I broke down and bought the Nikon D80 a few months ago and absolutely love it. We are actually going to get a second one because having 2 photographers, 13 lens and only one decent DSLR is not working real well. Keep in mind, he's a pro and we have a slew of Nikon film SLRs around here, hence all the lenses. We have also had a Nikon digital Coolpix 960 for a good 7 years. It's on it's last legs, but is a great macro camera (no real point here, just another Nikon plug). My first "real" camera was a Olympus SLR I bought in college about 25 years ago. The first time someone put a Nikon 8008 film camera in my hands, I went Nikon and never looked back. We've also had Sony and Kodak digital cameras, as well as Hasselblad, Leica and a bunch of other pro film cameras. The household pro has been overwhelmed with what he gets out of the D80. The Nikon D80 is the little brother to the Nikon pro D200 but the D80 really seemed to be the better camera. The few additional features the D200 had, didn't justify the additional cost. A good photographer can manipulate the D80 to behave the same. For macro I use a Nikkor 60mm, we also have a 105mm macro. No matter how you look at it, macro is frustrating to learn. A little point and shot with a good macro setting is far easier. For wildlife pictures or when we are birding, he uses a 300mm and I use a general purpose 70-210mm (easier for me to hand hold and it's been my fave lens since long before digital). If you saw my space shuttle shots, they were taken with the D80 and the 300mm (from 10 miles away). I can also upload some day light shuttle shots, not taken during the launch, using a 500mm with an extension making it the digital equivalent of a 1000mm but the 300mm is so much sharper the added focal length of the 500mm with the extension isn't worth it. When he gets done running the pics we took yesterday at the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, through photoshop (500 of them), I'll upload them to my flickr pages. The detail using the D80 with the 300mm will blow you away. I've also got some macro shots (60mm) of a scaph around here I need to run through photoshop, but the preliminary review I did of them is mind boggling, as far as the detail is concerned (now that I'm figuring out how to use it and get the depth of field right). There are a few recent macro shots I've taken with the D80 up on flickr already, they would be tagged D80, most of the rest of my orchid pics were taken using the Coolpix. If you want an idea of what I get out of it, keep in mind, I'm having to relearn how to use all these lenses on the digital SLR. I've got a ways to go yet. Another thing, don't feel it's necessary to buy new lenses. The pros, collectors and serious hobbyists buy, sell and trade lenses all the time. You can get perfectly good lenses that are 20 years old for a fraction of what new digital lenses cost. The new digital lenses aren't any better (okay, they are lighter) and work the same. All Nikon lenses made since the 50's (I believe) work on both film and digital cameras. That's my 5 cents. Laura

Thank you for the compliment loves2cook. I have 3 digital cameras, one of which is a Canon EOS SLR the other two are Olympus, one tiny and one middle-sized point & shoots. I use one or the other according to where I am. (The smallest pocket one is for dining out in restaurants.) I don't use fully automatic settings, but rather make my own combination of manual and "scene" settings. Natural light is all I use and since our meals are in the early afternoon I never need an electric light, unless sitting at a dark restaurant table, where the overhead lamp is sufficient. Never use flash for food photos. I'd be happy to write some tutorials starting this weekend over on the Conversations side to share any tips and knowledge I have. But don't forget there's a whole blog of free help at Digital Photography School I have Photoshop but never use it. I prefer simpler editing programs with minimal adjustments of light, contrast etc. Okay now it's Ann's turn and anyone else who can elaborate on how they do it. I will go over to Conversations before Monday and write something that could hopefully be of help. SharonCb

I can't help but to chuckle at this. I didnÂt even remember who you were until until your last sentence, and then I recalled another thread where someone was hypersensitive and then the name clicked. YouÂre so touchy, Bill. I hope that you are not referring to me, I was in total agreement with you in the last discussion you were part of. No, not everyone is out to get you, or argue with you. You seem to become insulted whenever others state their opinion. I donÂt believe anyone is here to argue. Oh well is rightÂmuch love to you Bill. I believe the SIGMA 70-200 f2.8 was the last lens inquired about. It is a fraction of the cost compared to the canon. . Is 200mm going to limit the op? Maybe, but to a very, very small degree. From what I can tell of her previous shots, she is not in the nose bleed section, nor is she selling her pictures to SI. True, the 400mm would be a lot better, cÂmon - 6.5K? I guess thatÂs why they get paid to be at the game and I pay to watch.

In America it's known as the Olympus SP-550 UZ - price $500 (US):- - 4.68 84.24mm (28  504mm equivalent in 35mm photography) - Dual Image Stabilization eliminates blur (so you can photograph even when panicing) - The world's most powerful ultra zoom (at present) - 7.1 megapixel (so your UFO pix will make the FULL front page) - high-speed sequential shooting (get those shots of everybody running from the UFO) - shoot in low light without a flash (UFOs usually appear at night) And further propaganda:- - FULL MANUAL EXPOSURE CONTROL - ISO 5000 - "The SP-550 UZ offers the highest ISO sensitivity of any ultra zoom for superior low-light and fast-action photography" - With a burst rate of up to 15fps, you can freeze moments in time to get the shot you want. - macro (as close as 1cm) - wow!! gotta have one. -30 Shooting Modes including Movie with sound (HEAR the panicked screams) -Maximum Aperture f2.8  f4.5 - Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec.  15 sec., Bulb -ISO Auto, High ISO Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200*, 5000* (*approx. 3MP) - now you can photograph the famous "black cat in a coal mine". - Adjustment Resolutions 3,072 x 2,304, RAW / SHQ / HQ 3,072 x 2,048, 3:2 / SHQ / HQ 2,560 x 1,920, SQ1 High, Normal 2,304 x 1,728, SQ1 High, Normal 2,048 x 1,536, SQ1 High, Normal 1,600 x 1,200, SQ2 High, Normal 1,280 x 960, SQ2 High, Normal 1,024 x 768, SQ2 High, Normal 640 x 480, SQ2 High, Normal - 30 Shooting Modes: Auto, Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, My Modes, GUIDE, Scene Presets (Portrait, Landscape, Landscape & Portrait, Night Scene, Night & Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self-Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select1, Shoot & Select2, Beach, Snow, Underwater Wide1, Underwater Wide2, Underwater Macro), Movie - Panorama Modes Up to 10 frames automatically stitchable with OLYMPUS Master Software when using Olympus brand xD-Picture Card - Sequential Shooting Hi-Speed2: 15 frames per second for 20 frames (1.2MP) Hi-Speed1: 7 frames per second for 15 frames (3MP) Normal Speed: 1.2 frames per second for 7 frames (7MP) - Bracket: Exposure bracketing up to 5 frames - Interval Shooting - Shooting Assist Functions - Histogram, Frame Assist - Noise Reduction - Set automatically at shutter speeds of 0.5 second or longer - Flash Working Range Wide: 14.8 ft. (4.5m), Tele: 9.2 ft. (2.8m) at ISO 200 Wide: 42.3 ft. (12.9m), Tele: 26.2 ft. (8.0m) at ISO 1600 - Date/Time Calendar Automatically recorded with each image (up to 2099) (after 2099 it goes into "Millenium melt-down" - remember that contrived scare-?) - Removable Media Card xD-Picture Card (16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512MB, 1GB or 2GB) - Operating Environment Operation: 32°  104°F (0°  40°C), (Oh bother - that means no more desert trips, then); - 30%  90% humidity - So, why wouldn't you want one? Now I can get rid of my 35mm (Canon) and medium format film cameras, and give my back a rest - and even though the Panasonic (with Leica lens) has served me well, it's showing it's age.