Self-Portrait

With the new camera, of course.  The more I use it, the more I like it!  I know there’s folks out who would cringe to find that I’ve bought, yet another, higher end point-and-shoot digital instead of a DSLR, given my film SLR background (I used a Pentax K-1000 knock-off and a Yashica A TLR for many years, doesn’t get much more manual than that, barring a view camera!), and it does break my heart to have my 4 x 5 Besseler enlarger in storage.  The simple explanation is that I had kids.  They changed everything.  Light is Good.  Simple is Better.  I stopped using the SLR when I bought the Russian-made LOMO; both a size and creative shift!  Then I went digital a couple years later.  In 2004, DSLRs were prohibitively expensive for a young family (still are!) and I wanted something that others could use easily with autofocus.  I still need the control of manual focus and exposure.  Nikon was always my ideal choice, having longed for an N80 when they came out.  The Coolpix P90 is at the high end of point-and-shoot cameras.  I can’t put different lenses on it, nor does it have a RAW mode.  But, it does do most of what the D90 (my DSLR dream camera) does, for half the price.  I have even more manual choices than the 4300 has; color filters in B & W manual mode, P, A, M & 2 user-programmable manual dial settings, better flash than the 4300 with compensation settings, a digital viewfinder that has diopter adjustment and works great!  (Am I the only one that misses a good viewfinder?)  The huge LCD for my aging eyes that tilts up and down is a nice bonus! 

And, best of all, don’t I look good using it!?