Special Donation!! ATTN: Raj_55555

[pixmedic]

As most of you know, the Wife and I have a certain way we do the donations. Its a method that we feel works well, and although we have gotten many suggestions for minor tweaks and changes, we have always decided to stick to the original protocols we developed for donations on the forum. I am very comfortable with having protocols and following them. I was pretty much determined to not stray from our tried and true method.

Then THIS happened.

The wife and I have been discussing this thread for the last few days, as well as the implications of us breaking protocol for a donation.
We have never wanted one of our donation threads to turn into a public popularity contest, nor have anyone putting in for a donation feel like
they have less of a chance of getting it because people are "voting" for someone else.
What we have in the above thread however, is not just the usual bit of "voting" that we try (albeit obviously unsuccessfully) to avoid in our donation threads, but several people willing to chip in financially to see a DSLR and lens go to a deserving person outside of our usual donation range.

so....what to do...what to do....
the obvious and simplest answer is...nothing. stick to protocols and restrict the donation to the United States as we always do.
But, can we really ignore such an unprecedented outpouring of emotion and support for a forum member? (I mean, I can..yea..but i'm old and grumpy)
The wife decided that we should at least look into Raj_55555 as a forum member and see what all the hubbub was about. So we did. We went through Raj's forum activity, his FB page, his webpage, his medical history (OK, maybe not that last one..Hipaa and all that) What we were surprised to find (pleasantly obviously) was a very active forum member, taking some really nice shots with basically a slightly beefed up P&S. (Canon SX50)
The next questions was, could he benefit from an older DSLR? would it be any significant improvement over his current camera? Aside from our own opinions, I sent a few PM's to some members with our donation camera and lens info and asked. Everyone, including ourselves, seemed to think that even our older DSLR offered enough improvements to be worth the replacement. (larger sensor, ability to use faster glass, ability to shoot raw..etc, etc)
Overall, it became increasingly obvious that Raj was a great candidate for our camera.

So Raj_55555, it has been decided that YOU shall be the recipient of our DSLR donation.
I can not take all the credit for this one though, since it would not have been possible without
robins.photo, SM4HIM, and DarkShadow all kicking in money to cover the shipping cost to India.
without their contributions, this would have strictly been a United States only donation.
Here is the camera and lens we will be sending you.





















Just when you thought it was over...
Sharon (SM4HIM) decided to take this donation up a notch and throw in a sigma AF 75-300mm lens along with her shipping contribution!
(she is shipping me the lens and i will include it with the camera and lens we are donating)





well, there it is.
Raj, if you would PM me your name/address I will get this boxed up and shipped out as soon as I receive the extra lens Sharon is sending me.
Congratulations! I think I speak for all of us when I say we expect to see some pictures as soon as you get this camera!:cheer:

 

[tirediron]

Outstanding! Well done all of you!

 

[astroNikon]

How awesome that everyone pitched into make this possible !!

:thumbup:
way to go TPF

 

[paigew]

Oh my...this just warms my heart. :hug::

 

[limr]

Outstanding is right! Raj absolutly deserves it. Pix, you and your wife are two of the reasons I still have some faith in humanity.

 

[The_Traveler]

Well done,

I don't have anything Nikon that will fit but since Sharon tossed in the lens, I'd like to pay the part of the shipping that she would have otherwise.

 

[pixmedic]

Well done,

I don't have anything Nikon that will fit but since Sharon tossed in the lens, I'd like to pay the part of the shipping that she would have otherwise.

awesome Lew!
Sharon still kicked in part of the shipping cost, but I also want to insure the package.
i will PM you my paypal address if you still want to chip in.

 

[manicmike]

How cool of all of you.

 

[baturn]

This makes me proud to be a member of the same forum as you folks. Well done!

 

[PixelRabbit]

Awesome! Pix and Wifey, you are both beyond cool in my book.

 

[SnappingShark]

The cockles of my heart have been warmed.

Way to go Raj, and pix, and wife, and everybody else involved or not. For this is a community, and every one of you (us), is responsible for helping each other out

 

[The_Traveler]

Well done,

I don't have anything Nikon that will fit but since Sharon tossed in the lens, I'd like to pay the part of the shipping that she would have otherwise.

awesome Lew!
Sharon still kicked in part of the shipping cost, but I also want to insure the package.

i will PM you my paypal address if you still want to chip in.

Absolutely, whatever you need, I'm in.
If possible, choose a Flat Rate packages that are by far the best value for small but heavy items going overseas.

You probably know this already but I generally pack in zip locks or other good plastic and put silica gel in the package.

 

[DarkShadow]

Going to have to give huge amount of credit to pix and wife for this. I sincerely hope we did not put to much pressure on pix and the wife as its not there normal method.I am so glad you made the exception this one time and the foot work to make it all happen.Thank you both for this and I couldn't be more excited for Raj_55555.
Also thank you robbins,SM4HIM and Lew for offering to pitch in. I can't wait for Raj to see this and more so the photos I am sure he will post from it.. Raj, Your officially a Nikonian almost.:thumbup:

 

[WardQ]

This is wonderful! I'm excited to see the pictures Raj takes with this, since his pictures are already incredible.

 

[pixmedic]

All righty folks...
one more last minute addition to this tale!

Lew, AKA The_Traveler, has also contributed to the shipping costs of this project to where I can now ship this Priority Flat Rate. (Lew thought that was the best way to mail it) This will cut at least half a week off of the shipping time.

I have never seen a donation like this before. I am glad that we decided to try an international recipient, and even more glad (gladder) that you guys are making this possible! Cant wait for Raj to see this thread!