just before impact

Having the shadow of the bird and perhaps the silhouette of the cracker would be awesome and I think someone with a good editing program, a steady hand, and lots of time could create that image well. I can’t but I toss out a formal challenge to all artists reading this to make it happen and get full rights to the derivative piece. :-)

The Nikon D80 is a fantastic camera and a nice upgrade from the D70. However, the D70 has features some pros are unhappy to part with so getting yours fixed is a good idea, if at all possible. Unfortunately, Nikon will piece together a camera from a boatload of used parts instead of new ones – and not tell you they did it – so you really need to buy upgraded extended warranties to cover yourself with any of their repairs.

The D60 is a definite downgrade from the D70 and a big downgrade from the D80 series but what Nikon did with that downgrade was designed it as an upgrade from the D40 series. The D60 is just one sweet machine with all sorts of goodies in it that would have been right at home in higher priced cameras: MOVIES (Yes, just like in the old days!); the digital display on the back of the camera automatically turns off when you put it close to your face; the pixels are identical to the D80; and it has a self-cleaning cycle when you turn it off and on. But the movies option is just too cool for school! It allows you to string together a set of consecutive shots in the camera’s SD chip memory and run them in a sequence very quickly. Hence, just like the old time movies. It’s nowhere near as fast as the cheapest movie camera but it’s still and a great way to see if the images work well in a sequence.

My guide has had my D60 for about a month and she’s completely hooked on it. Her hands are smallish and she’s completely new to DSLR cameras. When she got brave enough, she started taking shots without reading the manual or any other book. Those shots are ofttimes better than mine with the D80 because the D60 is sooooooooo intuitive and the right size for her hands. I’d say it’s more along Canon’s Rebel sizing than most Nikons so it’s ideal for a smaller hand as well as lighter in weight. Also, the controls are so easy to reach that you can memorize them by touch easily.

That leads to the down side of the D60: being smaller, you can actually change those controls accidentally between shots and be unaware you turned the camera on as well. :-O Another sucky issue is that Nikon downgraded the compatibility with their own lenses and even my Nikkor 70-300 telephoto won’t auto-focus with it. There is a ‘work-around’ since the camera will tell when when you’ve manually focused correctly but it’s way too annoying to be wasting serious seconds doing a manual focus when you don’t need to. Finally, the D60 uses a downgraded battery that has a MUCH shorter lifetime than the D80. That’s not acceptable without at least one ready spare. But with a spare you can get 1000 shots easily and without it, about 700 easily while using the display constantly and flash occasionally.

The pricing is between the discontinued D40 and the D80 but, in my opinion, still a bit higher than it should be when I last checked. But mine also came with a free $150 VR (vibration reduction) standard lens and that has been FANTASTIC for tightening up shots with my shaky hands, shots in the wind, and shots panning the camera to follow action using a tripod or your body.

Got the cash for a D80 and extended warranty, try holding the D80 and see if your hands feel comfortable. If they do, go that route. Don’t have the cash for both an extended warranty and D80, get the D60 and you’ll be very happy but save the D70 for repair when you can afford it. don’t have the cash for either higher end camera, get the D70 repaired before buying anything else since that camera is a unique series of great cameras. Dying for something new on a shoestring budget, you can still find the last of the new D40 series for sale new but remember that although you’ll have the same megapixels as the D70, you won’t have much else as good, It’s a great “back-up/second” camera but you’ll REALLY want to get the D70 fixed if you go this route.

I’m no expert with anything but the D80; my partner has had the D60 in her hands longer than I have. LOL! But I did extensive study of the D40, 60, and 80 before buying and a ton of testing and handling in the stores. Whatever you do, STAY WITH NIKON! You already have lenses and accessories for Nikon and changing to Canon at this stage would be more expensive than anything you could do with Nikons.

Good luck!

Thank you so very much! :-)

Toy my tookis! LOL! This camera has won me for than $500 in prizes from contests, captured an FBI raid and subsequent arrest, ma hummingbird feeding its young after sticking her tongue out at me, produced some of the nicest nudes I’m ever shot, and got me past hotel security to an access almost on the roof – a place completely off limits to guests. What IS new tho is the ability for the camera to shoot up to the proper speed and my new options to shoot faster subjects.

I played a gig tonight and used about $5000 in gear that I now consider “toys” since getting the Nikon. LOL!

I thank you very much!

Wow! I missed that! Thanks for telling me! Woo hoo!

Darn near. LOL! There couldn’t have been 1/10 of a second before he got wet. :-)

Thanks much!

Thank you very much! :-)

LOL! This was a lucky duck! The unlucky ones actually GOT a cracker and then had to try to keep the gulls from attacking them for it! >:-( I have never seen such greed and meanness as gulls wanting a Ritz. LOL! Fortunately, I can feed the more calm ducks by hand and the geese by mouth (Yeah, that’s right. Hehehehe!).

Thanks for the compliment and this shot was the one that got me into the Ultimate Reflections group I’m honoured to be a member of. :-)

Thank you so much (so very late… ) :-)

Thanks! It was one of those extremely lucky shots. LOL!

Thank you very much!

Thanks and yes the duck wasn’t happy about it but he was one of the lucky ones. When a gull really wanted a specific cracker a duck got first, the gull would attacked the duck, from, out of the water and into full flight. Sooner rather than later, the duck decides to duck and just drops the cracker. I’ve only seen one successful raid on a gull and that was by a crow. I got that shot too and it’s in here somewhere, probably in the wildlife gallery. But that slow moving crow intimidated a mad gull by picking up a cracked I tossed to him and taking flight a lot slower than any duck. I suppose crows have a reputation gulls respect.