[Just mythoughts]

Just mythoughts, note, SWAMPSNIPER is being modest. He's the best 'non pro' pro on FR. He is my 'Obie-One' for digital SLR Cameras and digital photography. It was thanks to him that I got back into Photography and went digital with a Nikon D3000 (I wanted that model specifically)......

You are so correct about the SWAMPSNIPER!!!! I have followed his posted shots over time and marveled. I have found the best 'teachers' are modest. All the cameras I have ever owned were 'gifts', first of which was back in the 70's a Polaroid... which was fun but not what I really wanted. I was then given a Nikon FG and I nearly wore it out. I would drool over the digital cameras when they were first available and finally was given one approximately 7-8 years ago. It was a Canon PowerShot... I loved the size but the camera was very limiting.

Then I got the best surprise when my dear family gave me a Nikon D90. The first couple of years I treated it like it was my 'baby' and was not at all comfortable in carrying it around. I am still very much in the discovery stage of learning how to use all the functions. Although it has 'video' I do not really care about that function. I am impressed with the life of the battery as compared to the little Canon.

So I would not even call myself a 'novice' yet.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

My cameras are usually like all my trucks have been, muddy and battered. It's not so bad now but when I was healthier I crawled into some really rough places. My Sony DSLR came with a matte black finish, the grip areas are all worn shiny now. It has some crud in the viewfinder and the auto flash isn't auto any more. I removed the focus screen a few days ago and cleaned that but there are places I can't reach that way. It still works though, just fine.

I've kept the sensor clean and that is the vital part.

When you change lenses in the field a lot you need to learn to do your own sensor cleaning. Sooner or later something will get in there that the auto function won't handle.