I am going to buy a new camera, and these are the two front runners. I am leaning towards the Nikon. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Well, I guess I'm an impulsive buyer. Just bought this:

http://www.expresscameras.com/prodetail ... 00&start=1

At least I should be able to take good pics for my calendar now

Well, you picked my choice of cameras. I've dealt with some of the "Jersey" sites. You have to watch out that they don't sell you gray market products, unless you realize that is what you are buying. All that equipment, for that price, makes me slightly suspicious.

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Roy Rogers
Southern Tampania de la Floridana Universidad (STFU)
STFU Motto: All Bamboos are not Created Equal; @ STFU, the Search Continues
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ROY'S BAMBOO LIST

One step ahead of you... Already canceled my order, and also canceled my credit card just to be sure that they have no way of getting any money from me.

The question still stands, but it appears that I am back at the drawing board as to where to buy it from... yeah, I know, support my local businesses...

Very nice package. I've had good results with camera express. Just make sure you register your new camera, and anything out of sorts should show up then. If its new and in a sealed box, you are good to go. Now, post some pics.

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David Arnold
Middle Tennessee Bamboo Farm
USDA zone 6b/7a

Here's a link on gray/grey market products. Grey market products are not necessarily bad; the main issue being manufacturer warranties:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_market

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Roy Rogers
Southern Tampania de la Floridana Universidad (STFU)
STFU Motto: All Bamboos are not Created Equal; @ STFU, the Search Continues
**********
ROY'S BAMBOO LIST

Costco had a similar Nikon package for a good price. I don't think it came with the tripod but I know it had the two lenses.

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Nate Abbott

I think this is the package you are referring to. The local price here is Tampa I believe is $1299.00

Nikon D80 10.2MP 2.5"
3 Frames Per Second
18-55 & 55-200mm Lens
512MB SD Card & Bag

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Roy Rogers
Southern Tampania de la Floridana Universidad (STFU)
STFU Motto: All Bamboos are not Created Equal; @ STFU, the Search Continues
**********
ROY'S BAMBOO LIST

only 512? ripoff. Take a few pics and it would be full.

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Lance Kleckner
http://www.bigfootwillow.com

I would like to have a 1 gig card, but if one selects jpeg as their choice of picture saving, then the 10 MB would give you about a 5 MB jpeg compressed file. 512 MB divided by 10 MB equals about 100 pictures on a 512 MB? Raw, tiff, ect would be higher. Maybe my math is wrong?

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Roy Rogers
Southern Tampania de la Floridana Universidad (STFU)
STFU Motto: All Bamboos are not Created Equal; @ STFU, the Search Continues
**********
ROY'S BAMBOO LIST

I have a Nikon D70 and D200 at work that I use regularly. I use an Olympus 8080 at home. I like all of them. My top pick would be the D200 for everything I do. You better know your stuff to operate a D200.

Of course a good image editing program is also necessary. I use Ulead Photo Impact 11 most of the time, but I also like Adobe Photoshop CS2.

I do most of the calendars with Photo Impact 11. I did my logo and the logo at http://www.rainforestbamboos.com with Photo Impact 11.

Photo galleries are really easy with the "automation" tool in Photoshop CS2.
Here are of a couple of galleries we did at work with Photoshop CS2...

http://www.harlingen.isd.tenet.edu/christmas/index.html
http://www.harlingen.isd.tenet.edu/~BirdBowl/index.htm The pics were shot with a Nikon D200. Most of the image editing was done with PhotoImpact.

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Allen D. Aleshire
Bamboo Nut Farm

http://www.boonut.com

Thanks for all of the information.


Here is the order I just placed (from a very reputable camera shop) ...



I was going to pick up an extra battery, but was talked out of it. I guess I can add one later if I find myself running out of juice.

I'm going to Italy in May for the Giro d'Italia (similar to Tour d'France, but in Italy). I needed to pick up some good gear and have plenty of time to get used to it before I go. Also, this will give me plenty of time to figure out what else I need to buy before I go.

The camera should arrive mid next week. I'll post some pics once it shows up.

-mike.

I have the Sandisk 2GB Extreme III card that I use with the D200 also. That one really screams in terms of data transfer rates. If you used older cards, you will really be amazed at the speed of the Extreme III.

Take some time to get to know the different modes. I would also suggest a Nikon SB-800 speedlight instead of the built in flash. With that combination, there won't be much you can't shoot.

Also, be careful when changing lenses... one of the problems with the Digital SLR's with interchangable lenses is the potential for dust on the sensor.

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Allen D. Aleshire
Bamboo Nut Farm

http://www.boonut.com

Found the light for $304... that might have to wait for a b-day present to myself. What I spent was already twice what I was planning on spending, but I kept hearing how great the D200 was, so I couldn't help myself. Do I need a camera this good? Absolutely not. I'm sure the D50 would've been plenty of camera for my level of photography, but it's that time of year, and I needed to buy myself a present




Thanks for the heads up. I'll be extremely cautious.

When you buy the right tools, you might surprise yourself with the possibilities.

Experiment with depth-of-field in closeup shots of the culms. Shoot fill flash outdoors in full sun. Let your imagination run wild. That camera will do what you ask it to.

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Allen D. Aleshire
Bamboo Nut Farm

http://www.boonut.com