Nikon, you complete me

You do, well in the sense that with this camera I have the perfect partner for whatever shot I want to take. Let me clarify, I started my camera search a couple of years ago. I researched and researched and researched, oh yeah and I researched. On which brand to go with, Canon or Nikon? There is a ton of info out there and what spoke to me to go with a Nikon might not speak to you. The reason you want to be sure of your decision is that cameras get expensive and once you start buying more glass or equipment it usually fits only the brand your buying and to scrap all that and go with another brand is just foolish or you have extra money to blow which in that case if you have Nikon you can send me all the stuff you are currently getting rid of. 

But seriously, the first camera I bought was a Nikon D40x, which was a GREAT beginner dslr but I quickly outgrew my camera. So I researched again and decided I wanted to move up to the Nikon D300s which is a VERY expensive camera for me. Not a professional. While saving up for the D300s Nikon announced the release of the D7000, and after reading all the reviews I was sold. 

Nikon D7000

It had everything I needed and more, CMOS sensor, dynamic ISO from 100 to 6400 and up to 25,600, 39 autofocus points, twin SD cards, HD video, metal alloy body to name a few. And the price was great, well greater than the D300S. The only problem was that it had not shipped yet and you had to pre-order so I hemmed and hawed until the day it shipped and then it was sold out, just like that. 

I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and pre-order the sucker, the reviews it was getting all over the web were amazing. I was in love but Nikon wasn't loving me back, it took two more months before I got an email saying it was shipping out the next day. 

I think mine took longer since I ordered the body only and not the "package" which in my opinion it makes more sense to buy the body only and then buy a better lens cuz the lens you get with the package is usually not that fast anyway. Just take the extra that the package costs and put it toward a prime lens, which in my case I already got from my husband for christmas last year. All the photos on here since last December were mostly taken with that lens.

AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G

So the moral of this story is that I learned a great deal from my first camera and when I learned all I could and I was getting dark shots with a lot of noise I knew I needed to move up. In a perfect world the lighting would be perfect and ideal and the white balance would also work in all conditions but unfortunately it's not, but having the D7000 has made shooting in the dark all the much better, and I mean without a flash on. 

So if I was to give anyone any advice on cameras is that unless you have a ton of money to switch back and forth pick one and stay with it. Buy for the future, meaning buy the camera that will be able to grow with you instead of every couple of years buying another body. Buy the body only and spend the remainder on a prime lens as fast as you can afford and learn your manual and any other books on photography and the best one is practice. A lot. 

If you want to know why I went with a Nikon instead of a Canon drop me an email, I'm curious if anyone cares.

As you can tell this is a hobby for me and I love it. I wish I had more time to dedicate to photography and learn more but once something becomes demanding it's not fun anymore so I take it step by step and hopefully one day someone will, in regards to me say "wow, she takes great photos".

New strap - on my camera

Oh get your mind out of the gutter. I ordered a new strap for my nikon cuz I'm hating the way the NIKON shows all bright on the original strap. It's not that I don't want to show that its nikon but I would like to keep it a little low key from people perusing something to take. Ya know.

So I was looking online for some camera straps and there is a plethora that come up, esp through etsy. I didn't want to to with a bright custom strap, not that anything is wrong with that, it's just another way of being loud and saying look at my camera.

I initially wanted one of the old camera straps that you used to be able to get back in the 70's I know my grandfather had a strap like that on his old zenith, this is one that I found but it was a one of a kind.

I also found a few that were leather, and very snazzy. I liked them a lot and the price wasn't bad, they just had something missing. They were all neck straps.

Nice huh?  Yeah I thought so too, except having a neck strap now is not optimal for me. I like to carry my camera on my shoulder or across my torso but with these type of straps your limited to how long you can make them. Doesn't work so well if you're like me and want to pull it across your body at anytime to take photographs and then swing it back.

I have found the solution to this problem, Gordyscamerastrap.com. I chose a sling with a screw tripod connector, and I got an additional lug mount wrist strap with a wrist pad. I can't wait to try this sucker out on a longer day of shooting. I figure that I can detach the body sling easily and just keep the wrist strap on all the time on the nikon d40x.