My buddy Jeff Julian and I were recently sharing camera tips on the point-and-shoot cameras we keep in our backpacks for community events. With a new baby on the way, I was considering buying a Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera and shared the research that I had done with him. I had narrowed it down to an entry level Nikon model and was going to pick one up before my new baby was born. Turns out Jeff's birthday was the following week and he picked up a Nikon D60 before I did. His post only made me want one more. So with a baby due on Mother's Day weekend, I went over to Wolf Camera and caught the D60 kit on sale.

Following his example, I'm posting a few of the 650+ pictures I've taken so far.

I know this isn't strictly on topic for my blog, but I've got to salute Nikon for this outstanding piece of engineering. I think you'll agree that the photos are incredibly sharp and vivid and just plain beautiful to behold. The camera's sensor appears to pick up color that our eyes don't even see. The responsiveness of the camera is also wonderful, especially when chasing a two year old around the yard. Even on fully automatic mode, 8 out of 10 shots look great. Truly a product worth evangelizing.

For those of you looking to enter the DSLR arena, I picked up the camera with kit lens (18-55mm), and additional zoom lens (55-200mm) for sports+animals, Nikon travel bag, two official Nikon School DVDs and 18 hours of classroom instruction for $799. FYI - they were also throwing in a full size Epson color printer/scanner for free but I declined it because I had absolutely no use for another printer.