One of the things I enjoy most about traveling is taking pictures. Ever since getting my first digital camera I’ve been nonstop shooting at whatever seems interesting. On a daily basis I carry my Canon SD450 around everywhere. It is one of those palm size digital cameras that fits perfectly in my purse.
When it comes to traveling, pictures are my most prized possession. I can lose my luggage, my wallet, even my camera, but not my memory card. Having the time and money to travel is a luxury that doesn’t come often enough, my memories through pictures is what keeps me working hard and saving vacation hours.
At work I decorated my office with a few large size prints from Italy and Maui, I enjoy looking at them and it’s a great conversation starter. I was surprised to find out how well traveled some of my coworkers are. Of course I also enjoy the compliments given, especially the ‘wow, did you take those?’ 
Recently I decided that I should be a better photographer. That way I can take great pictures myself instead of buying posters and postcards. Seeing my own pictures brings up wonderful memories that a professionally taken image couldn’t. So I figure, I’m still young and there will be a lot more places I’d be visiting in the future, so I should make it a lifetime learning goal to become a ‘great’ photographer! Of course to do this, I will need a camera with more control. After some research I found out that a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) would be the best way to go. It would provide the convenience of digital and the flexibility of being able to change lens.
The world of DSLR is not for the faint of heart, it is crazy how much stuff is out there on these cameras. You can spend fortunes buying camera body, lenses, filters, flash, and even tripods.
It’s more of a personal thing, but I didn’t really consider any other other brand other than Canon and Nikon. I’ve had 1 Nikon and 2 Canon digitals, and they were all great cameras. After a LOT of research, lurking in forums, price hunting and debate, it came down to the Nikon D50 and the Nikon D70s. There is a lot of literature on these two cameras so I won’t go into details here. The biggie for me was 1. growth potential as a photographer and 2. price. The D70s is a bit closer to being professional quality but also a few hundred dollars more expensive. The thing that did it for me was that the kit lens (lens that can be bundled with purchase) for the D70s is a better lens than the one from the D50. Oh, one thing I found out is that if it says “Body Only” it means just that, the camera body, no lens! This was a surprise since I’ve never thought a camera would come without a lens. Of course you will need a lens, your options are to buy the lens separately or buy the lens in a kit the same time you buy the camera body for a discounted price. Some people like to say that the ‘kit’ lens arn’t as good, but I think it’ll be good enough for me (for now) ;P
After almost 4 months of research and debate, I finally made my purchase:
Nikon D70s with 18-70mm lens. Ya!!
