Hi JKS! Tee hee - we're back on this one, huh? ok, my pennysworth... I've only "played about" with standard photography a little bit about 15 years back. Last year I got a cheap Fuji digital - dead basic, just point & click, but fell in love with it purely because I'm the type of person who a) hates having to wait to see results and b) is a miserly git who realised how many shots/rolls of film it would take before a digital would have paid for itself. The first point for me was by far the most important. It's great being able to see your shot straight away, coz if it isn't right you re-shoot and you've lost nothing, but more importantly you can correct your mistake rapidly. Having to wait for a photo to be processed / process it yourself before you can see your errors (and we all make 'em!) means that moment is gone. In most cases you can't get that subject again, and if you can something will have changed - even if it's just the light / weather. I can't put into words the rate of my learning that wouldn't have been possible with standard - so much so that less than a year later I've upgraded to the Fuji with similar features to the Nikon you want. I'd say go for it - if it's gonna be a year, it'll be amazing how far the technology will have gone in that time!! Good luck whatever you decide! Mike (",)