Goodbye D70
Picture taken about 5 seconds before I glugged it down. There’s still some inconsistencies getting the coffee to come out right and I’m not anal enough to redo a shot that doesn’t come out nice. I know what it’s going to taste like the moment it pours out, but I can live with the ‘defect’ of the shot.
* * *
Just wrapped up the D70 to be posted off to its new owner in NSW. After 5 years, the bits and pieces that produced over 20,000 photos for me finally sold off at 30% it’s original price. Not bad considering tech moves at the speed of light and stuff becomes obsolete in 18 months or so (although this really depends on your requirements).
Heh, I still recall the excitement of picking it up at the camera store in SS/2 near my old house. The sales lady put together the strap and other bits and pieces for me, so all I had to do was bring it home and start snapping pictures. It was amazing what quality you could churn out from the camera, moving up from a point and shoot (well, the Nikon Coolpix 5400 was no slouch, but does not come close to matching the quality, dynamic range and acuity of a DSLR).
Learned how pictures were made from ISO, shutter and aperture. Brought the camera to so many places, bought so many accessories for it. Got upset when the sensor got dirty and I decided to do a DIY cleaning. I treat my D300 with less caution these days, as it comes with a built in sensor cleaner (just give technology a few years and it will give you features to fix up annoyances of yesteryear) and I’m adequately happy just using a bulb blower to dislodge the larger specs of dust.
The camera went to New Zealand, New York with me. I took my brother’s wedding with it, some graduation ceremonies, it’s been through a lot with me. All I have left are just the photos that it took over the years.
* * *
Very contented with my D300 now. The only thing that needs upgrading now is the person handling the camera. I have picked up so many tricks over the years, but since I don’t take photos often enough, I still find my skills very lacking. It’s a 2 year old camera now, and unlike the D70, I’m not itching to upgrade it after the 2 years that have gone by. I know it’s limitations but have found more ways to work around them. Heh, my next upgrade would be a full frame D3s quality (have you seen the images it can produce at ISO12800?) camera at a D300 price point and a 24-70mm f/2.8 standard zoom lens (I still love my 17-55mm as my bread and butter lens but it doesn’t work on full frame cameras). These days I read less into the technical capabilities of a camera as they generally perform up to par with my expectations. A professional grade camera is still a must only because the autofocus and controls don’t get in your way of producing photos.
So goodbye D70, I will always remember the good times we had together.
makumaro.net is the rented space of HC Mak, built on 
