The Canon D2000 (and its Kodak DCS520 sibling), released in 1998,
was one of the first digital slrs with the looks and design that resembled digital
slrs of today. The camera featured a 2 megapixel, aps-c sensor, pretty "amazing"
in those days. Gone were the huge, cumbersome battery packs and wires of the early
digital slrs, and in was a new "compact" design and a nice slim battery.

These cameras went for around $15,000 when new, so it was really
more for the press than everyday people. The D2000/DCS520 was a
collaboration between Canon and Kodak, based on a Canon EOS-1n body
and a Kodak designed sensor. The EOS-1n was actually one of my
favorite EOS film bodies. Canon would release their first "homegrown"
dslr a few years later with the EOS-1D in 2001.

So a few years back, when I found a sample for under $300, I jumped
on it. Unfortunately, after the initial 'fun' the limitations of
this pioneering camera became apparent. The lcd was sub-par, and menu
system seemed more antiquated than using a Commodore 64. Battery life
was horrid, and I needed to do manual white balance every time
I went from indoors to outdoors.

All negatives aside, the camera threw up some decent images, and it
was exciting to imagine where digital slr technology would take us.
The images can be very sharp, thanks to the removable AA filter.
Today, the camera is not worth much, and only desirable for collectable
value more than anything else. Any modern dslr will beat it in image
quality, if not in "fun" :-)

PS: Yes, that lens sure needs a good cleanin'