. How about just a
basic DSLR with CF/USB/4-6 megapixels with all the standard Nikon
metering and flash?

All I can say is not only is my Nikon equipment not getting used,
it's also being considered for Ebay! (Seriously thinking of going
all Canon, since I bought the 420EX for the G2 and Canon is looking
to be the King in the "enthusiast" DSLR market.) Come on Nikon!!!

Click to expand...

--
Stan

Stan Disbrow · Jan 31, 2002

Hi,

Yep. That's a problem. There are no units that match your criteria, and I have serious doubts that there will be anything any time soon that fits that description. The Canon D30 is the closest fit and from what I hear is about to become out of production. For the Nikon mount, the S1 is the closest fit, also in the out of production category.

From here on, I think you're going to find that the markets have pretty well stabilized. The price points are set and we're entering the region of improvements shifting downwards from higher end units. Maybe we'll see something that fits what you're looking for at PMA, though. I hope they do come out with something for you.

I know the feeling well. I went through this two years ago while the market was still in pretty heavy flux. I finally anted up the $5k for a D1, after not being happy with a much less costly, but much less capable, Nikon E2. Then, I anted up $4k for a used 460, which worked out well for a starter 6mp unit to complement the D1. Both units served my needs well.

I'm not a professional photographer, as you may think. I am still an amateur photographer and always have been. I suppose I could shift careers and become a pro, but I think that would ruin the enjoyment for me. I know that my becoming and electronics designer pretty much ruined electronics as a hobby. When fun starts looking too much like work, it's not much fun any more.

Today, I'm quite content with the D1H that replaced the D1 for prints up to 8x10, but I am ready to move up into the large format printing world. To that end, I've decided to spend the money on a 760c to get a more useful 6mp unit. I see that the upper end market has stabilized and I'm unlikely to get anything with better image quality than the 760c provides and the price isn't likely to drop any further any time soon.

I will wait to place the order for the 760c, to see if anything new pops up at PMA that promises to be better in capability and value than the 760c. That's the limit of my waiting, though. I've delayed the LF printer and better camera for a year already. It's time to move into the direction I want to move in.

There comes a point, with anything, that one must decide now and just get on with it. Life is short, sometimes a lot shorter than you think. My delaying last year was easy, as my wife underwent treatment for breast cancer. We caught it early, cut out everything in sight (no spread at all), and lived with the chemo. We even opted for a full hysterectomy, since there were fiber tumors starting to grow down there. She's 46, we have two grown daughters and one new granddaughter and that's enough for us. It's time for us to return to life, for as long as we can.

There's a lesson to be learned there, although I didn't need her cancer to point it out to me. I had learned it by the time I was 18, having become a firefighter/medic. Your next minute on this earth might very well be your last. Enjoy life as much as possible while you still can.

There's the concept that you can get by with the consumer level cameras and do as well as with the SLR's, but that's just not so. It not so in digital any more than in film. The P&S units have their place, but the SLRs have so much more control that, once you learn how to use it, they make photography much more enjoyable. I went the consumer digital path first, tried older technology second, and finally found the real enjoyment once I had stopped worrying about the money.

It was the same way with processing film. I had a full darkroom, and yes, could do my own color processing as well. Lots of time and effort is required to do it that way, especially compared with the 1-hour mini lab machines. The result is much moe pleasing, though. With the pro-level digital SLR cameras, shooting in raw mode, and processing manually on the PC, digital reaches that same level. It's much faster and easier than film for sure. It costs more, but consumes far less time.

In the overall scheme of things, digital is far more cost effective than film.

Just food for thought.

Stan

Russ C said:
No thanks. I'm not looking to spend $2K or more on 2-3 year old
electronics. I would be willing to spend up to $2K on something
current. Simple, but current.

--Stan

Stan Disbrow · Jan 31, 2002

Hi,

They don't. They might show some vignetting or chromatic aberations with digital that they don't on film, though. There are differences and digital is pickier than film is for some performance criteria.

Most of what you have on that list would work quite well on a D1 series body. The 'D' chip is required to get the 3D color matrix metering to function, so non-D lenses are at a disadvantage. Older lenses get stuck with center weighted metering. Digital really benefits from the newer metering system, to keep the exposure set to pull out the maximum dynamic range it's capable of.

On my 6mp 460, with the larger CCD (1.3x FLM), lenses like the 28-105 f3.5 tended to vignette a tad in the corners, although it works fine on the D1 (1.5x FLM). I found that all of the f2.8 or faster lenses were fine on the larger CCD, but some of the slower lenses exhibited corner fall-off. Again, keep in mind that a digital imager has a greater dynamic range, and light fall off is more noticable than it is with film.

You should have seen the vignetting that the old Nikon E2/E3 had with slower lenses. That camera had full-frame capability, buy using a 'reverse teleconverter' to squeeze the light down to the size of the imager. It had to have f2.8 or faster lenses to work well, and because of the RTC you were stuck with a maximum aperture of f5.6! Gad, what a beast the E2/E3 was!

I started with a large collection of AI and AIS lenses, mostly Nikon. Most of them worked OK, but of course with CW metering. Some had noticable contrast and coloration issues, which didn't show up with film. That's just one of the differences one finds with digital imagers.

Of course, it takes an AFS lens to pull every last bit of performance out of something like D1H. They have blindingly fast AF capabilities (plus I shoot a lot of motorsports, so that's a venue where fast AF is quite noticeable).

Then there are issues like chromatic aberation, that also shows up more readily with a digital imager than it does with film. Higher end glass has less, which is part of the reason it's more costly.

Anyway, your list shows decent lenses. There are only two on that list I don't have: Nikkor AF 35 f2 and Tamron 20-40 f2.8. The others are fine.

Stan

Russ C said:
Would you consider these lenses "obsolete" for use on a D1/S2: 85
1.8D, 50 1.4D, 35 2AF, 35-70 2.8D, 80-200 2.8D, 28-105 3.5D,
(Tamron) 20-40 2.8 ????

And are you saying that old Canon (used) lenses are better for
their DSLRs? Or still the need to have the latest and greatest?

Ger Bee said:

Go to Canon - your old Nikon glass will not give optimum
performance on the new gen of digital product - not that it is so
bad but it will just not deliver the same sharpness as the old lens
did with film.

One really needs the new AFS 2.8 or better to get the max out of

the likes of a D1 series – I’d strongly suspect – not unlike the
Fuji S1 – that 2.8 lenses are the absolute minimum that will be
need with the amateur versions of the Nikon/digital cameras and
even 1.8 needed in all but the best of light to work properly.

Click to expand...

--Stan

jeff-c · Jan 31, 2002

It's a common misconception that non-D lenses don't work with 3D matrix metering. In Nikon's 3D Matrix metering system, the distance information, hence the D, is mostly useful when using with flash. In ambient light situation the distance information is only used when the subject is very close to the camera so the metering system uses less segments than it would normally do.

In other words, a non-D lense will still use the 3D Matrix metering except it's really 2D, or just multisegment or multizone evaluation. But it doesn't turn into cener weighted mode.

Stan Disbrow said:
Most of what you have on that list would work quite well on a D1
series body. The 'D' chip is required to get the 3D color matrix
metering to function, so non-D lenses are at a disadvantage. Older
lenses get stuck with center weighted metering. Digital really
benefits from the newer metering system, to keep the exposure set
to pull out the maximum dynamic range it's capable of.

John Swenson · Feb 2, 2002

Whoa, one minute I'm poring over post after another about D1 this, D1x that, blah blah blah and then I stumble on your thoughtful message about life and the need to "just get on with it."

You write very well. Not the normal stuff I see on these forums. And the part about your wife and her close call with cancer -- I'm impressed at how smoothly you were able to tie that into photography. Quite touching.

My wife and I are not dealing with cancer, thanks God, but I am at a point in life where I can really relate to your comment that it's time to "just get on with it."

John Swenson

Stan Disbrow said:
There comes a point, with anything, that one must decide now and
just get on with it. Life is short, sometimes a lot shorter than
you think. My delaying last year was easy, as my wife underwent
treatment for breast cancer. We caught it early, cut out everything
in sight (no spread at all), and lived with the chemo. We even
opted for a full hysterectomy, since there were fiber tumors
starting to grow down there. She's 46, we have two grown daughters
and one new granddaughter and that's enough for us. It's time for
us to return to life, for as long as we can.

There's a lesson to be learned there, although I didn't need her
cancer to point it out to me. I had learned it by the time I was
18, having become a firefighter/medic. Your next minute on this
earth might very well be your last. Enjoy life as much as possible
while you still can.

There's the concept that you can get by with the consumer level
cameras and do as well as with the SLR's, but that's just not so.
It not so in digital any more than in film. The P&S units have
their place, but the SLRs have so much more control that, once you
learn how to use it, they make photography much more enjoyable. I
went the consumer digital path first, tried older technology
second, and finally found the real enjoyment once I had stopped
worrying about the money.

g king · Feb 3, 2002

give me a nice unit from nikon priced at $1995 make the coolpix 5000 twice as good even with all its problems.nikon would sell alot more units at this price.why didnt nikon come out with an in between camera like they do with film cameras?even if it were an f100body for $ 3000 i would definatly buy what a unit that is.

Member said:
It's a common misconception that non-D lenses don't work with 3D
matrix metering. In Nikon's 3D Matrix metering system, the distance
information, hence the D, is mostly useful when using with flash.
In ambient light situation the distance information is only used
when the subject is very close to the camera so the metering system
uses less segments than it would normally do.

In other words, a non-D lense will still use the 3D Matrix metering
except it's really 2D, or just multisegment or multizone
evaluation. But it doesn't turn into cener weighted mode.

Member said:

Most of what you have on that list would work quite well on a D1
series body. The 'D' chip is required to get the 3D color matrix
metering to function, so non-D lenses are at a disadvantage. Older
lenses get stuck with center weighted metering. Digital really
benefits from the newer metering system, to keep the exposure set
to pull out the maximum dynamic range it's capable of.

Click to expand...

Magne Nilsen · Feb 3, 2002

I'm with you. Sold my Nikons 5 years ago and the lenses 3 years ago. Had a round of 2-3mp, but went for the Canon D30 and am happy with it so far. An increadible amount of ex-Nikon people I know are using the G2/D30, and it shows in the Canon SLR forum too. Many peaople with 950/990 experience. Nikon obviously missed this segment. If Canons D60 matches the S2 resolution, I'm leaving for good, and really start building another lense pile with Canon.
Magne

Russ C said:
Is it just me, or are there a ton of enthusiasts like me out here
waiting for a reasonably priced Nikon DSLR? How many people have
Nikon glass sitting at home gathering dust, while they are out with
their CP 99X or 5000 or (gasp!) G2 or F707?

We don't need all the bells and whistles of a "Pro" (D1,S2) DSLR.
Cut out the dual storage (S2), firewire,...etc. How about just a
basic DSLR with CF/USB/4-6 megapixels with all the standard Nikon
metering and flash?

All I can say is not only is my Nikon equipment not getting used,
it's also being considered for Ebay! (Seriously thinking of going
all Canon, since I bought the 420EX for the G2 and Canon is looking
to be the King in the "enthusiast" DSLR market.) Come on Nikon!!!

--Magne

photolando · Feb 3, 2002

Russ C said:
Is it just me, or are there a ton of enthusiasts like me out here
waiting for a reasonably priced Nikon DSLR?

All I can say is not only is my Nikon equipment not getting used,
it's also being considered for Ebay!

So are you saying that just because you don't have a D SLR your not shooting anymore? Some enthusiast. Your prints from negs and chromes will still look as good, if not better than any file you get from a DSLR. I understand your wanting to get into digital but it's no reason to stop enjoying photography.

Mike

ExposureMeter · Feb 3, 2002

I am not looking for a Digital SLR using Nikon lenses at the moment but if I were, I would be very happy at the offerings, the DCS760, D1X, D1H, S1 and the soon to be released S2.--Geoff

Stan Disbrow · Feb 4, 2002

John,

Thanks for the kind words. Paulette had her six-monts-after-chemo checkup Friday and all is looking great. Cancer can be scary, but it also isn't immediate. Cardiac problems and accidents happen so fast that often times there isn't much anyone can do about it.

With cancer at least lets one have some sort of a fighting chance. In our case, we started fighting early and didn't pull any punches. It was a pea sized tumor, but we opted for a full mastectomy and took all the surrounding lymph nodes to be certain of any spread (there was none, but one can't put the extra bits back). Then, there was the six months of heavy chemotherapy, again to be sure that the cancer is gone. Now she takes some medications for five years, with lots of regular checkups and tests.

It's been somewhat of an ordeal, but at the end of the road I'm very likely to still have my wife until we part from more natural causes.

I suppose it was the 18 years as a volunteer firefighter/medic that gives me a somewhat different outlook on life. I've seen a lot of people that simply needed to take 2 seconds longer or shorter brushing their teeth in the morning. That 2 seconds being the difference between just missing an auto accident or being squarely nailed by it.

I have a large collection of 35mm photos of such events. Whenever I was just an extra person on the scene, I'd use my venerable Nikon FE to record the activities. Most of those shots are ones most people wouldn't want to see......

Stan

John Swenson said:
Whoa, one minute I'm poring over post after another about D1 this,
D1x that, blah blah blah and then I stumble on your thoughtful
message about life and the need to "just get on with it."

You write very well. Not the normal stuff I see on these forums.
And the part about your wife and her close call with cancer -- I'm
impressed at how smoothly you were able to tie that into
photography. Quite touching.

My wife and I are not dealing with cancer, thanks God, but I am at
a point in life where I can really relate to your comment that it's
time to "just get on with it."

John Swenson

--StanAmateur PhotographerProfessional Electronics Development Engineer

Stan Disbrow · Feb 4, 2002

Hi,

I went back and looked in my D1H users' manual and it indicates that using an AI or AIS lens automatically sets the metering of the camera to center weighted regardless of the metering mode selected on the body.

I see what you're referring to is an AF non-D lens where the 3D part turns into 2D but still uses the color matrix metering mode.

Stan

curtner said:
In other words, a non-D lense will still use the 3D Matrix metering
except it's really 2D, or just multisegment or multizone
evaluation. But it doesn't turn into cener weighted mode.

Member said:

Most of what you have on that list would work quite well on a D1
series body. The 'D' chip is required to get the 3D color matrix
metering to function, so non-D lenses are at a disadvantage. Older
lenses get stuck with center weighted metering. Digital really
benefits from the newer metering system, to keep the exposure set
to pull out the maximum dynamic range it's capable of.

Click to expand...

--StanAmateur PhotographerProfessional Electronics Development Engineer

Russ C · Feb 4, 2002

Umm, no. If you had finished quoting from the original message - I have a G2 and purchased a 420EX speedlight for it. (BUT I do miss lens/film/more aperture selections from my F5 (or even the N60!).)

michael collins said:
Russ C said:

Is it just me, or are there a ton of enthusiasts like me out here
waiting for a reasonably priced Nikon DSLR?

All I can say is not only is my Nikon equipment not getting used,
it's also being considered for Ebay!

Click to expand...

So are you saying that just because you don't have a D SLR your not
shooting anymore? Some enthusiast. Your prints from negs and
chromes will still look as good, if not better than any file you
get from a DSLR. I understand your wanting to get into digital but
it's no reason to stop enjoying photography.

Mike

Russ C · Feb 4, 2002

If I were a pro and could recoup the cost of a D1* after an assignment or two I would be happy also. But as an "enthusiast" with other life priorities, it's very hard to justify spending $4000 or more on a camera.

All the pieces are there, all the R&D has been done, now how about a decent DSLR for ~$1500 (or less). (I'd bet there'd be more sales of that than of an $1100 point-and-shoot (CP5K).)

Geoff Ronalds said:
I am not looking for a Digital SLR using Nikon lenses at the moment
but if I were, I would be very happy at the offerings, the DCS760,
D1X, D1H, S1 and the soon to be released S2.
--
Geoff

gcouch · Feb 4, 2002

Magne Nilsen said:
An increadible amount of ex-Nikon people I know are
using the G2/D30, and it shows in the Canon SLR forum too.

I am just a rank amatuer photographer. However, it is something I enjoy. I've had a small Nikon SLR system for about 10 years and I love it. When I made a partial move to digital (wasn't ready to abandon film completely), I skipped the Coolpix line (no offense Coolpix users!) and went with the Canon G1. I kept the G1 for several enjoyable months and have just recently moved to a G2. Now I'm thinking, "Who needs film anyway?".

I never thought I'd own a Canon. Kind of like a Ford guy buying a Chevy or vice versa. It is something that just isn't done. However, I really enjoy the G1/G2 and think they are great cameras.

All the while, I've been holding onto my 3 Nikon lenses and the SB28 longing for the day they release a mid-priced ($1500) DSLR. I'm sure they will SOMEDAY. I am holding out some small hope for the upcoming PMA show (that's actually why I am here in the Nikon forum - lurking for rumors).

If Nikon doesn't do something within the next 6 months or so, I am seriously considering selling my Nikon stuff, along with the G2, and going with the Canon DSLR. I don't want to leave Nikon, but I desparately want a DSLR. (The G2 is great, but it still leaves one wanting in a few areas). For some odd reason, the Fuji just doesn't inspire me.

Come on Nikon. Do something for us poor people!

KenEis · Feb 4, 2002

I like your now idea. I've been waiting for a 6MP DSLR. I wont accept anything less and more is not necessary. Yes I know 6MP is as arbitrary as you can get, but I set it based on many conversations about what is equivalent to film. When I get this cam S-2 or Nikon? I will not be in the market for the next year's better product. I've waited three years and its here...

Stan Disbrow said:
Yep. That's a problem. There are no units that match your criteria,
and I have serious doubts that there will be anything any time soon
that fits that description. The Canon D30 is the closest fit and
from what I hear is about to become out of production. For the
Nikon mount, the S1 is the closest fit, also in the out of
production category.

From here on, I think you're going to find that the markets have
pretty well stabilized. The price points are set and we're entering
the region of improvements shifting downwards from higher end
units. Maybe we'll see something that fits what you're looking for
at PMA, though. I hope they do come out with something for you.

I know the feeling well. I went through this two years ago while
the market was still in pretty heavy flux. I finally anted up the
$5k for a D1, after not being happy with a much less costly, but
much less capable, Nikon E2. Then, I anted up $4k for a used 460,
which worked out well for a starter 6mp unit to complement the D1.
Both units served my needs well.

I'm not a professional photographer, as you may think. I am still
an amateur photographer and always have been. I suppose I could
shift careers and become a pro, but I think that would ruin the
enjoyment for me. I know that my becoming and electronics designer
pretty much ruined electronics as a hobby. When fun starts looking
too much like work, it's not much fun any more.

Today, I'm quite content with the D1H that replaced the D1 for
prints up to 8x10, but I am ready to move up into the large format
printing world. To that end, I've decided to spend the money on a
760c to get a more useful 6mp unit. I see that the upper end market
has stabilized and I'm unlikely to get anything with better image
quality than the 760c provides and the price isn't likely to drop
any further any time soon.

I will wait to place the order for the 760c, to see if anything new
pops up at PMA that promises to be better in capability and value
than the 760c. That's the limit of my waiting, though. I've delayed
the LF printer and better camera for a year already. It's time to
move into the direction I want to move in.

There comes a point, with anything, that one must decide now and
just get on with it. Life is short, sometimes a lot shorter than
you think. My delaying last year was easy, as my wife underwent
treatment for breast cancer. We caught it early, cut out everything
in sight (no spread at all), and lived with the chemo. We even
opted for a full hysterectomy, since there were fiber tumors
starting to grow down there. She's 46, we have two grown daughters
and one new granddaughter and that's enough for us. It's time for
us to return to life, for as long as we can.

There's a lesson to be learned there, although I didn't need her
cancer to point it out to me. I had learned it by the time I was
18, having become a firefighter/medic. Your next minute on this
earth might very well be your last. Enjoy life as much as possible
while you still can.

There's the concept that you can get by with the consumer level
cameras and do as well as with the SLR's, but that's just not so.
It not so in digital any more than in film. The P&S units have
their place, but the SLRs have so much more control that, once you
learn how to use it, they make photography much more enjoyable. I
went the consumer digital path first, tried older technology
second, and finally found the real enjoyment once I had stopped
worrying about the money.

It was the same way with processing film. I had a full darkroom,
and yes, could do my own color processing as well. Lots of time and
effort is required to do it that way, especially compared with the
1-hour mini lab machines. The result is much moe pleasing, though.
With the pro-level digital SLR cameras, shooting in raw mode, and
processing manually on the PC, digital reaches that same level.
It's much faster and easier than film for sure. It costs more, but
consumes far less time.

In the overall scheme of things, digital is far more cost effective
than film.

Just food for thought.

Stan

Russ C said:

No thanks. I'm not looking to spend $2K or more on 2-3 year old
electronics. I would be willing to spend up to $2K on something
current. Simple, but current.

Click to expand...

--
Stan

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