Hello D80!

-

YES I finally own a DSLR!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Sitting here remembering all the time I spent on comparing cameras, features, learning about the latest technology in photography, and adapting my wishlist to my budget, I truly feel what happened has been both an achievement and a slap to the face. Achievement in terms of finance and quality vs. money. And yet it was a slap to teach me that extensive planning is a waste of time in most cases, leave it sharp and short.

I finally got hit by a chance from up above. Two shares on my FB timeline announced a person is selling his D80 gear. After doing my personal research on both the camera AND on the person selling it, not believing the price he was asking for, I decided to contact him. One hour later, the cam is mine.


Screenshot of the original Facebook post
It turned out later that the seller is Georges, he was selling everything in order to leave permanently to live in Africa, which explained the low price he was asking.

The Nikon D80 is a 2006 release, 10MP CCD camera, with the minimum requirements that would fulfill my needs at the time being. A CCD for god's sake! An incomparable quality delivered by the discontinued sensor technology for its high power consumption, compared to the newest, but of less quality, CMOS sensor, which apparently saved battery power. That alone was a relief and a cause for satisfaction

D80 Expert Design... Use With PassionFor passionate photographers a D-SLR with a 10.2-MP DX-Format CCD, Nikon's high-resolution Image Processing Engine and 3 fps continuous firing.

Here's what the dpreview website had to say when the camera was announced:
"Nikon has today put the end to the speculation and announced the new ten megapixel D80 digital SLR. This new camera is the natural successor to the D70/D70s with a refreshed design, user interface and a wide range of new features. Headline improvements are; 10.2 mp CCD, new image processing engine, 3D Color Matrix Metering II, 11-area AF system, configurable Auto ISO, configurable high ISO NR, a larger and brighter viewfinder, in-camera retouching (including D-Lighting), built-in wireless flash commander, SD card storage (with SD-HC support) and the D200's higher capacity battery."
As you may have noticed, I had tried all major brands for photography cameras, starting from the Canon, Kodak, Sony, and I kept thinking I wanted a Nikon. Here it was, the D80 topped my gear like a queen.

Battery life for the D80 is astonishing, one charge could last for days, especially with the lack of the high-end sophisticated processes inside the camera, including Videography. The camera surprisingly had no drawback, all in all it was the deal of a lifetime so far. In addition to the camera, I received the standard 18-55, a prime 50mm f/1.4 (yes, I now have a prime, that I'm still unfamiliar with), and an external Metz flash unit which needed a bit of cleaning.

Here are some of the best photos I've taken so far using my new D80. Enjoy








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anonymous Confessions

-
Image
Let's play a game, shall we? Apparently there's been an exhibition, a public art project for the american artist  Candy Chang  who thought it would be interesting to open up a space where people can anonymously project their confessions, their deepest secrets, and enjoy the reaction of whoever reads it. Source: Original Article "By the end of the exhibition, over 1500 confessions were displayed on the walls. It’s about sex, love, or fears of dying alone. By collecting the confessions of the hotel’s visitors, this project seeks to create a cathartic sanctuary for this temporary community and help us see we are not alone in our quirks, experiences, and struggles as we try to lead fulfilling lives." Source: Original Article Source: Original Article This post is written for the benefit of the public. I invite you everyone to do the same, let's share our secrets. Hint : Post your confession in the comment field below while choosing the "
Read more

The Death of Laurent Schwebel

-
Image
An email found its way to my inbox, with a PowerPoint presentation attached, seemingly having photographs inside, in a way to remember the great photographer Schwebel who was stabbed lately in Buenos Aires, while taking snapshots of a local memorial. Such emails are easily thrown into the garbage bin usually, but the familiarity of the photographer's name was the reason I opened the presentation: And what a shock that was! Firstly, here's a translated extract of the Swiss Grandes Espaces  on the latest incident: Wednesday morning, February 8, 2012, Laurent Schwebel, 52, was stabbed to death by a thug who stole his camera in the center of Buenos Aires. The murderer, 24, was chased by witnesses of the drama, and apprehended by the police. Lawrence returned from Antarctic trip with Christian Genillard, and rejoiced to discover the Iguassu Falls before returning to his Alsace. More on the incident is found here . Laurent Schwebel You might be wondering why would I
Read more

Forward Forum - The Booklet

-
Image
I've been looking around for a digital copy of the Forward Forum booklet, the recruitment forum that took place last weekend in BIEL, Beirut. I attended for the sake of getting a copy of that booklet, a role I played ever since I was in college, and of course to meet my peers and exhibiting companies. I usually get the booklet and share it among friends, and whoever needs it and for some reason couldn't be there. Here's an extract of the organizers' webpage : "After last year's tremendous success and on behalf of CAREERS & E Square –Events & Exhibitions , it gives us great pleasure to invite you to the thirteenth edition of the International Forum for Orientation & Recruitment, FORWARD 2013 and to the third edition of, BUSINESS 2013 which will be both held at BIEL- Lebanon from Thursday, 18th till Sunday, 21st April 2013 and from 4:00 pm till 10:00 pm ." The forum takes place every year, mostly in BIEL, at the beginning of spring sea
Read more

Roadmap to a National Cycling Day

-
Image
Here's why tomorrow, April 25th, is a big day in the history of Lebanon. For decades we had been accustomed to riding cars, whether for leisure or for work; that same car had been going hand in hand with social status: you have no car, you then belong to the poor. Owning a high end car, on the other hand, meant you're doing well, and thus earn society's respect in some way. Fast forward to last year where two girls, with the help of friends, had started what we know today as the BikeToWork day, years after being infatuated with the charm of the four-wheelers, as in to try and encourage an entire nation to go back to the days the majority had no cars. How did they get around? How were delivery boys getting by? How did my grandfather and yours go to work at their younger years? It's that mesmerizing slinky beast we all call the bicycle. I mean, it's often cheap, doesn't really cost any maintenance really, doesn't break down easily, doesn't take up
Read more

Anonymous Confessions, The Epilogue

-
Image
Source:  Original Article The Last Confession was the straw that broke the camel's back: What I started on my previous post  was phenomenal, it was pretty obvious that I had to document it. If you're still unfamiliar with what I'm talking about, check the Anonymous Confessions blog post; I had announced I want to play a game, based on the work of an american artist. Source:  Anonymous Confessions The thread of confessions started out with the following: "I still love her" "İt hurts not to see him" "I do care about what people think of me" Several anonymous persons decided to join later on, upon seeing the first feedback, and thought it might be a good idea to throw in their own confession, since, in the end, everything was totally anonymous. The majority spoke of relationships, parents, self esteem, aspirations, and unfinished love stories. Until the last guest posted their comment : "Confession 1: I wish I can help everyone who
Read more

The Tourist That Shall Never Leave

-
Image
I never had thought I’d see the day when I mourn the library. I’m still literally traumatized, two hours later, convincing myself what I had heard about burning down the library was inaccurate, that some agencies are exaggerating and that it could be some ignorants were trying to cause damage to a shop nearby. It was all until I laid eyes upon that photo of the flames hurling out of the library’s door in that tiny alleyway, that I believed the news. The moment I heard of the news, and since I was at my place in Beirut, I packed my stuff instantly and tried to head back to Tripoli. To my bad luck, 40 minutes on the highway weren’t enough to get me a bus to my old city.. I felt so powerless I sat on the sidewalk and started shivering. A little while later, and just moments ago, the news was confirmed, the books are to ashes now, the old library is gone. I want you to understand it’s not about the books. Yes the books are worth a lot, a lot of money, a lot of effort, sweat, night shif
Read more