Hi all,
I'm hoping you can help me!! I recently inherited a Nikon D70s with 3 lenses from my fathers estate. I know I need to get the sensor cleaned (am probably dropping it off this week sometime), but I am contemplating just saving up and upgrading - but not sure what to! I'm still really trying to learn the camera as its my first time with a dSLR, and while I can take macros till the cows come home, and they look fairly decent, good looking wide shots are escaping me at the moment (yes I have changed to a mid point lens, though I know there are more lenses in Brisbane which I didnt bring down with me).
So in my situation what would you do?
I currently have in my posession
1 x Nikon D70s in need of sensor clean
1 x Speedlight SB800 which I have NO clue how to get the camera to recognise
1 x AF -S Nikkor 18-70mm
1 x AF Micro Nikkor 60mm
1 x AF-S Nikkor 70-399mm
Various media cards

In Brisbane there are another 2? lenses, a macro flash kit (I think), a tripod and various filters.

I want to be able to use my camera properly, and not just shoot on auto, but at the moment I find the whole concept REALLY daunting. Help pls?

If you want to see what I HAVE managed to make the camera do, I have a public site at flickr under the name tassiegal.

I like a lot of your photos on your Flickr site. You have a good eye. The setup you inherited is pretty decent and should get you a long way towards mastering dSLRs. I would start by reading the manuals (for both the camera and the flash). Both have some pretty powerful features, once you get to know how to use them. If you don't have the manuals, you can download them from the Nikon website. If you're looking to do more wide angle, then you might want to invest in a wider lens. Remember that the D70s is a DX body that has a 1.5 crop factor. So when you're at 18mm, you're really at 27 mm. You might want to go down to about 12mm for wide shots on DX cameras.

Once you've played with this setup for awhile, you'll get an idea of what you really want out of a dSLR and what you might want to upgrade to. The higher end Nikons (D300, D700, D3) are a lot more expensive, but offer more features, faster autofocus, better high ISO, more durability, and full frame sensors in the last two cameras.

Thanks. I'm never sure if what I am taking is pleasing to anyone but me! My partner has a D90 which I may "borrow" if I want to play around. I THINK the manuals are in Brisbane, may have to get my mum to go looking for them. In no way shape or form do I want to be a professional. I'd be happy being an amatuer who takes good photos that people react to. For emotional reasons I suspect I will always keep the D70s, even if at some stage in the future I upgrade. I guess its a matter of time and money and seeing if the "obsession" continues once the novelty factor wears off.

You ought to buy a kit so you can clean the sensor yourself. It's not hard. I'm constantly cleaning my sensor because just changing lenses and zooming allow dust to get into the camera body. There's nothing worse than coming home with lots of blurry dark spots in a beautiful sky.

I suspect I may have a sensor cleaning kit in Brisbane, as I appear to have alot of printouts on how to do it in the phtography bag. This whole kit is my Dad's, which my mum gave to me after he passed away in May - so there is a WHOLE pile of emotions attached to it as well and a fear of not wanting to break anything as it was (and in my mind still is) his and I'm only "borrowing" it.