Then last week I heard from my friend Chris Thilk, who mentioned that I’d been picked to participate in Nikon’s “Picture This” project. Nikon’s sent out several dozen D80s to bloggers for six months – the cameras are loaners, after which we can return them or buy them – to play with and write about (if we want to). Why me? I’m certainly not a “photo blogger”, and there are certainly higher-profile bloggers out there. But as Chris’s colleague Tom Biro commented, a variety of factors went into who got picked. I’m certainly not complaining!
The camera showed up on Friday, and I have had a few minutes to play with it so far. Over the next several months, I expect to share some pictures and my experiences (good and bad). MWW (Chris’s PR firm) has offered a half hour with a camera pro to get up to speed, something I plan to take advantage of in the next week or so. While I feel like I’ve got a good handle on the D50, it’s clear that the D80 is several steps up, and to get the full benefit of the camera’s capabilities, I’m going to need to get some pointers.
For those who are interested, you can keep an eye on my pictures at Flickr.
Hey Rick, next time you speak with MWW, you might want to say hi to John R-L from their agency, who gave me the run-around when I requested a review unit of either the D80 or the D200. Yes, I'm a little sore about that. I think a thorough review with great photos taken and post-processed by me would have highlighted their cameras' capabilities nicely, and the visibility of such a review on a site as big as BlogCritics wouldn't have hurt.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I shouldn't complain, since the folks at Canon PR were very nice to me. They sent me out a 30D, which I reviewed. I'm now in talks with them to receive a 1D Mark II N for review. And, I also purchased a 5D because I was very happy with the photos I got with the 30D.
Because Canon PR was nice to me, they gained a customer who's already spent thousands on a new 5D and L series lenses, and built up good buzz about Canon on both my own site and on BlogCritics, which, btw, is an official Google News source.
Raoul - That's a shame, I'll be sure to let MWW know. Yes, your review would have been a tad more thorough than mine - not a day goes by that I'm not envying your photos! The review of the 30D at BlogCritics was excellent; I learned a lot just by reading how you evaluate the equipment.
ReplyDeleteI'll pass your info along so they can follow up with you directly.
Thanks Rick! I did come across as sore in my previous comment... :-) Just in case it could be interpreted to allude that your review wouldn't be as good as mine, I want to clarify that's not what I meant. It's simply that for the little cost of sending me a review unit for 30 days, Nikon would have gotten a very nice return. Whether that's from me or you doesn't matter as much as the review itself. I doubt that a good, honest review can hurt, and more press is not normally a bad thing.
ReplyDelete