I have finalized Nikon D90 to be my first camera. All my research was now focused on the place from where I can source it. D90 sells at about $800 in the US. At Rs. 46 a dollar, that comes to 36,800 INR. Nikon do not give international warranties on its DSLR bodies. So, even if I ask any of my friends to get it for me from the US, I will be worried about the warranty for sure.
I decided to get from Bangalore itself, at least I can be at peace. Also what if I get my boxed Nikon, open it only to find the piece is defective. Last thing I want to do is to courier the faulty piece back to US and spend a fortune to get things right.
I saw on photography forums that Smartshoppers is a trusted online shop to buy photographic equipments. D90 was priced at about Rs. 46,000 there. I have not bought any electronic items online till now and I wanted to feel the camera in my hands before I bought it. I decided to get it from a brick-and-mortar shop and checked out few shops in Bangalore for the prices.
I checked GK Vale, a leading camera dealer, at their Koramangala branch. They said they sold Nikon D90 only with the kit lens. The guy there was not interested in selling me a camera, at least I felt it that way. He was not ready to show me piece. When asked for the price, he was quoting the MRP which was 57K and nor did he said they don't give any freebies. I don t think I will ever buy anything from their shop.
I learned from online forums about the shop Fotocircle and its owner Mr. Jayesh Mehta. I got the address from the Internet and also found that I can SMS him and get to know the availability and price. Now, that is very cool. I checked out the shop, which is near Majestic, and was glad to find a dealer who is patient with his customers, allows them to handle the equipments, quotes great prices and provides freebies too. Needless to say, I was impressed. I got my Nikon D90 for about 42K without the kit lens. Now on the lens, that worth a post. I will get it on blog soon.
If any of you guys want to buy anything in photography, I am more than happy to recommend Jayesh Mehta. His visiting card goes like - Jayesh Mehta, FOTO CIRCLE, No. G7-9, Brigade Plaza, S.C. Road, Near Anandarao Circle, Bangalore - 560 009, India. Tel. 22874356, 22872572, Mob 9845022654, Email fotocirclenk@gmail.com. He is a busy guy so chances of picking an unknown number on his mobile are low. Its better you drop him an SMS, he will reply to you within a day.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
From Point-and-Shoot to DSLR
I have been contemplating the idea of shifting to a DSLR from a point and shoot. I'm using a Nikon P80 now. Feels like I have out grown the device and I have started feeling the desire for a DSLR stronger. You know how tough it can be, if a thought gets into the head and decide not to leave. And only way to get over this one, was to get one.
I wanted a Nikon or a Canon Digital SLR and my priority being in the same order. After all, I had been shooting with a Nikon point-and-shoot from day one. So, how did Canon come into the picture? Its because, whenever I got a chance to shoot with a Canon compact, I found the images captured to be more pleasing to the eye off camera, compared to the ones produced by a Nikon. I have observed this 'dullness' on more than one occasion and yeah its always a bit sad to know that the equipment you don't own performs better than the one in hand. But, that is why God created Photoshop. And its not that hard to bump up colors, I guess.
The DSLR cameras in my search radar from the Nikon team were the D3000, D3100, D5000 and D90.
And from the Canon family, there was the mighty 550D.
Now starts the fruit picking.
Nikon D3000
Nikons D3000, announced in July 2009, is an entry level DSLR with 10.2 megapixel DX Sensor. It has a 3" LCD with 230K resolution and can shoot pictures with a maximum ISO of 3200.
10 megapixel is not so impressive these days and I wanted at least a 12 megapixel resolution for my camera. I prefer larger pixel size as I have found myself cropping photos while editing. Even though, it has a 3" LCD, 230K dots isn't enough to produce sharp images. Absence of Live view is one big disappointing thing, may be more than the absence of video recording capabilities.
I feel D3000 is a good camera but is not a worthy pick for me and will suit anyone with a tight budget but wants a better-than-compact image quality.
Nikon D3100
Nikon D3100 is a worthy upgrade for D3000, launched in August 2010. It has a 14.2 megapixel sensor which can significantly lower noise at higher ISO. It can shoot full HD video and has the live view feature. It is powered by the new EXCEED 2 processor and performs better than its predecessor.
This probably one of the best entry level DSLRs released this year. Its light and compact making it easy to carry around. D3100 smartly produces nice pictures and this is definitely a pick for me.
Nikon D5000
Announced in April 2009, Nikon D5000 is another entry level DSLR with 12.3 megapixel sensor. The best thing I like about this camera is it flip-out 2.7" LCD screen with live view. It is great for composing shot from low or high angles and will be handy while recording videos. Yes, they do record 720 p videos.
D5000 is definitely better than D3000 but may not be when compared to the latest D3100. Flip-out LCD on D5000 is a great feature to have but with a significant larger LCD, a higher resolution and a slightly better noise performance, I will have D3100 above D5000 in my pick list.
Nikon D90
The Nikon D90 is a semi-pro DSLR with a 12.3 megapixel sensor. It has a sharp 920k dot 3" LCD with live view and can shoot HD videos at 720p.
I need to choose between the latest D3100 and the 2 year old Nikon D90. The video functionality on D3100 is way ahead of the Nikon D90 with its 1080p resolution and auto focusing while recording movies. I'm not a fan of video recording on DSLRs so that's not a feature I am going to worry about. D3100 is leaner, lighter and less costlier than the D90. Love the price part for sure.
The D90 has a larger and sharper viewfinder than D3100. I will be using that eye piece 90% of the time and this feature alone makes it comfortable for the eyes. D90 also has a built-in focus motor and that's how it worked for Nikon Cameras till a couple of years ago. It is an advantage allowing me use auto focus with old lenses which does not have an in built auto focus motor in their bodies. That's a sweet thing to have, if I can find used old lenses for half the price. D90 shoots faster at 4.5 frames per second compared to 3 frames per second of D3100. It also houses few buttons over its body for easy access of various setting, which makes shooting a lot easier.
Since I can fit Nikon D90 in to my budget, I decided to go with the time tested D90 over the latest kid on the block D3100.
Canon 550D (Rebel T2i)
Here the fruit picking game changes. I have already made up my mind for Nikon D90. So that is advantage Nikon. Then, why compare with Canon? My purpose of comparing it with Canon 550D is to see if it can really shake my decision. Ultimately, I want a good camera. Since I have been shooting a Nikon all the while, I don't want to move away from it. If D550 is way ahead of Nikon D90, I'm ready to change camps.
Canon 550D has a much higher resolution of 18 megapixel, which is almost 50% more than D90's offering. Its allows 1080 p video shooting at 30 fps compared to 720 p at 24fps from Nikon. It also has a sharper LCD with 1040k dots. With its ability to shoot at 6,400 ISO, without boosting, it is a stop ahead of D90. Also is it smaller, lighter and thinner than Nikon D90, making it easier to carry around. Yes, that was a lot of beating from Canon 550D.
D90 has better control over noise at higher ISOs. Image quality is a bit better than 550D and so are the dynamic range and color depth. It shoots faster at 4.5 vs 3.7 fps on 550D. It is easier on eyes with a larger viewfinder. Yes, D90 had enough to fight back.
This article on digitalriview.ca puts D90 and 550D side by side and does a lot of post-mortem and gives a thumps up to D90. I am happy to find that article. I bet, there are many that will do the same for 550D.
Finally
If I did not care about Canon and Nikon and just wanted to go with one good camera, either of them would do a good job. If video is your thing, Canon 550D is better placed. If its still image, flip a coin and you will not go wrong.
I still believe Nikon D90 has a bit of edge over Canon 550D and so I'm joining the Nikon family. Now I need to get the most important thing correct, the person behind the camera. And that's this blog all about.
I wanted a Nikon or a Canon Digital SLR and my priority being in the same order. After all, I had been shooting with a Nikon point-and-shoot from day one. So, how did Canon come into the picture? Its because, whenever I got a chance to shoot with a Canon compact, I found the images captured to be more pleasing to the eye off camera, compared to the ones produced by a Nikon. I have observed this 'dullness' on more than one occasion and yeah its always a bit sad to know that the equipment you don't own performs better than the one in hand. But, that is why God created Photoshop. And its not that hard to bump up colors, I guess.
The DSLR cameras in my search radar from the Nikon team were the D3000, D3100, D5000 and D90.
And from the Canon family, there was the mighty 550D.
Now starts the fruit picking.
Nikon D3000
Nikons D3000, announced in July 2009, is an entry level DSLR with 10.2 megapixel DX Sensor. It has a 3" LCD with 230K resolution and can shoot pictures with a maximum ISO of 3200.
10 megapixel is not so impressive these days and I wanted at least a 12 megapixel resolution for my camera. I prefer larger pixel size as I have found myself cropping photos while editing. Even though, it has a 3" LCD, 230K dots isn't enough to produce sharp images. Absence of Live view is one big disappointing thing, may be more than the absence of video recording capabilities.
I feel D3000 is a good camera but is not a worthy pick for me and will suit anyone with a tight budget but wants a better-than-compact image quality.
Nikon D3100
This probably one of the best entry level DSLRs released this year. Its light and compact making it easy to carry around. D3100 smartly produces nice pictures and this is definitely a pick for me.
Nikon D5000
D5000 is definitely better than D3000 but may not be when compared to the latest D3100. Flip-out LCD on D5000 is a great feature to have but with a significant larger LCD, a higher resolution and a slightly better noise performance, I will have D3100 above D5000 in my pick list.
Nikon D90
I need to choose between the latest D3100 and the 2 year old Nikon D90. The video functionality on D3100 is way ahead of the Nikon D90 with its 1080p resolution and auto focusing while recording movies. I'm not a fan of video recording on DSLRs so that's not a feature I am going to worry about. D3100 is leaner, lighter and less costlier than the D90. Love the price part for sure.
The D90 has a larger and sharper viewfinder than D3100. I will be using that eye piece 90% of the time and this feature alone makes it comfortable for the eyes. D90 also has a built-in focus motor and that's how it worked for Nikon Cameras till a couple of years ago. It is an advantage allowing me use auto focus with old lenses which does not have an in built auto focus motor in their bodies. That's a sweet thing to have, if I can find used old lenses for half the price. D90 shoots faster at 4.5 frames per second compared to 3 frames per second of D3100. It also houses few buttons over its body for easy access of various setting, which makes shooting a lot easier.
Since I can fit Nikon D90 in to my budget, I decided to go with the time tested D90 over the latest kid on the block D3100.
Canon 550D (Rebel T2i)
Canon 550D has a much higher resolution of 18 megapixel, which is almost 50% more than D90's offering. Its allows 1080 p video shooting at 30 fps compared to 720 p at 24fps from Nikon. It also has a sharper LCD with 1040k dots. With its ability to shoot at 6,400 ISO, without boosting, it is a stop ahead of D90. Also is it smaller, lighter and thinner than Nikon D90, making it easier to carry around. Yes, that was a lot of beating from Canon 550D.
D90 has better control over noise at higher ISOs. Image quality is a bit better than 550D and so are the dynamic range and color depth. It shoots faster at 4.5 vs 3.7 fps on 550D. It is easier on eyes with a larger viewfinder. Yes, D90 had enough to fight back.
This article on digitalriview.ca puts D90 and 550D side by side and does a lot of post-mortem and gives a thumps up to D90. I am happy to find that article. I bet, there are many that will do the same for 550D.
Finally
If I did not care about Canon and Nikon and just wanted to go with one good camera, either of them would do a good job. If video is your thing, Canon 550D is better placed. If its still image, flip a coin and you will not go wrong.
I still believe Nikon D90 has a bit of edge over Canon 550D and so I'm joining the Nikon family. Now I need to get the most important thing correct, the person behind the camera. And that's this blog all about.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Welcome to Better Photographer
Welcome to my blog 'Better Photographer'.
I'm Deepu Mathew, a 25 year old amateur photographer by interest and a software engineer by profession based out of Bangalore, India. I was bit by the photography bug 2 years before and that is when I gifted myself a Nikon mega zoom point-and-shoot camera, the Nikon P80. I love my camera and have enjoyed every moment I spend behind it. You can view a collection of my favorite pictures at http://shutterbugstore.blogspot.com.
I feel my pics are just mediocre and want to learn the techniques to create stunning images. The purpose of this blog is to share with everyone interested, my learning curve of photography. I intend to discuss with you my thoughts on photography, the lessons I learn, techniques I come across, books I read, interesting posts I find on the net and more.
Blogging is possibly the best way I can document and share everything I pick up, with you. I encourage you to share your comments and criticism with me, to make the blog more engaging and worthwhile.
Thanks for visiting. The journey thus begins...
I'm Deepu Mathew, a 25 year old amateur photographer by interest and a software engineer by profession based out of Bangalore, India. I was bit by the photography bug 2 years before and that is when I gifted myself a Nikon mega zoom point-and-shoot camera, the Nikon P80. I love my camera and have enjoyed every moment I spend behind it. You can view a collection of my favorite pictures at http://shutterbugstore.blogspot.com.
I feel my pics are just mediocre and want to learn the techniques to create stunning images. The purpose of this blog is to share with everyone interested, my learning curve of photography. I intend to discuss with you my thoughts on photography, the lessons I learn, techniques I come across, books I read, interesting posts I find on the net and more.
Blogging is possibly the best way I can document and share everything I pick up, with you. I encourage you to share your comments and criticism with me, to make the blog more engaging and worthwhile.
Thanks for visiting. The journey thus begins...
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