My Camera is broken

I'm so heartbroken, I broke my Nikon D80. I have never once dropped my camera, and I have had it for over 6 years. I am now in the market for a new camera, and of course I will buy a Nikon! I have had 2 Nikons, my DSLR D80, and my traditional film camera and N55. How many dogs have I taken pictures of with that wonderful piece of equipment. How many lives have been saved because of  my love of photography. I am in no way good enough to be a professional, but  I still LOVE my camera, and have joked with people that it is worth more than my vehicle. I would be much more heartbroken if my camera were lost than if my car were lost...but now it is broken because I dropped it. I have no-one to blame but myself.

The peaceful scene that I missed, was seen as I was driving to Valley View, just north of Denton today. I rolled around a corner on a back country road, and saw this absolutely beautiful view that made me want my camera so bad. I contemplated trying to capture it with my cell phone, knowing that the scene would not be the same through the small screen of my smartphone. What I saw was a tree graveyard, with puddles the size of small ponds. Several trees were standing as if they were the lone survivors of this great massacre....I wasn't sure if they were the reason for the massacre or if they were standing over their fallen comrades wishing revenge upon those that delivered the fatal blows that dropped so many. The tree skeletons were such a stark contrast to the sandy bottom that was seen between the puddles and the shiny water with the sun striking it at the exact right angle to make it shimmer, but not ripple. It was as if the water was actually a lot of different sized mirrors placed all around before the massacre of the trees.

Even though it was such a sad scene to see so many trees that were down, it was also a very beautiful view that I really wanted pictures of. Will the pictures in my head fade over time? I'm sure they will, but maybe I will make it out to this partially dried up lake bed near twilight to capture the massacre of the trees. Now the question is what camera will I chose? I am leaning toward the DSLR Nikon D3000 that captures video, too. It is not so new, but then again my D80 is not new, and it was an amazing camera that served to save lives very well!

Nikon D3000 10.2MP DSLR Bundle with 18-55mm Lens and 55-200mm Lens, (Google Affiliate Ad)



I also wonder about the smaller bodied cameras now....are they better than the traditional "Point and Shoots" of the past?

Nikon J1 10.1 Megapixel 10-30MM VR Lens White Digital SLR N1J1WHTOM (Google Affiliate Ad)

I would love input from anyone that might have any of the cameras that I am interested in.

~Jennifer

Nikon D600 Dslr 24-85Mm 24.3Mp, 24-85Mm Vr - Digital SLR Cameras (Google Affiliate Ad)Nikon 

D7000 16.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S (Google Affiliate Ad)


Nikon D800 36.3MP Digital SLR Camera - Body Only - Cameras & (Google Affiliate Ad)


Nikon D800E 36.3MP Digital SLR Camera - Body Only - Cameras & (Google Affiliate Ad)

Nikon D3100 18-55mm VR Lens 14.0 MP Digital SLR D3100KITOM (Google Affiliate Ad)

Nikon D7000 16.2MP Digital SLR Camera - Body Only - Digital SLR (Google Affiliate Ad)

Nikon D7000 16.2MP DSLR Camera Bundle with 18-200mm VR Lens, Bag, and (Google Affiliate Ad)

Nikon D600 Dslr Body 24.3Mp Fx Cmos - Digital SLR Cameras (Google Affiliate Ad)