I think you get the picture: I like Nikon products, so consider yourself warned.

To start to describe the D80 in a word: Fantastic! 

Like the other Nikon's I'd had, it has a very comfortable feel to  the grip and the camera is nicely balanced. It's a slightly smaller camera than the D70s but not too small. I didn't think of the D70s as a large camera, but apparently it is bigger than normal.  It also has a few features that I really like:

• It's Fast. According to Nikon, you could continuously fire off up to 100 jpegs. Excessive? Maybe, but it's nice to know it's there.
• ISO Auto. This adds ISO setting as a parameter to the program modes (i.e. Shutter or Aperture Priority). Via the Menu, you set the Max ISO you will allow and the Minimum shutter speed. In my case, this is very Useful as I don't like to fire below 1/60th of a second. If I set the ISO to 320, go into a sudden shade area, the camera will raise the ISO if it has to to get the shot at least 1/60th of a second.
• A programmable function button. This is entirely a creature feature under the focus assist light. Out of the Box, it will display the ISO when hit. Me, I have it set up to turn the Grid on the viewfinder. I don't need the Grid on full time, but occasionally, I like it to help me line up a shot.
• Easier review of images. On the D70's you hit the pad to scroll thru the images. Up or down to change images, left or right to get info on that image. On the D80, you use the Command Dial in the rear to scroll between images. The Command dial on the front scrolls between information on individual photo's.

These items are just the ones that come off the top of my head. My short Wish list for the D80 has nothing to do with the D80: I can't wait for Adobe to Update their RAW importer. Currently, it does not support the D80, but I bet it's just a matter of time before it does.

For photo's I've taken with the Nikon D80, see here on Flickr.
I'm particularly happy with this one:

More photos after the break. 

Music I'm listening to right Now:
"Cambia La Piel" by Ricky Martin from his "Sound Loaded" Album. 

Here is a shot showing the Function Button. This is not a big deal per se, but nice to have.

Did I mention it uses SD instead of Compact Flash? Not a big deal: I had to get a new Sandisk 12 in 1 reader.

The Back of the Camera (BIG LCD):

The back of the camera is nicely laid out too. The controls you while taking a photo are all near your thumb. 

Top of the Camera:

Controls near the shutter release:

All The Controls are placed in comfortable locations. You don't need to be a contotionist to use them.

Here are some shots of the Nikon D70s and the Nikon D80 side by side:

It works in a similar way that MTGoogleMap by Nick Punter does (in fact this was originally based on MTGoogleMaps). A container tag called "MTYahooMaps" is created that accepts the following Parameters:

• address = Postal Address i.e. "499 Park Avenue, NY, NY, 10022", Required
• lat = Latitude i.e. "40.762979"
• log = Longitude i.e. "-73.969966"
• info = Informational Text (No HTML)  i.e. "Corner of 69th and Park Ave."
• zoom = Numeric Zoom Level i.e. "3" (Defaults to "2")
• width = Width of Map in your Post. Numeric and in Pixels i.e. "540"
• height = Height of Map in your Post. Numeric and in Pixels i.e. "300"
• align = Alignment of your map in your Post. i.e. "left","center", "right" (Defaults to Center)
• maptype = AJAX or Flash. (Defaults to AJAX)
• mapsathyb = map, sat, or hyb (Defaults to map)

Example:

<MTYahooMaps
address="11 Madison avenue,NY, NY, 10010"
info="A Nice Place"
width="540"
height="300"
zoom="3"
maptype="ajax" mapsathyb="hyb"></MTYahooMaps>

String this out with no Carriage returns. My Advice, try resolving addresses at http://maps.yahoo.com/ and get the ZIPCODE. 

If you use  lat and log, address will not be used to resolve the coordinates, but is still required.

Update: Now Handles multiple Markers 

Update: Now uses Yahoo Geocoder, uses MAP, SATELITE, or HYBRID and the FLASH version works better too. It will also convert "|" to "<BR>" when put in the info and address parameters.

Multiple Markers

Multiple Markers are done by specifying  "address" "info", "lat", "log" followed by an "_" (underscore) and a Number  to group them together. Example:

<MTYahooMaps
address="11 Madison avenue,NY, NY, 10010"
info="11 Madison Avenue Nice Place"
width="540" height="300" zoom="3"
maptype="flash"
mapsathyb="hyb"

address_1="1 Madison Avenue,NY, NY, 10010"
info_1="1 Madison Avenue New Condos.."></MTYahooMaps>

in this case "address_1" and "info_1" are bound together by "_1"

Where Do I Get it?

Well, Since you asked, get it here. 

Once you download it, unzip it to your plugins directory. You should get a Directory named "MTYaooMaps" containing 3 files: iframe.map.tmpl README.TXT YahooMap.pl

Once you drop this in, login to your MT Admin and Set the Defaults: Yahoo APP key – Sign up for one here Path to the template file – i.e. "/var/www/mt/plugins/MTYahooMaps/" (No Quotes and End in a "/")

Default Width – Default Width of the Map

Default Height – Default Height of the map  

What was this tested on?

I tested it on a Linux Server running MT 3.2

What is required?

A Yahoo Application ID. Sign up for a Yahoo Application ID or read more about the Yahoo Maps API. You might need to get the Process Tags plugin. With my installation of MT, Embedded Tags in the Entry won't work without it. After installing it I changed my Templates from ´<$MTEntryBody$>´ to ´<$MTEntryBody process_tags="1" $>´ which seemed to do the trick nicely.

What is the plugin written in?

Straight PERL code. No PHP and minimal Javascript.

How does it Works?

Inside your post an IFRAME is constructed that uses a separate HTML file to contain your Map(s). If your Post with 2 Maps is i.e.: http://www.epyon-1.com/blog/archives/2005/11/mtyahoomaps_test_2_multiple_maps.php Your Post will contain 2 IFrames with the Two Sources being the actual Yahoo Maps: http://www.epyon-1.com/blog/archives/2005/11/_MTYahooMaps_1_mtyahoomaps_test_2_multiple_maps.php http://www.epyon-1.com/blog/archives/2005/11/_MTYahooMaps_2_mtyahoomaps_test_2_multiple_maps.php All the Map files Will begin with "_MTYahooMaps_N_" where "N" is a number starting with "1" and will have the Individual Post File name at the end. In this case "mtyahoomaps_test_2_multiple_maps.php" will have "_MTYahooMaps_1_mtyahoomaps_test_2_multiple_maps.php" and "_MTYahooMaps_2_mtyahoomaps_test_2_multiple_maps.php". These files will be written in the same directory that your individual post is in. Care is taken in the PERL script not to re-write the HTML files as the Plugin gets called in different contex. (Plugin Subroutine gets called Multiple times per Posting. If you don't know what I mean, don't worry about it.)

Why Use IFRAMES?

Short Answer: It's just easier. The Yahoo Maps API doesn't like to Share the page with anyone and this way, it doesn't as far as it is concerned. Another reason: I don't have to manage all the unique DIV statements or Javascript Functions in the HTML. Finally, Internet Explorer doesn't always play the same way Firefox. Opera, or Safari does. This way it just works better.

Possible Issues:

If you go crazy and make LOTS of Maps (Like I Did), get ready for occasional "HTTP 500 Internal Server Error". I have an OLD server that timed out several times when building the number of Maps I did while testing. This plugin uses only MT PERL API calls, some minor PERL slight of hand and Nothing More. When in doubt, just rebuild your individual Archives or just disable the Plugin.

Future Developement

Multilple Markers, Polyline support just to name a few. Cleaning up unused MAP files would be good too. Better Info Balloons.

One Last thing:

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. Any Bugs or What Not Email me at sd_042@yahoo.com or leave a comment. Enjoy.

In July of 2005, he purchased a set of Star Wars Stormtrooper Armor. Yep, you read that right! He’s been kind enough to document his trials and travails. 

I Highly recomend reading about it, His journey is very funny and he’s taken lots of photographs and some Video. The most recent Entry "Stormtrooper haircut" made me laugh out loud.

His "Stormtrooper in Tokyo – Episode 2 : Akihabara" posting is great too. 

For a complete Stormtrooper Summary on Danny Choo’s site See here.

He’s also got excelent tips for people switching from Windows to a Mac.

EDIT: No, dinner was not just Salad, The Salad was just the Apetizer…

I guess Grand Central is getting cleaned again.

Ok Class, what’s wrong with this Picture? Judging from the Garbage in it, It’s been that way for a while.

A monument Missing a letter or two. Hope they fix this too!

There was a film crew there and the “Reporter” was a man with a Clown nose. Odd.

See Gothamist’s Coverage

Sunday was the last day, and it was packed. The turn out was just the right size, crowded but not like a subway. We were able to take pictures without bothering anyone.

There were a lot of Photographers there. This gentleman explained that he’s here every year and this was the best yet. The tent over the skating rink had a big clear section right in the middle of it letting the bright sunlight right in.

I was also able to use the Macro mode on my camera to get some detailed close ups.

More pictures here: http://www.epyon-1.com/orchidshow-2005/