This Christmas past.

Sure, not top O' the line, but a decent line.

Reminds me that people don't automatically know what I'm talking about just because I do.

Ground water. When the county Road Commission 'fixed' the road in front of the house they broke a lot of the private drain tiles in people's yards causing flooding and no, they don't care.

It's especially hard when you've lost loved ones over any holiday but it's really tough when that holiday just happens to be near or on Christmas day.

The shine came off Christmas when I was seven and my Granddad passed away on Dec 23 and after my Grandmother died on the actual day; it was just never the same.

It seems we have a family tradition at work in my family; as far back as anyone can remember; everyone who has passed on, with one exception, has managed to do so between the 12th and 25th of Dec. Makes me feel a tad jittery about December and I really don't relax until New Years Day. Silly, I realize; but there it is.

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

http://www.dpreview.com/

http://photo.net/

http://www.steves-digicams.com/default.htm

http://www.digitalreview.ca/

Online purchasing is good but sometimes having local support is the better way to go, especially if you need some real hands-on instruction. Check out Canon as well as Pentax, Olympus also consider getting a small point-and-shoot as well, something in the $100-$300 area, to carry in your shirt pocket; something like a Sony DSW-C 120(?)(I might have screwed up the model #) or any of the Canon Elph series. They're handy to have along when you don't want to be toting larger gear. Bought the Sony for my daughter. Tested it. liked it, liked the results and bought one for myself. The damn thing is smaller than a pack of cigarettes and hardly weighs much more. I've got a Storm but somehow it's not quite the same for serious photo work. Anyway check out the links; you might find the info helpful.
Seriously consider MJ's advice, local support can really be helpful in a pinch.

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

Thanks for making a recommendation. I was going to ask you but didn't want to bug you.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I believe that I'd probably carry a pocket size camera more than a larger one, have it with me so I can get the shot, but I'm intrigued by the higher magnification of the larger models. Olympus has one that goes to 20X optical zoom. Their 10.1MP Stylus 1020 pocket camera goes to 7X but I'd like an optical viewfinder.

Not sure what I'm going to do now. This will be a one time purchase for me so I want to get the right thing. Maybe I should visit our local mom and pop camera stores amd support our local economy. I figure that they're close to going out of business. Tough times for everyone around here.

I just keep my thoughts and feelings to myself and try to remain uninvolved and detached. That's a bit hard to do with my 12 year old granddaughter but with the adults, it gets easier all the time. My standard holiday greeting of, "Have a Cool Yule and a Frantic First!" sort of sets the tone and tips them off to my mood; not too many try to intrude with all their phony bonhomie and "glad tidings" nonsense. I only attend the obligatory Cristmas parties for business reasons and usually leave before I rain on anyone's parade. New Years is a different thing all together; a big sigh of relief that I made it through another December.

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

you aren't happy with your selection. A lot of places will grant you [b][i][u]exchange[/b][/i][/u] priviledges up to 30 days provides you retun the item with all the packaging intact; that means not registering the product on line or mailing the warranty card in unless you'decided to keep it.

Don't buy any make of camera because it has a big brand name reputation, like Canon and/or Nikon. They are great cameras, no doubts about that, but this is a camera for [b][i][u]you[/b][/i][/u] and you should make damn sure you are the one who is going to be happy with it. Fuji, Pentax, Olympus, Sony etc. are all reputable products and would probably serve you as well, as a Canon or Nikon; better in fact, if one of them actually feels more comfortable in your hands than their more complex and expensive brethren.

BTW don't get caught up in the megapixel craziness. Unless you are planning on printing out posters and billboard size prints, you'll find 6-8 megapixels more than adequat to your needs. 5 megapixels will yield a very acceptable 8" X 10", 6 - 8 will allow you more cropping options. Ask yourself how many times you'll be printing out 8" X 10" prints? Realistically, won't most of your prints be 4" X 6" and 2.5 megapixels will fill that requirement quite adequately. Besides you can load your prints onto DVDs and watch them as slide shows on your HDTV. Add a bit of music and some single malt whisky and you'll have a nice way to while away a cold winter's night

When it comes to photography, cinematography, videography and all the attendant equipment for sound recording and image editing, it was/is my business since '72 and my hobby starting back in '48. I may be more or less retired from the business part but the hobby will continue as long as I can hold a camera in my hand(s) or until they start throwing dirt in my face. If you have any questions I'd be more than happy to help you out.

The best piece of advice I can give you is, make sure to pick the camera that [b][i][u]feels [/b][/i][/u] best in [b][i][u]your[/b][/i][/u] hands. When all is said and done you're the most important one who has to be satisfied with your choice; not me, nor MJ, just you. As I said any advice I'll be happy to advise you.

BTW [b][i][u]Happy New Year[/b][/i][/u] and why shouldn't you turn into "the camera guy."? Hmmmm??? :^0

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

I went to the Photo Barn and spent about 2 hours there, Terry showed me many cameras and I must say that I was more than a little overwhelmed by the choices. He showed me cameras from 200 to 4700 bucks and what impressed me was he pointed out the pros and cons of each model, he did not push, he just educated me.

The P90 was a choice but the DSLR's impressed me because you are not locked into a single lens, and the camera can become very different quickly with a lens change. And that is why I went with the DSLR.

Dawg makes some excellent points mostly about the fit and what you want to do with it.

And how many coins are in your pocket is also a very serious consideration.

What I wanted was a bit of a learning curve, a challenge if you will, and I got it and more. Also this D40 is a point and shoot, you can set it for full auto, and it does a fine job.

Bottom line, I like it, it is a "entry level" DSLR, it is comfortable to hold and takes fine pix.

you said this:

"it was/is my business since '72 and my hobby starting back in '48".

No offense, but is that an error or are you even older than myself?

I believe I'll follow the advice and go to a some local stores and get the feel for some different cameras. We have a couple of small stores locally, time to see what they have in stock.

I believe that I posted a boo boo, you were looking at the Nikon P80 and I mentioned the P90, very different.
http://images.google.com/images?q=P90&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

Boy is my face red.

Not sure what I'd use it for but I want one.

The real reason to want one is so that you can play Stargate Atlantis in your backyard....thats their "signature" weapon.

Its designed to be a sub machine gun that packs more punch than a 9mm like an MP5 or Uzi etc. Specifically its designed to be able to punch through body armour almost as well as a rifle. It would be used by people doing personel protection, or people carrying loads who aren't able to carry a rifle, or people in armour.

James

I've been entitled to a [i][b]"Seniors"[/b][/i] discount for over five years now The first time I sat down in front of a computer was in 1958-9; it was an IBM RAMAC 507, programmed in COBOL and took up a whole 16' X 25' room which was airconditioned; a feature that instantly attracted me. I hate heat. If we were meant to be hot; why did God invent airconditioning. When you're evil you go to hell where the Devil punishes you by turning up the heat. I've always envisaged heaven as being airconditioned with the thermostat set at 68- degrees.

[b]Dawg[b] ]:)

I get that from my kids and grand kids, but in 1958 I was only 5. Here in the future my oldest grand kid is 12.

If you are taking any pictures, put them up for us, we would love to see your pictures.

https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=102&threadID=279413&messageID=2645543

I explained that we were looking for a digital camera with high optical zoom and the owner showed us a Canon PowerShot SX10 IS.

It felt great in my hands and has all of the features I was looking for and more. It can zoom in movie mode and shoots 640X480 movies at 30FPS. It has image stabilization and a 20X zoom and continuous shooting in sports mode. I was comparing it against an Olympus SP-565 UZ that I was going to buy online and I think that the Canon has better features.

My wife is loving it. Every other camera we looked at at the big name stores today she'd remark, "it doesn't have 20X zoom." :^0 Now we've got 20X zoom and a ton of other features. I bought a total of 4GB of SD memory and a camera case that fits on my belt so we're all set for our Bahamas cruise at the end of February. I got a fair price for it all too. It cost virtually the same as if I'd bought it from Tiger Direct and paid for shipping. Support your local camera shop. We only have one anymore. :0

I apparently spoiled my grand-daughter this year. She wasn't even halfway through opening her presents when she said "Papaw, I need to take a nap." (she NEVER wants to take naps) :)

Like Dawg, I have spent time behind the counter selling cameras - not digital, only film (in the 80s).

Don't get me wrong, I usually recommend starting with internet searches and reading reviews to get a sense of what you want, and what models may match that.

But the last step of buying a camera should be holding it in your hand, turning it on, and playing with it. The problem is that in most department/big box places, they don't know as much as you do, if you have been reading the reviews, and they may have a bias based on cash incentives to sell you one camera over another.

A small store wants you to come back. They want you to buy something you will be happy with, so you will buy accessories there, and recommend the place to your friends. Its in their best interest to provide good service.

I will admit I bought my last camera online. But I've had the experience of owning cameras for over 3 decades, and I've handled hundreds of different models, so I kinda knew what I was looking for. For most people, its best to find a place that will let you take your time and will guide you in your purchase. It ain't going to happen at Tigerdirect or BestBuy...

James

I have a couple of digital cameras, but they're small point-and-shoot units that feel like toys in my big hands; even disposable 35mm cameras feel more substantial to me.

I'm still waiting for a digital camera that recreates the feel of an AE1 or F80 in my hand. But then I'm old; I keep wanting movie cameras to feel like my step-father's old Super 8!

When I was starting out in the business, it used to bug me to see amateurs with more and better equipment than I could afford at the time. When you consider that a pro put more film through his camera in a day than most amateurs did in a year, you can understand the envy.

Later, as I became more successful, and had enough to buy into a small chain of photo stores, I was able to get all the equipment my heart desired; at dealer cost no less. Tax free as well; afterall it was a business expense. By this time I understood the lure of the equipment; the same lure that entices men to fine cars, boats and guns.

It was our policy to give the customer a break and while we didn't have a return policy we did have an exchange policy. I actually would load a couple of demonstrators with film and let the customer step outside with a sales clerk, I'm not [i]that[/i] naive, and we processed his results, gratis. Sold a schitload of cameras that way, not to mention a slew of accessories. We had a constant repeat business and in the four - six years I was involved with that chain, I'm proud to say business and profits increased over 480%. The guy who bought me out, didn't appreciate my policies and cut a lot of them out. Sad to say, the business went belly up after three years.

I could have told you to buy the same sort of equipment I use but that might not have been the right answer for you. BTW I do use Canon(s) as well as several other makes. At this stage of my career, or life, equipment costs do not really matter to me anymore, but I'm aware others aren't in the same position. Hence, my advice to you. I hope you'll be very satisfied with your choice. Go out and get lots of practice in; don't be afraid to shoot; you don't have to print it unless you really want to and even your crap shots will give you lots of practice with image editing software. Happy New Year and really enjoy that vacation.

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

I got the new Valve offering Left 4 Dead for Christmas. I've been keen to get into more Valve FPS games since I completed Half Life 2: Episode 2 & it is even better. One quibble I have is that you can't do in game saves. This is annoying as I have 2 little kids that need constant attention and not being able to save a game to complete at my leisure is frustrating.