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Labor Day

Posted by Viewfinder (Bradenton, FL, United States) on 3 September 2007 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.

Hard at work, side by side, an American mission worker and a Kenyan national labor together mixing cement for a foundation, to build a school room in Nakuru, Kenya. Happy Labor Day, America! And world!

A Song of Ascents, of David.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1.

Here's a camera question. I loved my now-stolen Nikon D50. But these are no longer readily available. So I am looking at D40s and D80s as possible replacements. Do any of y'all have experience with these, or could anybody say something about how they would compare to each other and/or to the D50?

If you use one or the other, strong points/weak points?

Ok, then I'll use the "C" word, as in Canon. What would the Canon equivalent be to either the D40 or D80? How would they compare?

I've googled a bunch of propaganda on all this, but am curious as to your unbiased experiences. Thanks in advance. --VF

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Comments (26)

Myst from Bologna, Italy

Superb shot!

3 Sep 2007 6:34am

@Myst: Thank you!

Inés from Namur, Belgium

So cool to see this kind of shot !!! that make a smile in heart !

3 Sep 2007 7:25am

@Inés: And you have added a smile to my day. Thank you Ines.

MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom

Wow! VF a wonderful capture, of team work!
sorry I can't help with the camera question, though :(

3 Sep 2007 10:17am

@MaryB: You are a blessing and an encouragement. Thank you MaryB.

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

VF, GENIAL! I love this portrait...sorry I wish I could help with the cam questions, but all I have is Fuji Finepix..I hope you get what you need soon!

3 Sep 2007 10:19am

@Lorraine: Thank you Lorraine. You're helping just by visiting and leaving such a nice comment.

Wolfgang Prigge from Canada

A real nice capture of hard work and devotion. I'm glad to see you are "digesting" the body blow of your loss yesterday and turning the page. Can't help you directly with your camera question, as I use a simple point and shoot Canon Powershot S3 IS, but can give you a hint on an unbiased, minimal advertising site to compare: try dpreview.com .

3 Sep 2007 11:10am

@Wolfgang Prigge: Body blow, yes. Down for just a little bit, but not out. And back on our feet again; we are taking steps to beef up our home security and all the wiser after this. It could have been way worse. Thanks for the website suggestion. It's good.

Rebel Szczesny from Big Apple - NYC, United States

Here! Here! Perfectly presented. Cameras. ? Hope the net can help. Hey...Isn't Conica spelled with a K?

3 Sep 2007 11:43am

@Rebel Szczesny: Conica? Chure, dats how ta spul it... I thimk.

Walt from Scarborough, Canada

Nice shot...sorry about your camera...can't help you on the Nikon question, but I'm in love with my Rebel XT...not sure I want to say the "c" word here...

3 Sep 2007 12:52pm

@Walt: Gotta admit this is Nikon country. But the "C" word is welcome here. Went shopping today and held a Canon. It really felt "different" in my hands than my Nikon; I almost felt unfaithful... Heh.

Rebecca from Leicester, United Kingdom

Wonderful image of true community and toiling shoulder-to-shoulder, together. :)
On the camera question, I'm sorry to say I'm a total novice when it comes to evaluating cameras, but have found the reviews on amazon useful for evaluating quite a lot of different products purchased in the past (and sometimes have found the prices, when discounted, pretty good too). Would you find it helpful to read the reviews by past/present users there? Here are the links for the D40 and D80 respectively. I think some of the users there give info about other cameras as well, and you can do searches for other camera models (and there seem to be "other" versions of the d40 that are reviewed too, so you can just type "nikon d40" in the search window, and choose which one fits best with what you're looking for?) on the site as well. hope this helps somewhat! in any case, very best of wishes for the ongoing camera hunt! Blessings to you for that too. :)

3 Sep 2007 1:15pm

@Rebecca: Thanks for your nice comments on my image today.
Wow, and thanks for all the suggestions. Finding a camera is sure a maze of reviews and articles on the web. But all that info is helpful in making a decision. You've added a lot of good material to my search process; thank you and bless you, Rebecca.

jen from Alpharetta, United States

Great shot VF! Really love the framing and the fact that the guy on the left has spotted you ; )
As far as camera...I have neither the nikon nor the canon, but I have been seriously been considering the D80, but also the D40x, which from what I have learned is the D80 less expensive cousin and the D40x has 10.1 mp as opposed to the D40 which is 6.1.
Check out
http://www.letsgodigital.org, they have comparisons for cameras side by side, spec by spec.

3 Sep 2007 1:45pm

@jen: Thanks for the nice comments on my Labor Day special.
And thanks for the website url. I went there and somehow found a link to a real great deal on a D80 package. You may have given me the direction to move in. Thanks so much!

tyan from Singapore, Singapore

very apt picture!sorry i cant help you with camera,i am really an idiot at it!good to see there are other am3 people who are more knowledgealbe in this area:)

3 Sep 2007 3:21pm

@tyan: Thank you tyan. You are an encouragement just by visiting and leaving a comment. Blessings.

amy from Rocky Mountain House, Canada

EXCELLENT shot for our Labour Day weekend!!!!

As to the camera question? I have the Nikon D70... LOVE IT! My friend and my brother-in-law have the Canon's and love theirs. Personally, when I compare them it all comes down to how it fits MY hand. When you look at all the comparison articles (I read Practical Photography out of the UK), the Nikon does usually nudge out the other models but not by much. Most of these DSLR's are fairly close in what they do because the competition for our dollar is so strong. So my suggestion is to go and see how it FEELS in your hand then do the comparison thing for features and what you think you may want new or different or the same. But if you've already had a Nikon I'm thinking you'll probably be happier with another one. If I had my druthers and could buy another body I'd go for the D80 or even the D2X.. shrug.... Does any of my ramblings help (as you can see I did at one time sell cameras).

3 Sep 2007 4:18pm

@amy: I really appreciate your expertise and suggestions. The "feel" is so important to me because I am mostly intuitve in my photography and need a camera to "feel" right in my hands. Case in point. I started SLR photography with a Minolta SR201. It felt "right" in my hands. A few decades later I got a Pentax. I hated that camera; it never felt right. I later got a Nikon and liked it much better. Then I got into digital and eventually found my D50. It was love at first sight. It felt so very right in my hands. I'm hoping if I get a D80 it will feel right too. Actually my son has one and I did play around with it a little in July. It had a good feel to it. Also, I've tried holding a couple of different Canon models and they just didn't feel right in my hand.

Manuela Photography from Hainburg, Germany

Very cool composition!

3 Sep 2007 4:22pm

@Manuela Photography: Thanks!

yiannis krikis from thessaloniki, Greece

excellent image - the expressions of the workers are very cool

3 Sep 2007 4:30pm

@yiannis krikis: Thank you yiannis. Glad you visited here today.

Michael Rawluk from Prince George, Canada

Can you compare a nikon to the mighty CANON? I have used Canons for 3 and a half decades. My 5D is extraordinary.
Very nice Labour Day shot.

3 Sep 2007 4:58pm

@Michael Rawluk: I guess it's a matter of preference. We always drove Toyotas, not Hondas. We've added Nissans and Hyundais. Don't exactly know why no Hondas -- they are very nice cars. Same with Canons -- really nice cameras. But I've always tended toward Nikon, Minolta, and Konica-Minolta. Glad you've liked your Canons, but I'm likely to stick with Nikon this time. Thanks though. You're a pal.

Mandy from Johannesburg, South Africa

Hey VF - great image!!!
Talking camera's I have a Nikon D70 and a Canon EOS 350D. I personally prefer my Nikon...I got it first and I'm used to the way it works - the positioning of the buttons etc..... The Canon shares buttons for Shutter and aperture where the D70 has it's own for each.
As for the D40X and the D80 - they are the newest versions of the D50 and the D70 respectively..or so I have been told. A friend has the D80 and she loves it!!!!
Personally i am in the process of trying to sell my Canon to buy the D80 :). I agree with Amy..since you've had a Nikon before I'm sure you're going to prefer the Nikon. I know I do and as I said I have them both!!! :)

3 Sep 2007 5:35pm

@Mandy: Thanks Mandy. I take your comments as very excellent advice. I am more and more leaning toward the D80 as my next camera. I was so happy with my D50 that I can't help but think the D80 will build on that foundation. Also thanks for commenting on today's image; have a wonderful Tuesday.

Rabbit from Richmond, United States

a great image showing people working together ;) it makes me happy.

3 Sep 2007 9:51pm

@Rabbit: Good. I am glad this image is making you happy and doing something to show there is far more good going on in the world than bad. Even if the media would have us believe otherwise. Never forget.

LuisRodrigues from Lisbon, Portugal

Great shot VF... One advice buy the D80, its a great camera it got the same sensor of the D200, an excelent battery durability, and the 10 Mpxs are great.. The menu is very simple of working, but sure you already know that by your experience of the D50 it is similar. One more thing if you start with Nikon and loved why change?!

3 Sep 2007 10:19pm

@LuisRodrigues: Thank you Luis; yes I am growing closer to the idea of a D80. The more I read about it, and the more people I know (like you) tell me about it, the more it sounds like my next DSLR. Plus I may have found a really cool deal on one.

Richard_Irwin from Belper, United Kingdom

Thats a great image with a nice message.

As to the camera, at the end of the day, its down to how they feel in your hands, as my guess is that they all do pretty much the same. I always use Nikon SLR cameras, but thats only because I started with a Nikorrmat about 20 years back, and once you buy decent lenses for one camera type, its not economicaql to switch brands. Go and have a play with them all if you can, and choose the system you like the most. I must admit that the new Nikon D300 looks good on paper, and when its released expect the price on the D200 to drop dramatically - there robust, pretty weatherproof, and dead quick. The D80 would be my next choice, but the D40X also looks good.

3 Sep 2007 10:24pm

@Richard_Irwin: Thanks for the excellent advice on Nikon. I am very strongly leaning toward the D80. My son has one and he tells me it's great. I loved my D50, so if I wind up gettin one and if it's a lot like the D50 I'll be a happy guy (plus 10mp instead of 6mp).

Lost Valley from British Columbia, Canada

I tried to post this earlier but was transferred to a 'spam page" for some reason!!

I had wanted to say that you have captured so well the spirit of human compassion in a great way! I thank you for that and it gives me even more
fuel to make my decision to go down to Mexico next year with a local group here where I live to build homes for the homeless!

4 Sep 2007 1:39am

@Lost Valley: So sorry you got sent to a spam page. Weird how the 'net works sometimes. Your posts here are never spam in my book. I'm always glad for a comment and a visit.
Thank you for hte really nice comment you've left here tonight. I want to strongly encourage you to go with that group to Mexico. This scene came from a mission trip my church took to Kenya. It was life-changing and amazing. We were far more blessed by the amazing and humble people we met over there than I can ever describe. Go for it!

Dave MacIntyre from Toronto, Canada

This is a truly excellent photo.

4 Sep 2007 2:02am

@Dave MacIntyre: You are very kind. Thank you. Come back and visit often.

Michael Keith from Toccoa, United States

Wonderful shot and very nice caption to go with it. Love the clarity and the rawness of the situation.

As to the camera question...I have had a Nikon D40 for about a month now. I love almost everything about the camera, but I am very disappointed that the D40 will only auto focus with AF-S lenses (which get very expensive). I am looking into getting a lens with f/2.8 aperture, and have found great reviews on the 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom-Nikkor and the 70-200mm AF-S lens. The AF-S is much more expensive, but the AF lens will not auto focus with my D40!! So now I am wondering if I should have spent a little more on a camera body that would be compatible with the less expensive, but good AF lenses.
Check out www.kenrockwell.com. He has tons of information (including reviews) on his site, and I have found it very helpful.

4 Sep 2007 4:33am

@Michael Keith: Much appreciation for your comments here, Michael. And thank you for sharing your experience with the D40. I'd read there was a lens compatibilty issue; I'm wondering if that has been corrected with the D40x. But after doing some more checking around, I've decided to get a D80. Figured it was a pretty big $$ outlay anyway; might as well be sure it's all I am looking for. Don't think the lens problem extends to the D80s. At least I hope not. Thanks for the Ken Rockwell site info, too.

Natalia from Louisville, United States

A glimpse of heaven. Great shot and powerful image.

4 Sep 2007 3:34pm

@Natalia: Thank you Natalia. Being there in person was a little bit like heaven.

zoloper from Bucuresti, Romania

nice emotion capture :) .. our labour day is on 1 may :P
sorry for your loss. i think the right of property is somehow fragile and exposed to thefts or abuse. once the money is in your hand and then u pass it to another person to lend it or something and it feels like u never had them, or better to say with a cell phone. "can i make a call, please?" "sure!" and off he goes...
*just expressing my ideas :P u may not agree

4 Sep 2007 7:02pm

@zoloper: Thank you zoloper. As for your thoughts on property, money, and cell phone calls -- I'm feeling like we might be looking at a little bit of a language barrier. But thank you for expressing your thoughts and I do agree that the right and privilege of property ownership can be a fragile thing if that right is not honored by all.