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).

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.