Beautiful Day To Go To The Zoo.

Almost 70 degrees in the middle of November is what the weather guy on the radio refers to as "unseasonably" warm. And if you're freaking out about global warming then a beautiful day like this may be downright terrifying to you. But for me, it was a perfect day to hit the Baltimore Zoo with the family and see how the D40 handles "in the field" in the hands of a true amateur. With the cash leftover from playing it frugal, I sprung for a cool Nikon camera bag (with a groovy yellow stripe) and a polarizing lens filter.




Awesome bag, just the right size to fit all the gear.





Ok, so evidently this thing is the shit. If you've ever worn polarized sunglasses (not the gas station crap that has "polarized" written on them so you pick them up...I mean a real pair of polarized sunglasses) then you know what they can do. This is good for outdoor, sunny day use and really makes colors "pop". Bluer blues, redder reds, yellower yellows, improves contrast, cuts glare...all of it. It sounded too good to be true, but man did it make a difference. I have a few shots to show how it handled.





So off we go!





Otter statue oversees the entrance.





Charlotte having a great time. I've found that getting up close and manually focusing on the subject really gives that good "blurry background" that I really like. I'm practicing different techniques to get consistent results. Doesn't she look cute?!!





Enjoying a leaf. I really like getting in close especially as the sunlight shifts behind.





Stopping and photographing leaves and berries and natural colors is to be expected. It never gets old, the colors in nature are always so sweet. Close up, polarizing filter.





Not a very good background for this picture, and I'm still practicing manual focus. Getting faster...





Polarizing filter in full effect. Look at that. Now the filter itself can be adjusted while on the camera to adjust the level of effect. I'm still working on fine-tuning it but look!





More polarizing filter porn. Look at that. It makes the colors of nature on a sunny day just ever-so-much-more-so.





My beautiful girl.





My beautiful wife! Smiling while thinking "you really are going to do this all day aren't you?"





Here it is. Remember in my first post I said 1-2 shots in 200-300 will be "the one"? This is it. Perfect shot. It took over 300.





I'll use this in my job application to "Glamour Shots".





Another great thing about the D40 is that it's big enough to be awesome, and small enough to still do this. The traditional "Mike and Flo" shot. Very important.





Charlotte in the vulture's nest being silly. At this point the sun is really starting to go down and the point and shoot that I used to tote around would start struggling right about now with the slow shutter and crappy flash. The D40 is unfazed. Is that how you spell that?





This shot would have been impossible with the point and shoot. There just was not enough available light.





Here's another 1 in 300 shot. I love the "natural moment". "Okay everybody smile!" shots usually suck and just don't allow you to see the real person in the picture. If that makes sense. It does to me, so there.





Last picture of the day, and what a great day it was. You can't tell from looking at this (well, maybe Penny) but these girls are tired. And hungry. Off to Outback.


So there it is. The first day of rough and rugged "field testing" of my Nikon D40. This really is a great camera and I'm very happy I chose it. I wasn't too heavy to wear around my neck, wasn't too bulky to get in the way, and was just a pleasure to tote around. Now bear in mind, except for manually focusing about 50% of the time I'm still shooting on full-auto mode. It's essentially a really big point-and-shoot at this time, but the difference in picture quality is astounding to me. I can't imagine how the results will look as I get deeper into the features this camera, and DSLR photography in general, has to offer. I've definitely acquired "the bug".

First Pictures of the Girls.

Finally, the reason I wanted to get into this in the first place: the kids. Taking pictures of the kids is tough. You basically snap away furiously with the hopes of getting 1 or 2 reeeally good shots out of 200-300. To add to the frustration, the point and shoot camera has a "feature" that won't let me take the picture if it doesn't think it's correct. What a piece of shit of an idea. I understand that it is there to "assist" me, but at least take the picture and let ME worry about it later. I can't even imagine the number of photo opps that I've missed because my little POS camera didn't like the shot. But not anymore. This camera will do WHAT I WANT, WHEN I WANT DAMN IT. And I love it. Here are some totally amateur photographic attempts...



















Well? I think it's great. The added degree of control and flexibility is even better than I imagined it would be. I am really glad now that I went with the D40. This little thing has more to it than I could learn (and become comfortable with) in a year. Or two. Or five. I have no idea. But I do know that I'm glad I went with this one.

First Impressions (at 3am).

So before I went to bed I just HAD to take a few shots (with the camera, not drinks)...
Now this is an uber first impression: 3am, full auto mode, less than a half dozen snap shots. I must say I was astounded by how great the results looked and how different it... felt.
It feels so nice to have your hands wrapped around a more substantial camera and be looking through a viewfinder as opposed to fingertipping the PS camera at arms length while looking at an LCD. And when you release the shutter there's a nice, meaty "clack" and a subtle yet satisfying jolt from the camera from the operation of its mechanisms that feels so nice and...photographic (best word I could think of). I definitely love the tactile feedback, it just feels better and manlier than the little mousy "click" that comes from the PS.
And the quality of the pictures are noticeably better immediately, and that's without fiddling with any of the settings. This is gonna be great.





Shot taken with PS. Low light shot = impossible. So you have to use the flash. Look how washed out and crappy this looks. Look at the washed out background and shadows and...this sucks. Plus for this to even be possible you have to get right up on it.





Look at this! Damn! This was taken in the same light, standing far back, using the SB-400 flash set to 90 degrees (bounced off the ceiling). That just means that the flash head swivels to bounce the light all around it and in this case it uses the ceiling as a reflective surface. Look at how rich and balanced the colors are, nothing is "washed out", background colors are intact and beautifully presented. I LOVE it.





Same distance, just zoomed it a bit. Note how stable the shot is and how nice the colors are...in the middle of the night in a dining room.





Zoomed into 55mm from same distance. Awesome.

So there it is, the first impression. So far so good. Hopefully I'll get some good shots of the kids today and we'll really see how this thing handles.

Here's Where It Begins.

Today is the start of a new life for me. Ok, not so much. But I have been looking forward to doing this for years and today, my new hobby (or lifestyle?) begins.

I am now the proud owner (thanks to you-know-who-you-are) of a Nikon D40 DSLR photographic device.

After years and years of being a strictly "point and shoot" (PS) guy, this gnawing feeling of "there HAS to be a better way to do this" had been growing within me, and with the birth of my two girls the desire to learn this craft had become irresistible.

I've been researching cameras for months and the irony here is that the Nikon D40 was the FIRST camera that I cut from my list of possibilities due to the fact that it was "old tech" (3 years, holy s**t.) I wanted the latest and greatest and spent dozens of hours pouring over articles, specs, comparisons and reviews.

I had finally made up my mind, I was going for the D90. But then, at the last moment...

Long story short, I realized I know absolutely nothing about DSLR photography. Having the D90 would be nice to grow into, but it was loaded with amazing features that I'd have no idea what to do with (nor do I think I would lament their absence). The D40 just kept coming up in articles because evidently this thing was revolutionary when it was released and many subsequent iterations of this level of camera merely added unnecessary crap to the already battle-proven D40.

Bottom line: this camera is cheap, small, light, has the famous 1/500 flash sync speed, is loaded with features that will keep me busy for months to years, and for $300 LESS than buying 1 D90 with 1 lens I got the D40 and a whole shopping bag full of lenses and accessories. Good way to start. I'm pumped.









So on to the unboxing! The black and gold looks slick.

















Dramatic "box angle"...ohh!
















And we're in! I love the smell of fresh electronics and plastic.
















Contents removed!
















Bada bing, there it is. The Nikon D40 camera body. (look how shitty the low-light pictures are with the compact camera...)











It's a small-body camera, but it has a really nice feel to it. It's a plastic construction but it feels quite rugged and substantial, not "cheap" or "plasticky". (sp?)














Badges are always slick.














Control layout is very comfortable and intuitive for the right index finger. No awkward reaching or obstructive placement. Very comfortable.










Back end is nice and clean and the 2.5" LCD is just big enough without going overboard . Buttons are easily accessible with the thumbs and there's even a nice "thumb groove" on the right side.












I love this camera strap. The yellow logo looks badass and it's pretty comfortable too.








Kit lens, 18-55mm VR f3.5. So far so good. Actually I have no idea how to judge this thing. Yes, it's awesome if not for the simple fact that it's first one I've ever used and I have nothing to compare it to.











Pretty nice, and VERY light considering it has a motor in it.
















There she is, assembled and ready for action.
But wait! There's more!















There it is! The SB-400 flash mounted in the hot shoe. Now we're done.

So there it is, the unboxing and setup of my new Nikon D40. Battery's charging so I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. There's so much to learn about this and I can't wait to get started. So far I love it. The purchasing process was very smooth and Ritz Camera gave me a great deal on the kit and accessories. I was thinking about purchasing online but the idea of having a physical store to walk into and having real people to talk to about this kind of stuff won me over.

Well that's it. I'm hitting the sack.