I just got a break lately from work and some online gaming stuff (World of Warcraft)... so I got the rare chance of holding my Nikon D60 camera which I bought maybe almost 2 years ago. I went back to all the pictures I took with this camera and realized that I wasted so many precious moments when I used it for nothing more than just point-and-shoot. The pictures I took were nothing spectacular compared to my iphone pictures... only they have larger file sizes.

 

It was last Monday when I looked into the details of my camera and decided that I should do something about it. I tried playing with it and got a few shots which I posted here. They are not really stunning... but they are definitely better than my old pics.

 

Out of impulse and excitement with my newly-found hobby, I ordered last Tuesday a telephoto lens, some filters/polarizer, a nasty camera backpack, wireless remote, and etc... only to realize that I'm penniless now.

 

Apart from this new hobby, I still enjoy developing webpages out of my spare time and exploring new scripts, languages, and libraries.

 

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Yesterday afternoon (10/20/2009 6PM), I wasn't able to resist from buying a Nikon D300 body. It wasn't brand new since I am hesitant to shed out some money at this time. The price caught me right away... being several hundred bucks cheaper than amazon... maybe almost half... so I grabbed it right away.

 

I just experimented on the controls and I'm so pleased with the added buttons and dials on the body which makes it easier for me to make adjustments. I couldn't comment for now about the camera's quality since I haven't really used it yet to capture images.

 

But one thing is certain... having a good camera doesn't make me a good photographer.

 

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My road map in order of desire (#1 being the hottest in my list... though not on the budget... updated: 112209):

 

   1. Nikkon SB-900 (or maybe SB-800) Speedlight

   2. Zeikos ZE-NBG300 Battery Grip for Nikon D300

   3. Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX (influenced by Don)

   4. Sigma APO MACRO 150mm F2.8 EX DG HSM

   5. Targus TG-BGD40 Battery Grip for Nikon D60

 

Dream lenses:

   1. AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. Removing this from my wishlist since I got a Nikon 10-24mm. If I get an FX body... then I'll be back dreaming for this lens.

   2. AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED. Removing this from my wishlist since I got a Sigma 24-70mm. If I get an FX body... then I'll be back dreaming for this lens.

   3. AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II. Done.... but acquired the VR I version instead.

 

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Milestones:

101909 - acquired Tamron AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Lens

102009 - acquired Nikon D300 DSLR Body

102609 - acquired AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED Lens

103109 - acquired Nikon SB-800 Speedlight flash

110709 - acquired Manfrotto Bogen 3001 Pro Tripod with Bogen 3030 Head

110809 - acquired the following (for a price nobody can resist... believe me):

 

   a. Sigma 24-70mm EX DG Aspherical Lens w/ UV Filter

   b. Sigma 70-300mm DG APO Lens w/ UV Filter

   c. Nikon D100 DSLR Body (will do IR conversion on this camera) with MB-100 battery grip

   d. Nikon SB-28DX Speedlight Flash

   e. JTL 800 Stands - 2pcs

   f. Wescott 19" to 48" Collapsible Reflector Holders - 2pcs

   g. Commercial Electric Halogen Work Light (L-1500-SLED)

   h. Lowepro Elite AW Camera Bag

   i. Velbon TGK-3 Tripod

 

110909 - acquired Maha 8-Cell Battery Charger PowerEx MH-C801D with 16pcs Maha PowerEx 2700mAh NiMH Rechargeable AA Batteries

112009 - sold my Nikon D100 with MB-D100 battery grip and my Nikon 18-55mm Kit Lens for $400. The small LCD size of the D100 and less features discouraged me from converting this to an IR camera. I bought instead a lens using this money.

112309 - acquired Nikon AF-S 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G DX Lens.

120509 - acquired Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 Lens (manual lens bought for budget macro purposes. it's extremely sharp and bokeh is sooo creamy)

120709 - acquired Vivitar 24mm f/2.8 M42 mount lens (this will be used as a reversed lens for budget macro photography)

121609 - acquired Nikon PB-6 focusing bellows for macro photography

010310 - sold my Nikon 60mm f/2.8 AF-S macro lens and my recently-acquired Nikon D40 DSLR