Upgrade?

picture from Digital Photography Review

For a while now, I've wanted to upgrade to a better camera.  "Better" in this case simply means more than the 6 megapixels I currently have.  Don't get me wrong; my D40 takes great pictures.  It would be plenty of camera for me except for the fact I want to produce artistic prints of my black and white photos and the occasional photo manipulation.  For those, more pixels means producing prints closer to painting quality which, as an admitted perfectionist, I want to attain.

Initially, the 12.3mp D90 was my "tax return purchase" goal after reading many user reviews.  It has remained a logical hobbyist upgrade but for the continued high price (@$750 for body only).  The fact that D90 owners don't seem to get rid of them keeps the demand high and thus, a D90 remains out of my budget if I want to add lenses or other gadgets to my purchase.

The next camera I considered was the 12.9mp D5000.  The lady I photographed a wedding with owns one and swears by it.  I tried the camera out at the wedding and liked the way it felt in my hands, though it is a bit heavier than my D40.  Given the greater amount of pixels and quality results, it seemed to be the camera for me at a more affordable $400-$600 price tag. 

I wanted to be sure I was making the best choice in my situation.  Life has changed for my family in the past year and I'm facing the need to help bolster our finances.  I know this seems like an oxymoron but I have a one-time opportunity to purchase equipment that can help me help my family in the long run.

So, I continued my search.

On recommendation, I explored Ken Rockwell's review site and have since discovered Digital Photography Review. Between these two websites, I have found a wealth of practical and technical information to aid my decision making.

picture from Digital Photography Review

After perusing pages of reviews and comparisons, I have decided that my next camera will be a 14.2mp D3100.  Cost-wise, it runs @$600 for the kit that includes an 18-55mm lens (not the one shown here) which will allow me to purchase a couple of extras.  The body is smaller and lighter.  It should fit my tiny hands perfectly and not tire my carpel tunneled wrists.  The extra megapixels will allow me to further my artistic projects.  And the great thing about staying in the Nikon family is I can still use all of my current lenses and filters. 

Now that I've decided on the camera I want, I would like to add another lens to my arsenal.  Check back soon to see what lens I choose and why...

"Early Morning"

Aug. 20th, 2011
Horseshoe Mountain Rd.
Paris, AR

Donating...

 

Money?  Goods?  Time? 

I enjoy spending time with my photography projects and sharing them with the public, yet I have wanted to do a bit more with my ILP blog and time.  While cruising the net looking for ideas yesterday, I ran across the FreeRice website.  I'd forgotten how much fun it is to test your knowledge and "earn" rice to donate to needy families.

How the site works:  You can choose to create an account that will keep a tally of your progress or you can play on the site without signing in.  There are six categories in which to test your knowledge: Math, English, Geography, Chemistry, Language Learning and Humanities.  My favorite is English vocabulary under Language Learning.  Questions start out simple and progressively get harder the further you go.  For each correct answer you get, ten grains of rice are donated to the World Food Programme and they can add up fast.  Play as little or as much as you want.  

Normally I’m not one to jump on the cause bandwagon nor do I push others to do so but the experience seemed to fit the bill of that something “more” I was looking for.  So I came up with a small challenge for myself that I can do each day. 

My challenge:  To donate 15 minutes of my time each morning to see how much rice I can earn and send to hungry families.  For the rest of August, I'll be participating in the English vocabulary category. 

I would love to see other bloggers and readers take up similar challenges with me but I understand if that doesn’t happen.  After all, time is precious and this cause isn’t for everyone.  I do, however, challenge you to find ways to help others that fit with your availability and beliefs.  

Check back often to follow my daily progress in the right-side FreeRice widget.  And if you have unique ideas for other avenues of donating time, goods, or skills, please share them.  I'm always looking for new ways to help.

(banner from FreeRice.com)

New Stuff

Just a quick note to let you know I've added a new page, Photo Manipulations, as well as a Guestbook to the blog.  Please check out the new art and let me know what you think.  You can also vote for your favorite manipulation in the right sidebar poll.

Thanks for stopping by!

Maria