It may not be the D70 or the D70s or even the Digital Rebel XT, but the Nikon D50 kicks ass none-the-less.

I asked my parents about a month before my birthday if I could get a digital camera not only because my camera phone sucks, but because I really do love to take pictures. At first I looked at Nikon's Coolpix P1 and was thinking, "This thing is really cool and the price isnt bad at all for its feature" although after a while I started to look up at the higher-end cameras, notably the DSLRs, and thats when envy took over. The advantages of having one of these didnt dawn on me until I started reading up on them. So I was hooked and I didnt think my dad would go for it because of the nearly $800 price tag, but to my surprise, he was actually looking in Best Buy at some the DSLRs and didn't have a problem with spending that much money; another reason why I dont consider him my step-dad because my "real" dad has never been there for me, never cared about me, he just bought expensive things for us when we were kids to win us over, my step-dad did this because he loves me and cares. I did consider getting Canon's Digital Rebel XT, but after going to Best Buy and testing both cameras out, the D50 won me over because of the firm grip that I had with it, the Canon just felt so small in my hands and a little ackward. I know Canon is know for cameras with better color saturation and contrast, but Nikon isnt very far behind (although encrypting the white balance in RAW files isn't very nice) and thats what made my decision for the D50, despite opinions of those in #photogeeks ;-) I do have some afterthoughts about the decision and Canon might have been a better choice, however the D50 will bring me much joy for a long time and as I go further into the realm of photography I think my pictures will get much better regardless of the camera I have. Kenrockwell.com has been a great resource so far on learning as well as clearing up concepts in digital and film photography, no wonder #photogeek has it in the topic! I don't know what I was thinking saying that. Cant wait to learn more about photography, and hopefully my flickr will have more great photos as time goes by!