Nikon D3100

Why do I like Kelly Brook, well simple answer is right stuff at right place and bonus now is right price. I personally never believed in D3000 or D60 as a matter of fact (after D40). But I happened to be in store and saw D3100 and bingo, I touched this camera and like it right away. The controls, specification, grip, screen, video and quality. The first thing I did was to come back and read its extensive reviews available all over the web. Now I don't hesitate to recommend this fine piece to my close friends. Anyone looking for better quality than point and shoot camera, this is the best camera to move on.

But when you look for such camera, which lens is best? Well it comes with 18-55mm lens kit. This is a fine lens however its reach is very limited. The least I recommend is 18-105mm VR. But no matter which zoom lens you buy: here is my personal advice:

- If possible buy body only.
- If possible, go for 18-105mm lens atleast.
- 18-55 mm lens is very nice lens except for its reach. If you buy this one, you have all the reasons to be happy except for one.
- Don't forget to buy 35mm F1.8 (almost $190). This is best lens for low light or indoor pictures at low cost with this camera.
- SB400 will make a fine pair with this camera.
- Don't forget to buy a bag which is small enough to carry all this, lowpro is my favorite.
- Good speed SD cards are highly recommended. Go for San Disk.

I am not writing detailed review because I don't own this camera and its available with few fine sites like www.dpreview.com

Star Rating; * * * * * (4.5 star) for this category in 2010.

Punch: Don't wait, precious life is passing by 24 hours every day :)

[Updated: Nov 2010] Nikon is getting better at shots

2 new cameras for this season (few more but 2 worth mention). D90 replacement D7000 and P6000 replacement or Canon G11 competition P7000).

Nikon D7000: A very (very) impressive camera with following points nailed:

- Base ISO 100.
- Weather sealed body.
- Lots of buttons. (much better than D90).
- Auto Focus on Full HD movie with different frame rates.
- 39 point auto focus.
- Expeed 2 processing engine.
- 16 MP, picture quality reviews will come in some time.
- 100% penta prizm view finder coverage.
- Plus Everything D90 good at.
- Base price of 1K.
- Better shutter count and dual memory card slots.

I am wondering what will the D300s replacement do next year :)
Update [Nov 2010]: I am liking this camera more and more, I own it now as well.

Nikon P7000 (quite similar name):

- Small point and shoot with all manual capabilities.
- Better sensor and low light capacity.
- Rugged and Expeed 2 processing engine.
- Nice screen and HD video capacity.
- Lots of buttons and view finder too.
- External flash shoe and very good lens range.

BUT no swirl screen (Canon G12 is already in today).

Nikon SB-700 Speedlight Misses it by a pinch.

Nikon just announced a new speedlight designed to complement the flagship SB-900. The Nikon SB-700 Speedlight will cost $329.95, and includes some mouth-watering features. But they have excluded a key feature that will make you wanna pull your hair out. Any guesses? In Sync 2.5 sec recycle w/NiMH (3 w/alkaline) SB-900 control interface (knobs and switches) FX/DX chip size recognition for on-camera beam spread Can be a Master and Remote flash for CLS users (but only controls two groups)  Beam shaping, like the SB-900 Auto FX and DX detection, good zoom and wide range. Exposure point set from point to full frame. Lots of buttons (I like buttons and don't like menu digging). Comes with all light bouncer, diffuser, color gel hold and colored set. Quick Wireless Mode lets you dial in A:B ratios. Kinda Canon-ish, IMO. Out of Sync No PC jack that I can see anywhere. Costly. Bag seems to be bulky. But overall I am happy to see this flash with few nimble changes making a good deal of differences.

New iPod Touch

Okay so you will read/see a lot about it but its my first take as it is launched just 15 mins back and I don't have it in my hands (i may not have it for few days or not have it at all). So lets start:

Apart from every other feature, I was interested in photographer's point of view. hence the features I was looking forward to are:
- Camera (both side is plus), we don't carry slr's everywhere.
- Video Camera (facetime is plus).
- Good display - to carry best shots from me (helps people convince :)
- Emails (with wifi it helps checking emails everywhere anywhere).
- 64 GB with good price.

Other features I was looking forward to are:
- Foremost FM Radio (radio dvr is plus, like nano).
- GPS capabilities (I don't want to have more gadgets for my trips).
- Bluetooth audio (streaming songs over air).
- Better compatibility with my home network and TV.
- Good battery life will be plus.
- Scratch free surface will keep it beautiful.
- Better gaming capabilities.

I did get pretty much everything (Both side camera, HD video, games, bluetooth, 40 hours battary, nike) in this generation but Radio and GPS is still missing. So I am waiting for nice reviews to appear on it and tell me if I can play radio anywhere. 90% I am going for it but 10% can become 0 or 100 :)

!!Caution!! Rear Camera is not even 1 MP, iPhone has 5 MP.

Happy touching.

Shower under sky

I tried a lot in 2008 when there was a huge meteor shower and went with my friend Amitabh and my father in law GMP. We camped for few hours on Mt. Hamilton, took lots of pictures but couldn't capture any. We saw a lot but nothing for digital memory. This time Varun & Neha were around and went with whole gang on 12th August 2010 on Mt. Hamilton. Police stopped us to go further way up to Lick Observatory, took U turn and parked at a nice place, after few mins, police again kicked us, but we got smarter this time. we parked right outside a house. Piku slept and it was past mid night. I carried tripods and Nikon D300s with my fancy 14-24 F2.8. Opened it all wide and took some nice pictures and bingo. I got one (broken star) this time and i was done for the year :) Everyone including Anita saw these and we came back by 2 am. though it was not a huge success, it was still better than 2008 when out of 200 pictures none captured a broken star. :)

Camera Settings: 

Camera: Nikon D300s

ISO: 200

Shutter speed: Bulb mode with 60 sec recorded from watch.

Aperture: F2.8

Lens: Nikon 14-24 F2.8 FX.

Mount: Tripd and facing sky above.

Used remote cable and noise reduction off.

Note: More than 60 sec was giving lines because sky is moving continuously.

Which camera I should buy??

Oh boy!! On popular demand. This is tough one but explanation is easy.  Its all 3 :)
- There are 3 type of camera in digital format. (SLR - Single light Ray, Micro 4/3, Point & Shoot).
- There are 3 type of usage: Low light, Day light, Mix light.
- There are 3 type of customer preferences: Cost, Weight, Quality. Obviously all want least cost, least weight and highest quality.
- There are 3 type of lens (Wide, Normal, Zoom). Any camera offering wide to zoom will be rich in feature but not very fine in optical quality simply by design. Canon SX series leads in super zoom category.

- There are 3 parameters:
1. Aperture: Its opening to decide how much light should go in at once, good for low light, more opening is indicated by lower number. F1.4 is more aperture than F1.8. Factors are (f1.4, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.8, 3.5). Costliest and most desirable lens are of high aperture (not to mention they support no aperture anyday). Only micro 4/3 and slr type camera offer you to change the lens type. Canon S90 has bigger aperture lens in point & shoot category too (but only on wide side).

2. Shutter Speed: It decides for how long light will go in. Faster means action freeze. With kids & sports you mostly want fast shutter speeds. All camera are good from this point.

3. ISO: Most important these days, its sensitivity of sensor which higher is more desirable but higher also means more grains. Hence camera should be able to reduce that. It comes in factor of 100, 200, 400, 800... etc. Each one doubles the sensitivity. Point & shoot don't go without grains above 400 and SLR goes to 1600 sometimes.

Now verdict:
SLR: They offer best quality and freedom to switch lens but are bulky and costly. Least on feature like video, wifi but manual controls are best.
Micro 4/3: Offers freedom to change lens, compact and manual controls are good, picture quality not as good as SLR (nick pick). - value of money.
Point & Shoot: Compact, super zoom and good ones fall here, select based on your preferences and your understanding of material written above.

Contact us for further doubt.

Before I Hit the Shutter I Ask Myself (oh really!!) :

1. What mode do I want to shoot in? Manual, AP, SP, Auto or a pre-programed mode?
2. If I’m using a pre-set, what F-Stop or Shutter Speed am I going to use?
3. What format do I want to shoot in RAW or jpeg?
4. What’s my ISO? Is it fast/slow enough?
5. Too grainy for the shot?
6. What White Balance am I set on?
7. Do I need to set custom White Balance?
8. Did I bring my 18% Grey Card?
9. What Metering Mode should I be on?
10. What Colour setting do I need?
11. Am I going to use Manual or Auto Focus?
12. Do I want to Bracket the shot?
13. Am I going to use a Flash?
14. And how am I going to use it?
15. What story am I trying to tell?
16. Do I need to change lenses?
17. If so, which one?
18. Am I shooting in Landscape or Portrait perspective, or even a jaunty angle?
19. Do I need to use a Tripod?
20. Will I use the Rule of Thirds or break it?
21. What other rules should I be following?
22. Are there Leading Lines I can use in the shot?
23. What about finding an S-curve for the leading line?
24. Is there any thing I can use to Frame my picture? e.g. Tree branches.
25. Will I change this to B&W, Sepia or something else post production?
26. Do I have a Focal Point?
27. Is my subject Moving or Stationary?
28. For Moving Subjects, do I want to Pan the shot, Blur the background or Blur the subject?
29. Is there a Pattern I can pick up on?
30. How’s the lighting?  Are the shadows strong or weak?
31. Do I want to emphasize them?
32. Is the light too strong?
33. Will it wash out detail?
34. Is my horizon straight?
35. Can I get this at a better angle?
36. Should I wait for better lighting?
37. What does the light meter read?
38. Should I increase shutter speed or open up the aperture?
39. Is it in focus?
40. Did I just miss a great shot?