Knuckledragger

I don't know much about the D3K, but the reviews have been tepid at best. It's got worse noise at a given ISO setting, by a full stop, than the models it replaced. That's a big issue. It's harder to quantify, but the D3000 also has worse handling and user interface as well. What makes low-end Nikon DLSRs superior to Canons is equal-or-better image quality and vastly improved handling. Take those away, and the argument becomes moot. The reason I linked to the D40 and D60 is that they produce better real-world results than the newer Nikons and most Canon DSLRs (until one pays 2-3x as much.)

Photo not mine. I didn't exactly buy it, but I got a new camera today. It's an Olympus "Trip XB AF 44" film point & shoot. The local second hand store has a stack of old film cameras in at the moment. They had three point & shoots with slooow zoom lenses (crap and more crap), the Olympus (which has a fixed 27mm wide angle lens, rock!) as well as a Minolta XG-M manual film SLR. The Olympus was the one that interested me the most, but had two corroded batteries in it. I pointed this out and the lady said "you can have it if you want." I took it home and extracted the batteries with a pair of channel locks. I spent the last hour cleaning out the battery compartment and scraping the corroded terminal as best I could. I fed it a fresh pair of batteries, and it came to life. There was an unexposed roll of Fuji print film in it, so I don't have to feed it. I'm psyched about this camera. I brought my film SLR and a roll of Fuji Velvia 50, but the weather conditions and my own mental state have not been up to working with ISO 50 slide film that costs $3 per shot when all is said and done. Some nice low-pressure print film in a goofy point and shoot is exactly what the doctor (or in this case, muse) ordered. Of course, I might be making another post like this tomorrow where I talk about the neat Minolta film SLR I just bought, because I am nucking futs an obsessive camera nerd.

Steve, for a non-SLR, this is the top dog: Amazon.com: Canon PowerShot S90 10MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-inch LCD: Camera & Photo Canon PWNZ the point and shoot market. No one can compete with them, least of all Nikon. For SLRs (bigger, swappable glass), Nikon's cheaper models are much better than Canon's. The Nikon D40 is long in the tooth at this point, but does just about everything a budding photographer might want. It might be possible to find it and two lenses for under $600. Amazon has it, but for way too much: 25420B Nikon D40 6.1 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera 3X Zoom Kit Outfit, with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor Lens - Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A.. Adorama still has D40, refurb'd, plus the shorter kit lens for $400, free shipping: 25420B Nikon D40 6.1 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera 3X Zoom Kit Outfit, with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor Lens - Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A. That leaves room for maybe a flash unit: 4806 Nikon SB-400 TTL AF Shoe Mount Speedlight, USA Warranty Not to confuse matters, but Adorama has a few refurb'd D60 kits as well: INKD60RKB Nikon D60 Digital SLR Camera Body Kit, - Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A - with 8 GB SD Memory Card, Spare EN-EL9 Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery, Nikon Gadget Bag,USB 2.0 SD Card Reader, Professional Lens Cleaning Kit Truth be told there aren't too many advantages of the D60 over the D40.

Sploosh. Oldie, possible reap ost.

Today, Reks did not win an internet.

. o O Maybe it's fish flavored.

Holy crap, the sun!

/me tilts head. I spy an LS3. That rig must do a nice job of keeping you warm on cold evenings.

The locals are considering usurping "Marthas" with "Atlantis." My neighbor across the pond has a stone bench, which is normally 10' from the edge of the water. It is now mostly underwater. My understanding is that the water will crest about 3 days after it stops raining.

Indeedsh. Early picture of Tyll?

^^ Those wigglepix always make me feel a bit queasy.

Attn: Mr. DIY Re: Lily's first treehouse.

I like the "hidden" Head-Case logo in the T-_-2 design. It's a nice tweak on the nose to certain other websites and amp manufacturers.