i love photography and use to be pretty good at it with my slr canon a-1. then i bought a digital camera and it was okay but i didn't ever really like the pictures from it (4x zoom and 4 megapixels)

it just wasn't the same and i stopped taking as many photos.

i've wanted a nikon dslr (d80) for a long time but decided against it once i found this baby.



http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/P...0n100454n100450

i think it suits my lifestlye (i can take it on my mtn bike etc) and it has unbelievable features and what is not to like about 15x zoom. that and it's like a 1/4 of the cost.

i charged the battery tonight and read the owners manual. suspect other then fooling around with it, i won't take any real pictures until the weekend.

just fyi cause you know a photo thread is imminent.

Is that 15x digital or optical?

Oh, and congratulations!

optical which make it the equivalent of 31 to 465 ish (i'd have to check the specs but i know i'm in the ballpark)

i'm not really a big fan of digital zoom altho this camera does and 2X precision digital zoom.

i'm not sure congrats are in order as i think i probably spend more in a month on my vices but i am excited about getting back into taking pictures and i have 2 weeks off coming up later this month so thanks.

I have one of these in black waiting for me at home after this trip

http://us.leica-camera.com/photography/com...ameras/c-lux_2/

Can't wait! I was hoping it would get to me in time for the trip, but I'll just have to wait.

Ok, so what kind of camera would you suggest for a bird watcher? I know they have binoculars that take photos. Are tyeh any good?

I've never owned a camera save for the Instamatic I was given and the Olympus I borrowed.

I like the sleekness of the camera CJ mentioned

Oh, and congrats on your new camera.

excellent altho it would have been nice for your trip. but where you live will produce many opportunities for beautiful scenic photo's. (i know, i've been there )

i don't know much about the binoculars that take photo's but i'd think you'd want a camera more like mine so you can zoom in on the birds. i did a fair amount of research on it and it is definitely the best bang for the money (i got mine on sale for $400 but keep in mind i am canadian so you'd probably pay less) and the carl zeiss lens is a bonus. it also has a high speed shutter easy option setting which would be an asset for birds in motion. that and the camera is not as big as it appears in the above picture.

i'll try to find a bird and snap a few this weekend as long as it doesn't rain.

Depends on what sort of bird photography you want to do.

A member of my camera club consistently turns in winning nature images of our local water birds (Great Egrets, Blue Herons, Pelicans, etc) -- these are all fairly big birds. She has a 500mm lens with a 1.4 multiplier and a Wimberly tripod head. This is BIG and HEAVY and EXPENSIVE. That with PATIENCE and LUCK (but as a bird watcher you know about that) and you can have incredible results.

On the other hand, if you aren't hoping to win competitions, lighter and less expensive equipment will do. However, you always need long lenses for birds. Even the big ones are rather small, and the small ones are tiny (and usually far away.)

I'm not a bird photographer, but I'm guessing at minimum you need a 35mm equivalent focal length of at least 600mm. At that length, you need either a pretty fast shutter speed or a good stable tripod (or both).

well technically i am now on holidays so i'll try to figure out how to get the absolute best pictures but here is my attempt at a bird photo to show closeness.

in the first picture you can barely make out the blue bird house in the centre of the picture. the 2nd shot is at 15x zoom.

just got back, sheraton poipu...will try and post some pics

are you in the tropics?

view from our room

I took this today in my garden:


Click to view attachment


click on it to see it better. It took me hours to finally get this shot.

I still use a Canon ae1.I still use a lot of film (B&W).Print it all on fibre based paper etc.I just don't trust CD's to be archival.I do trust my properly fixed & washed negatives in their archival sleeves with proper storage to out live me (they're the only thing that has actually withstood the test of time rather than just some acceleration test that may or may not indicate it's real life) If you need it digital buy a good dedicated scanner & you have the best of both world's.I own a digital slr & I use it,but I don't view photo's I take with it the same as I view those I take on film.With digital it's for fun,for now or the near future with film I'm saving an image for future generations.

wow

beautiful shot

think i'll start a photography thread and let this thread die ~ hope you repost it.

Excellent! I love garden pics.

here are my nasturtiums

i have garden shots ~ come play and repost your pic in my photography thread and i'll post a few. but i gotta go soon.

Just did.