My Minolta finally died two years ago. It was sad to see it go, as it had taken many pictures in the four years I'd had it. The first time a roll of film rewound at the number four picture, I knew I had to start looking for another camera. Luckily, the Minolta made it past our trip to California and Yosemite, but not by much.
I started researching a new SLR in 2000. My sister is camera hound, so I started there. She also works for WalMart, so I had someone who could buy it for me, when I was ready, and get a 10% discount! HA!
Well, I went to Epinions and found the Canon Rebel 2000. Then I went to a couple of other sites and read up on it there, and started watching prices at Ebay, and BidBay.
Not wanting to buy from an auction site, I started shopping camera stores, and comparing cameras. What I started hearing from the "experts" was the Rebel 2000 wouldn't last long with the type of conditions I was wanting to put it through. That's when I found out about the Nikon N60.
The Nikon and the Rebel 2000 had similar features, but the Nikon was much more solid, and the availability of additional equipment was a nice selling point.
It did cost about $100 more than the Rebel 2000, but I could find it in stock. The Rebel was never in stock where I was shopping, and there was always a back-order. Best Buy had a waiting list for them!
This Nikon has 9 different exposure modes. 5 of them are for wanna-be photographers like me - just turn the dial and let the camera do the work. For the more adventuresome not-so-camera-savvy, there are the other 4 programs (auto-multi program, shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual).
There is a flash that is built in, and when it is not in use, it is flush to the top of the camera. With my old Minolta, the flash was an attachment, stuck on the top of the camera, and had to be removed to keep it from being knocked off.
Nikon has included a small booklet with explanations on how to use all these exposure modes, and it's small enough to fit in my camera bag, without having to be folded or damaged. I've pulled it out on a number of occasions to find what mode would work best for certain situations (close-ups of Christmas ornaments, portraits of the cat, sleeping baby).
I tend to leave the dial in the general-purpose mode, unless I'm thinking about it. My pictures are coming out so much better with this camera! I'd not realized how badly a dying camera will take a picture, until I got my Nikon, brand new.
I've added a polarizing filter to my lens, and the pictures I took during the winter came out sharp and clear, and not washed out. This camera seems to know just what I want to do, and it does it for me, no questions asked.
The Nikon N60 model I bought did not have the quartz date feature on it. I like having the date on the back of the picture, and not in the corner of my work. That's just my preference. If you like to have date stamping, the Nikon makes that model, too.
There are many great cameras out there, with all kinds of bells and whistles, but for my money, I think I got a true bargain. The Nikon N60 isn't too powerful for a beginner, yet it has some great features on it to help someone like me learn how to take great photos. Now, if I could just win a photo contest....!
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