[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Does getting it in US makes sense anymore, considering $ price currently? The best deal I could find is $600 which is more or less the same price here but with US warranty.

I think it doesnt anymore(Infact i did not see any need to ship from US in last 1-2 years).Now due to the weak rupee we might end up paying more in dollars. Also we get India warranty if we buy locally.

[Mugen_Power]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Thanks for suggesting 550D. Looks really good and am currently looking at deals for D3200 or 550D.


Congrats Mugen_Power. Would like to hear your initial impressions with you regarding the ease of use, features & the performance
Thats a very good deal. Like @rajshenoy, even I would also like to know about the source.


Does getting it in US makes sense anymore, considering $ price currently? The best deal I could find is $600 which is more or less the same price here but with US warranty.

Thanks.
I have bought it from Nikon official dealer itself but got good discount because he is friend of mine. Price is below 35K.

Size of camera is almost same as D40 which i had.
Picture and Full HD video quality is awesome. I liked the Guide Mode which is very useful for beginners like me.

Free bag quality is not the best and memory card is also class 4 so i have ordered Vertabim SDHC 32GB Class 10.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Mugen_Power

Thanks.
I have bought it from Nikon official dealer itself but got good discount because he is friend of mine. Price is below 35K.

Size of camera is almost same as D40 which i had.
Picture and Full HD video quality is awesome. I liked the Guide Mode which is very useful for beginners like me.

Free bag quality is not the best and memory card is also class 4 so i have ordered Vertabim SDHC 32GB Class 10.

Congrats! Please post more pics of camera, bag and if possible an HD video upload. IMO, it is better to have two or three 8GB cards instead of one single 32GB card.

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by Mugen_Power

Thanks.
I have bought it from Nikon official dealer itself but got good discount because he is friend of mine. Price is below 35K.

Thats cool. If possible, could you please ask your friend to refer the dealer here in B'lore? May be I could get a similar deal myself with your help

[Mugen_Power]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Congrats! Please post more pics of camera, bag and if possible an HD video upload. IMO, it is better to have two or three 8GB cards instead of one single 32GB card.

Will have to take and post.

I have bought 32GB specially for Full HD video recording. (20 Mins = 4 GB)

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Thats cool. If possible, could you please ask your friend to refer the dealer here in B'lore? May be I could get a similar deal myself with your help

I will ask him. What is the quote you have received?

[ntomer]

Originally Posted by ntomer

I opened this thread more than six years ago and bought a D50 :-) I also bought a Sigma 70-300 and a 50mm prime afterwards.

Now is the time to upgrade my gear, and I have got a good deal on a D300 (with MB-D10 grip, less than 10000 shots) and I am buying that. I also want to upgrade lenses and want to buy a good UWA and a good walk-around lens. I had decided upon Nikon 16-85 and Tokina 11-16 but then came the twist in the tale...

Tokina isn't available in India with bill and warranty. And I don't want to spend 36.5K without that assurance. So I am gravitating towards Sigma 10-20, which is available for 28K. Tamron 10-24 is available for 1K less, but is reportedly inferior to Sigma.

Now comes the more confusing part. I was decided upon Nikon 16-85, but the more I read about it, the more doubts I have. People say it's no great shakes and not at all value for money. Build quality is definitely good and it has a metal mount but how much would that matter.

Please tell me how goodis Tamron 17-50 F/2.8 in comparison to Nikon 16-85? And are there any other good walk-around lenses in this range (less than 35K)?

\N

Updated my gear, now I have -

1. Nikon D300, with MB-D10 vertical grip
2. Tamron 17-50 F/2.8
3. Tokina 11-16 F/2.8
4. Nikon 50mm F/1.8D
5. Sigma 70-300 F4-5.6 DG Macro
6. Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro legs
7. Manfrotto 141RC Head
8. Lowepro Fastpack 350
9. 2*16GB Sandisk Extreme 60 MB/s cards
10. Hoya HMC filters - 67mm and 77mm
11. Hoya 52mm Filter Kit - UV, ND and CPL
12. ML-L3 remote - which won't work with D300 :(

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Mugen_Power

Will have to take and post.
I have bought 32GB specially for Full HD video recording. (20 Mins = 4 GB)
I will ask him. What is the quote you have received?

Oh yes, for video it is better to have 32GB.

DIY Macro lighting
Yesterday I made a DIY lighting setup for macro photography. The idea is fully based on the Pringles can DIY macro setup explained here. But I improved it a little bit.

Things you need:
1) A Pringles can
2) Rubber bands or tapes
3) White tissue paper
4) Tools to cut through the base metal sheet of the can
5) Hungry stomachs and time to finish off the chips

Cost:
INR 120 for a pack of Pringles chips.

The idea is to drill a rectangular hole with the same size as that of your flash (the light's part alone) in the can's base metal sheet and then to place it on top of your lens. On the other end, white tissue paper can be fixed to diffuse light. The interior of Pringles can is all siver so it will do a very good job in transmitting light.

In the link, it is seen that the can is cut straight at the end but in my setup, I cut it with an angle so that the diffusing surface gets more surface area and it faces the subject in a better angle



What you see:
Sony A35 + Minolta 70-210mm f/4 + Raynox DCR250 with Pringles can lighting setup

Yesterday I put this setup to test and results are impressive. I can shoot in any available light at the narrowest aperture (f/32 in beercan) in ISO100 with a shutter speed of 1/160! I took several pictures but here is a sample from non-auto image thread.


The sharpness and the detail you get is just amazing with this kind of EXIF. Since I can shoot at f/32, I get pretty decent DOF too. Thanks to EVF, I can nail the focus easily for handheld shots. This spider was about an inch long and this is a handheld shot!

This set up is a must have for macro shooters if you have not invested in an expensive lighting setup and has no plans to do it.

[Mugen_Power]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Congrats! Please post more pics of camera, bag and if possible an HD video upload. IMO, it is better to have two or three 8GB cards instead of one single 32GB card.

Pictures taken from mobile cam.

[nfsfreak]

I got a quote of Rs 36.8 K for Canon 550D with 18-55mm lens & Rs 36K for Canon 1100D with 18-250mm lens. Which one is better?
Freebies offered for both are same: Lens cleaning kit, Camera bag, 4GB SD card.

For Nikon D3200 (with 18-55mm VR Lens) the best deal I could get here in B'lore so far is Rs 36K with Tripod stand, Cleaning kit, filters, Camera bag, 4GB SD Case offered as freebies.

I am just looking for an entry level DSLR to get into the world of Photography, so Gurus please advise

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

... Nikon D3200 (with 18-55mm VR Lens) the best deal I could get here in B'lore ...

Where exactly did you get this deal from?

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Where exactly did you get this deal from?

From various Nikon dealers. This deal is from Das Cameras (Brigade Road) and few other dealers willing to match the price.

[mayankjha1806]

Where else one can buy a camera, one of my photographer friend says there is someone called Jitesh who gives a good deal. Does anyone know about him?

I have a Nikon N70 (Film based camera) and two lenses along with it, one is a Tokina lens (30/300 or 80/300 have not checked) and another is a Nikon standard (18/55) lens. These are about 10 year old lenses. Should i buy another Nikon Digital camera body and use these lenses or go with some other brand like Canon.

How do i check if the lenses are fine, or is there a way to get them serviced? Also are online prices (Like flipkart) are cheaper or should i hit a store?

How do i check what mount the lenses are? are there many mounts? If i was already a Nikon user can i buy any Nikon SLR camera eyes closed and the existing lenses will fit?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

I have a Nikon N70 (Film based camera) and two lenses along with it, one is a Tokina lens (30/300 or 80/300 have not checked) and another is a Nikon standard (18/55) lens. These are about 10 year old lenses. Should i buy another Nikon Digital camera body and use these lenses or go with some other brand like Canon.

You will need to buy atleast D90 or D7000 to use Autofocus with these older lenses.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Mugen_Power

Pictures taken from mobile cam.

Thanks for the pics. The free bag looks very good. How is the LCD compared to older model? It now has more resolution I guess (920K?)

On another topic,
I was doing some pixel peeping (photographic tests) of various cameras and came across this - these are pictures of the same test frame taken by different cameras. In two of the images marked, we can see lines connecting the black squares diagonally but in the actual image, there is nothing like that and it is just a chessboard kind of arrangement.

It is present in both jpeg and RAW - does anyone know what kind of optical distortion is causing this? It is very evident in D3200's test shot.

[ajman28]

Originally Posted by download2live

50mm prime has spoiled you.
A zoom with bright lens at tele end will be rather expensive. Not sure if 25k will be enough. Why not try to walk up closer and take pictures?

The problem I usually face during parties/wedding is not about getting closer to the subject, infact it's the opposite. Capturing a group snap is usually the problem with the 50mm. I guess a 18-80 with a large aperture should also be sufficient.

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

I got a quote of Rs 36.8 K for Canon 550D with 18-55mm lens & Rs 36K for Canon 1100D with 18-250mm lens.

Is the 18-250 a Canon lens? What's the aperture limit?