JWW said:
Good luck! I too have been looking for a new camera to replace my Nikon 35mm. The more I looked the more I knew that I had to educate myself on exactly what the ads were trying to tell me. After several days of reading I finally got a grip on the basics.
JWW:
If you already have a 35mm Nikon system, I would encourage you to consider the Nikon D50, or, better, the improved D70s digital body. Although somewhat expensive, it is well worth the investment. I got the D70s body, and am EXTREMELY happy that I can use all of my Nikon "D" lenses with this digital back, which has proven to be very versatile and has met all of of my photographic needs from shooting sports activities of my kids, to macro photographs of flowers and plants, to the bowls and vessels I turn. I use a Nikon 24-120 mm 'D' lens, or my 70-180 mm Macro for shooting my turned pieces under 'studio' conditions, and the results are excellent. (I'm still working on getting my gallery up again on my web page, or I'd show you - for now you'll have to take my word!). [I just have to keep practicing and learning about studio lighting!]
If you are used to shooting film, using a "film-like" digital back with your present lens(es) will be a fairly seamless transition. The Nikon Digital SLR systems give you digital capability with a much better ability to control focus (including manual adjustment), various aspects of exposure (e.g. shutter or aperture priority, or full manual over-ride), and lots of image storage ability (hundreds of images, depending on resolution). Many of the functional constraints of the smaller (but perhaps more "pocket convenient") digital cameras, such as full time autofocus [no ability to focus manually], inability to change shutter speed or aperture, limited viewfinder, auto-flash, etc. are fully adjustable with a digital back, enabling the photographer greater flexibility to adapt to the exposure and image composition to obtain optimal effects.
I hope John Lucas weighs-in on this thread, since he's one of our 'photo gurus' who already has more photographic experience than most people will have in a lifetime. Photography is not my day job, but it
is his.....
Rob Wallace