I LOVE this new camera :)

[ET Awful]

Look at the detail this thing can capture, and this is in crappy lighting. Wait until I get a really sunny day and get some outside shots.

It was even cloudier and yucker yesterday, and I shot this of a Greek Orthodox Church through my apartment window from 1/2 a mile away.



I can't wait until I get some nice weather to really see what this thing can do in optimal conditions.

[agates]

1. Nice

What kind of camera?

[ET Awful]

6. Nikon D70 digital SLR

I'm extremely pleased with it :). I got a really good deal on it too.

[progressor]

38. D70s

Are really nice from what I've seen.

[GOPisEvil]

2. Yeah, yeah...rub it in...

:P

What lens did you use to take a picture of the church? That's great detail from a distance.

[ET Awful]

4. A really cheap Sigma 70-300 that I got off e-bay

for $100. Not bad for a cheapo lens. It focuses slow, and it needs a LOT of light to work well, but it's worth the price.

[GOPisEvil]

5. I'm thinking of going with the Minolta Maxxum digital SLR.

Image stabilization is built into the body, so I can go onto ebay and get inexpensive regular Maxxum film lenses.

But that is a decent buy for $100. It would be really good for stills.

[ET Awful]

7. The Minolta was my first choice, I just couldn't justify the price.

Or rather, I could justify it, I just couldn't afford it :). The Minolta image stabilization works REALLY well, it's the same system they used in the Dimage A1, etc. I have an A1, and I was really happy with the IS system.

[GOPisEvil]

8. I was thinking about upgrading my point and shoot camera.

I was thinking about getting a Panasonic/Lumix or the Minolta or one of the other cameras with at least a 10x optical zoom.

But, I think I will save my pennies for the Minolta SLR. :-)

[ET Awful]

10. I seriously thought about it, but I decided that buying the Nikon now

made sense. I can always sell it later (they keep their resale pretty well). I'll wait a year and see what Minolta does for an encore :).

What I'd like to see is a Nikon with the Minolta IS system, and with the Olympus self-cleaning system for the sensor :)

[GOPisEvil]

11. In 5 years, we'll be buying those for $500.

Sigh...I hate being a gadget geek. It's expensive.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

3. Beautiful pics

You can really see each individual hair on Althea! What a beautiful kitty she is! Thanks for posting.

[ET Awful]

9. Glad you enjoyed it, and you're welcome :)

I just wish the weather was nicer so I could get outside and take pics of animals that I don't live with :)

[yvr girl]

12. I'm so jealous - a digital SLR is on my list

BTW, your kitty is SO cute.

[ET Awful]

14. Thanks :)

I've been wanting one for a long time, and an opportunity presented itself, so I jumped on it :).

[bertha katzenengel]

13. Althea is such a beauty. What a joy.

Thanks, ET.

[ET Awful]

15. Thank you!

How's your gang of fur doing? :)

[bertha katzenengel]

25. Kicking my ass daily. They run the nuthouse.

We are but willing slaves.

[rogerashton]

16. I've had a Panasonic with 10x optical zoom for a couple of years.

I remember, because my darlin' companion and I took an early walk in Brandywine State Park soon after I got it. The spring wildflowers were coming out and it was pretty clear in a few minutes that if I wanted to use my camera, I had better get her one too.

Doesn't take standard lenses but the built in 10x is a Leica -- nice results.

[ET Awful]

17. Those Panasonics aren't bad at all. Pretty nice stuff :)

I actually went back and forth between that and my Minolta A1 when I bought it year or two ago.

[rogerashton]

34. Panasonic is sort of the Commodore Business Machines of their industry.

More chips (and glass) for the same money. Didn't make money for Commodore, though.

[diddlysquat]

18. Good looking cat.

[Nay]

19. NICE! I'm wavering between the Minolta and Nikon, and I have a

question -- how much of a lag time is there between you pressing the shutter and the photo actually being taken? I have a simple point-and-shoot digital now, and if I had a nickel for every good shot I've missed because of that lag, I could retire. And I've been a photographer for years and am used to catching the shot at the right time, but I never could with this digital.

[NV Whino]

21. I have a Nikon D100

The lag time you are talking about is negligible and it mostly has to do with the flash card. I use a Lexar 512kb 40x. It's the 40x that determins the record time on the card. The Nikon has the option of multiple fast exposures, too. I mean boom, boom, boom. No wait.

Just got a new lens for it. A 60mm micro. I'll be posting some close up wildflower photos when I get up off my duff to do it.

[ET Awful]

24. Once you get the focus in, there is no shutter lag.

So if you find your target, depress the shutter release halfway to lock the focus, you'll shoot instantly when you finish the press. I know the type of lag you're talking about (had it with my old camera many times). It's not an issue with the D70.

NV Whino seems to be referring to time between shots, as card speed has no effect on shutter lag, but does on how many pictures you can take in sequence. The D70 will do 3 frames per second up to 14 frames, and beyond, depending on how fast the card is.

It's a pretty quick camera.

[immoderate]

20. Think about what you mean by "good" light.

For instance you got great color saturation on the mosque. That wouldn't happen in bright sunlight. Hard light might give you exposure values that are outside the latitude of the CCD.

As a photographer, I cherish those overcast days. Nice pictures.

--IMM

[ET Awful]

30. To a certain extent, I agree with you, but what doesn't appear

because of the lighting is that that roof is actually gilded gold and is very shiny and bright. It comes off looking very flat colored in that picture.

I would prefer light cloud cover so I still got some intensity to the light, rather than direct sunlight or the dark skies I had in that picture (I did a bit of post-processing in photoshop that got rid of some of the dingy grey).

[tinfoilinfor2005]

22. Love your signature line...

I wasn't familiar with that one. Is it from Gunga Din?

[ET Awful]

26. It's from Epitaphs of the War by Kipling.

http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/verse/p2/epitaphs.html

A Dead Statesman -

I could not dig: I dared not rob:
Therefore I lied to please the mob.
Now all my lies are proved untrue
And I must face the men I slew.
What tale shall serve me here among
Mine angry and defrauded young?

[LynzM]

23. Nice!

Color me jealous! I got to play with a digital SLR last summer, and loved it... it's on the list once the CC bills are paid off! I can't wait! :bounce: Can't wait to see more great kitty pics!

[MissMillie]

27. Althea sure is beautiful!

Nice camera.

[ET Awful]

28. Thanks on both counts :)

She's a looker, she's also a pain in the butt today. Running around yelling at me for no reason. And she's normally so quiet too :(

[fluffernutter]

29. very nice camera!

great shots too - you're good!

[ET Awful]

31. I'm a novice :)

But thanks!

[WilliamPitt]

32. Do you live in the Richmond district of San Francisco?

That dome looks familiar. I used to live off Clement street.

[ET Awful]

33. Nope, I live on the edge of downtown Lowell, Massachusetts :)

But you're only 3,000 miles off, no big deal!

It's an easy mistake to make actually, having spent quite a bit of time in San Francisco, there are a lot of similarities in architecture in many parts of Mass.

[tavalon]

35. Ah,

one of my boyfriends hails from there. What is it with all those lost and found 'R's?

[ET Awful]

37. All the 'R's moved to the southwest

where they could properly serve as rolled 'R's in predominantly Spanish speaking neighborhoods :).

[Floogeldy]

36. Ain't it fun!

I recently got a digital camera and I'm having a lot of fun with it. Those are nice pics!

B-)