Those are all excellent points, filmamigo! Yes, the viewfinder can make a great difference; I dislike using cameras without one and it bothers me that the current trend in P&S cameras is away from an optical VF or any VF at all.
As for the Nikon line, to me the D200 and the D2X/D2Xs seem to have the best VF. When the D70 first came out there were complaints about its "tunnel vision," but I never had much problem with that. While it's nice to have a large LCD on the back of a DSLR body, that VF is really the more important feature.
The biggest difference for me between the D70/D70s and the D200 was that more controls were available right at my fingertips on the body of the D200, and I really like and appreciate that. Having to fumble through a menu to make changes sometimes means that a potential photo opportunity is lost. I like being able to quickly press a button and/or turn a dial on my D200 and make whatever change it is I need "on the the fly," so to speak. For me, too, the two command dials on the D70, D70s, D80 and D200 are very important and it would drive me nuts having only one, as on the D40 and D50. I think the D80 is more like the D70/D70s as far as needing to go to the menu for function changes, and I know the D50 and D40 definitely are more menu-dependent.
The way the camera feels in my hands is very important. I always use a strap (replacing the Nikon strap with an Op-Tech) and I always have one hand on the camera even when it is hanging from the strap around my neck and I'm walking around. I have fairly small hands but the D70, D70s, D80 and D200 all feel very good and comfortable to me. I haven't held a D2X or D2Xs long enough to know how that would be as a working tool for me, but that is a primary consideration in choosing any camera that one will be using extensively and in a variety of situations. The D40 is so small that it feels almost like a toy, not like a "serious" camera. I wouldn't hesitate to put a large, heavy lens on most of the Nikon bodies but I definitely would not want to risk it on the tiny, light D40.
To the OP: if it is possible for you to borrow or rent a couple of different camera bodies and lenses to try out prior to making the purchase, that could probably be very helpful in your decision.
Wait where are you all talking about? I'm in Northern VA too actually..
Well, howdy, neighbor!!!
As you can see by my profile, I'm in No VA, not too far from Tysons, the Apple Store and Penn Camera!
Conowingo Dam is in Maryland, about an hour and a half's drive from here; when you're on I-95 you go through Baltimore and then get off at Havre de Grace or near there and then take a couple of country roads until you wind up near the Susquehanna and the dam. There is a large parking lot at the dam and that is where people are able to view and photograph eagles, seagulls and Great Blue Herons. The Herons have a rookery on the island that is across the water from the parking area. The eagles fly around the island, dine on the rocks, snatch fish from the water, and perch on the two large towers that are there. Sometimes they fly overhead and land in one of the trees in the parking area.
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is on the Eastern shore of Maryland, near Cambridge, I think.... Haven't been there yet so can't provide more info than that!
