Hi everyone, and your input is appreciated. I had an itch for photography as a youth and took classes in the 7th and 8th grade. Then as I entered high school things changed and not for the better. I got interupted by evil influences and the good things in my life (photography for one) were thrown to the wayside while I spent the next 15 years wrecklessly destroying myself.
I met my wife a few years ago and have sinced turned a 180. The addition of my beautiful daughter 1 year ago has forever changed me and the darkness has 100% receeded. I have also started discovering old passions I once had which is what brought me here to post today.
I started dabbling with photo editing a couple years ago and just recently completed a huge project where I restored dozens of old photographs for an uncle to be used in a gift he was making for my aunt. He was amazed at what I acclomplished with the photos. They had defects such as tears, wrinkles, bad sun glares, etc. and I repaired them to new condition. I spent literally over 100 hours on these pictures and never tired of it. Each picture was a new project and a greater acclomplishment.
Well, that project really got me REALLY itching again and I began my research. I wanted to find a good all around camera for an amature to a semi professional. A versatile camera that could go from a b-day party, to a wedding, to deep in the woods, to the local ball games indoor and out. In my search I found this forum a couple weeks ago and have pretty much exlusively read the posts here to help me along. What I learned was that while the camera body is important for the features, it is the lens' that makes the picture. They are the meat and potatoes I guess you would say, and the camera body is the plate.
Below is my list of the camera body I decided on, along with the choice of lens'. I also included the price and where I was going to purchase them from to get some feedback on that as well. This is my first post, but as I said, I spent a long time reading first because I know how tiresome it gets seeing the same old, "Which fill in the blank should I get?". Anywho, whatever input you have on my choices of equipment, the prices, and/or the vendors would be of great help. I have researched heavily and pretty much made my decision but before I pull the trigger on this rather large purchase I wanted a second opinion if you will. Thanks a bunch and I do like the knowledge base found in these forums.
Camera: Nikon D80 $379 from 1wayphoto.com
Lens 1: Nikon Zoom 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G-Super Wide Angle AF ED-IF DX Autofocus $205 from PrestigeCamera.com
Lens 2: Nikon 50mm f1.4 D-Autofocus $239 from 1wayphoto.com
Lens 3: Nikon Zoom 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX VR Autofocus $539 from 1wayphoto.com
I did want to add that I have been using higher end point and shoot cameras up to this point. I am not completely new to the game of photography, just taking it to a more serious level.
I met my wife a few years ago and have sinced turned a 180. The addition of my beautiful daughter 1 year ago has forever changed me and the darkness has 100% receeded. I have also started discovering old passions I once had which is what brought me here to post today.
I started dabbling with photo editing a couple years ago and just recently completed a huge project where I restored dozens of old photographs for an uncle to be used in a gift he was making for my aunt. He was amazed at what I acclomplished with the photos. They had defects such as tears, wrinkles, bad sun glares, etc. and I repaired them to new condition. I spent literally over 100 hours on these pictures and never tired of it. Each picture was a new project and a greater acclomplishment.
Well, that project really got me REALLY itching again and I began my research. I wanted to find a good all around camera for an amature to a semi professional. A versatile camera that could go from a b-day party, to a wedding, to deep in the woods, to the local ball games indoor and out. In my search I found this forum a couple weeks ago and have pretty much exlusively read the posts here to help me along. What I learned was that while the camera body is important for the features, it is the lens' that makes the picture. They are the meat and potatoes I guess you would say, and the camera body is the plate.
Below is my list of the camera body I decided on, along with the choice of lens'. I also included the price and where I was going to purchase them from to get some feedback on that as well. This is my first post, but as I said, I spent a long time reading first because I know how tiresome it gets seeing the same old, "Which fill in the blank should I get?". Anywho, whatever input you have on my choices of equipment, the prices, and/or the vendors would be of great help. I have researched heavily and pretty much made my decision but before I pull the trigger on this rather large purchase I wanted a second opinion if you will. Thanks a bunch and I do like the knowledge base found in these forums.
Camera: Nikon D80 $379 from 1wayphoto.com
Lens 1: Nikon Zoom 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G-Super Wide Angle AF ED-IF DX Autofocus $205 from PrestigeCamera.com
Lens 2: Nikon 50mm f1.4 D-Autofocus $239 from 1wayphoto.com
Lens 3: Nikon Zoom 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX VR Autofocus $539 from 1wayphoto.com
I did want to add that I have been using higher end point and shoot cameras up to this point. I am not completely new to the game of photography, just taking it to a more serious level.
