Last February I sold my Nikon D40 and purchased a Nikon D70 with 18-70mm lens. I did this so that I could do more creative things with my photography such as HDR, or High Dynamic Range photography. I also wanted to be able to use my Nikon SB-600 off camera with the help of Nikon's Creative Lighting System.
The D70 is an awesome camera, but I always found myself fighting with the controls. My D40 was very easy to use, even though it didn't have dedicated buttons for most of the settings that I often changed. I received my D80 yesterday, and after using it, it occured to me that having a camera that is easy to use really encourages creativity. Being creative takes practice, and if you are constantly fighting with your camera you are not going to use it. My Nikon D80 reminds me of my D40's layout, but includes the dedicated buttons that I use most often. Not only does it feel great, it has quite a few upgrades over the D70, such as a higher mexapixel count which will allow for more cropping, a bigger LCD for reviewing photos, and an easier to navigate menu.
Of course, having the right lens to achieve the photo that you want is just as important. In the past, the biggest block to my creativity was not being able to focus as close as I wanted to. Most of my lenses had a twelve inch plus minimum focusing distance, so getting close ups of flowers and other plants was not an option. The Sigma 17-70mm that I ordered to go with my D80, however, solves that by giving me a minimum focusing distance of seven inches! This is from the sensor, though, and not the end of the lens, so I am able to focus very close!
I have been reading up on panoramic photography as well as HDR. I believe photomatix is the best software for HDR, and also happens to be much cheaper than Adobe photoshop. As far as panoramas go, I found a program called Microsoft I.C.E., or Image Composite Editor. This is a free program from Microsoft that allows you to stitch your panorama photos together. It does a great job with the test photos that I used. It did seem to take a bit longer than photoshop elements, but the results were top notch. For a free program, it really does a great job. If you are looking to get started with panoramic photography, I recommend downloading Microsoft's I.C.E. and trying it out.
Have a great week!
Zac
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