[chethan.ram]

I checked few DSLRs in Ebay India site and the prices are pretty competitive compared to the store prices. Is it okay to pick up from Ebay? If anyone has picked up from Ebay, please share your experiences.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

I checked few DSLRs in Ebay India site and the prices are pretty competitive compared to the store prices. Is it okay to pick up from Ebay? If anyone has picked up from Ebay, please share your experiences.

I got my Olympus EPL1 from ebay (seller:jjmehta). There are many reputed sellers on ebay who sell with Warranty and as long as you pick a good seller you should be okay. Also make sure that they ship out these high value items via a reputed courier service.

[fazalaliadil]

Fazal, I've removed your post. Please post it here.

Interested members can check out SONY ∞ 900 once Fazal puts it up there.

[clevermax]

@fazal: The gear (Alpha 900 and the lenses) is superb... I only wish if I had the Vitmain M to get these.

[rkbharat]

bought Kenko Extension tube, as no money for Macro lens. Here few pics

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by R2D2

why didnt you go in for the Nikon D3100?

I am in the same boat. Nikon site is not helpful either. From the specs, it seems above D5000, but for the description it says an enty level D-SLR, which the D3000 is right now. No dealer seem to be knowing the exact launch date and all speculate above 35k price. How can this be an entry level product then?

Waiting till Nikon puts up an official recommended price on its website.

[Abbas]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

I have one with me. The cover is absolutely cheap. At full length it may be dicey to leave a heavy camera like a DSLR in open when wind speed is high. Well, at least it gives that kind of feeling but it has never happened to me. Its a starters tripod if you dont want to upgrade for some time or your tripod usage is minimal.

All said and done it works fine, it has all the features of a good tripod. Just be careful using it in open as i said before.

For a beginner its fine. Price is fine too if you can not find it nearby in any shop.

Thanks for your valuable input. I think i will go ahead with this.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

The Auto mode has been removed from the Pro/semi pro DSLR. My D300 has P mode max and no auto mode, which is indeed useful when I have to quickly take a shot on streets. It saves a lot of time in metering and setting apertures/shutters etc.

The P mode in Nikon (I am not too conversant with Canon) is quite literally an 'Automatic' mode where the camera sets the exposure (shutter speed, F stop) for the given situation and subject. Nikons, depending on which model you have refer to a database/map of exposure values and select one that best matches the scene.

IMHO, I find this tendency to look down on Automatic or semi automatic mode rather silly. Next we'll have someone saying using manual focus is the mark of a pro while auto focus is for amateurs! Comon guys! Both auto and manual focus + exposure have their own place. A modern camera, even the consumer or pro-sumer variety, is MUCH faster than any human being in calculating and setting focus and exposure and this goes especially for moving objects and tricky lighting situations. Yes you need manual or exposure settings (Aperture or Shutter priority or full manual) only when the camera cant cope up for example in low light with slow lenses OR when you need to use settings for additional creativity for e.g. increasing DoF, bokeh or what have you.

Cheers!

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

bought Kenko Extension tube, as no money for Macro lens.

rk, I might end up buying the same set which I could have done long back instead of spending money on Tamron 90 f/2.8 and selling it recently. Tamron was a good dedicated macro lens, but I couldn't like the limited 'working distance'. Did you get it as a set of 3 ? Please mention the 'from' and 'how much' part of it .

[naveenvenkatesh]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Congrats on the new camera!

Nice photos. I think you can start by not being awed by your new DSLR. These are not monsters but tools that will help you take photos.

YOU are the one that composes & creates, the camera will capture it for you. I've been dabbling on and off in photography since I was in school i.e. over 3 decades ago so here's a heads up - photography can be a very expensive hobby. there are many pro, advanced amateurs and amateur photographers on TBHP...Rudra Sen in a pro. Check out his photos. They are very inspiring and just phenomenal.

PS-why didnt you go in for the Nikon D3100?

Good luck!

Cheers!

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

Congrats on you new DSLR. Where did you pick it up and how much did you pay?

Pictures posted by Rudra are so inspiring that am even thinking of going for a DSLR. While I was researching information on the web, I came across few places where they conduct photography courses in Bangalore. Below are the links.

Photography Workshop and Course in Bangalore

Basic Courses

Hope this helps.

@R2D2, Thanks. This camera was a gift to my Father this festival. So i had absolutely no idea about it! It came to my house last week and i only got to know about it on Sat! The price mentioned on the box is about 30K.

@ Chetan.ram. Thanks a lot for the links. Its time to take the course!

[thalavoy]

Originally Posted by amitk26

ISO up to 25600, a 6 FPS shutter, dual power source (AA's or rechargeable battery), and improved autofocus

Looks pretty exciting for new Camera buyers over Ca-Nikons.

Amit. Pentax has not official presence in India. No repairs under warranty. They have to fix that and expand to many cities. Then they can hope to win over Canikon users. Not till then
I am waiting to see how the AF performance of K-5 is going to be.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by thalavoy

Amit. Pentax has not official presence in India. No repairs under warranty. They have to fix that and expand to many cities. Then they can hope to win over Canikon users. Not till then
I am waiting to see how the AF performance of K-5 is going to be.

well I purchased Canon 500D over K-x for same reason but K-R and K-5 leaves competition far behind in terms of features at given cost.

After experiencing Canon 500D all I can say is if one has to buy from Grey market which many people here do then there is not much difference if it is Canikon or not.

My concern earlier was getting accessories etc. in India but till now I have purchased everything from Amazon and e-bay because I find prices from Canon India for small items outrageous and more then cost + shipping combined if purchased online. Even for small things such as lens cap , hood prices for 3ed party Chinese stuff in Bangalore is more then price+shipping for Hongkong ebay sellers. So in the hind site I think if there is a huge price performance advantage no harm in Pentax in internet era.

Ofcourse I can not shift now becuase replacement cost will be huge.

[tsk1979]

Amit, the problem is lenses. All other accessories you can buy online at half the cost, but lenses are something you would want to purchase from a store, or from a reputed online dealer.
This is where pentax loses.
Camera markets in all big cities are flooded with common canon and nikon lenses.
I wanted a slightly uncommon lens, and had to struggle for a month, and I have a canon.
Now imagine, if I had a Pentax, getting a lens would be almost impossible!

[chethan.ram]

Originally Posted by naveenvenkatesh

@ Chetan.ram. Thanks a lot for the links. Its time to take the course!

Cannon offers fee sessions on SLRs. You might was to attend them. I do not have an SLR, but plan to pick up one soon. So thinking of attending one of their sessions. It could be of some help. Check the link for details.

Free Workshop Registration - Canon India

@Amitk26 : I had been to the Canon store and tried few of the, 1000D, 500D and 550D. 550D is way too expensive for me. Between 1000D and 500D, I liked 500D a lot. How much did you pay and where did you pick it up from. Ebay also offers a pretty decent price and also heard the we can buy the same from Metro will will easily cost 2-3k less than the MRP. Please share some of your reviews on the cam. Thanks in advance.

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

...but lenses are something you would want to purchase from a store, or from a reputed online dealer........if I had a Pentax, getting a lens would be almost impossible!

Couldnt agree more, lens is a delicate piece of glass, anything could go wrong in the process of packing, shipping, delivery etc. Getting a faulty piece is double the head ache and worry to get a replacement, specially when its coming from another country. So, its peace of mind to inspect it physically before picking up. So far I bought 7 lenses (4 already sold) and only one was shipped from B&H US (35mm 1.8), which became a painful experience, because I ended up paying equal to the MRP (with the duty and customs) on a US warranty thats useless here.

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

.....we can buy the same from Metro will will easily cost 2-3k less than the MRP.

Did you mean Metro Bangalore ? I have gone there a dozen times, never seen a DSLR cam or box in their electronics counter. There are many P&S cams displayed. I always spend 15 mts around that place when wifee does her shopping, so far couldn't find even a Class-6 memory card. So, if you are guessing the availability, please re-check. There are places like Jayesh etc who can offer the lowest in the whole of Bangalore city, no exaggeration.