[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by Aroy

A good rule for tripods is the heavier the better.

That is not correct, then why should we have carbon fiber tripods?

get a more sturdy tripod, with a good load capacity. Should allow you to click comfortable without extending center column.

You can always add weight if its windy, why carry heavy weight all the time?

[ikoneer]

Hi,
I am planning to buy my first DSLR camera and have zeroed in NIKON D5100. The product is priced around Rs 33k at flipkart and around USD 600 in amazon.

I am travelling to usa shortly and would like to have your inputs on where to buy, since there is no big price difference is it better to buy in india itself, what are the advantages?

Also, please let me know whether its good to buy camera with auto focus or lens with inbuilt motor in them, i am seeing lots of discussion and understand that its a pricey affair in either case, so what are the workarounds available. Having used point and shoot camera, auto focus will be really help at least initially.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by ikoneer

Hi,
since there is no big price difference is it better to buy in india itself, what are the advantages?

Buy in India and you are coveredby warrenty ,So even if it costs little more purchacing in India is better.
Price difference is big in case of lens so you can buy that in US.

Originally Posted by ikoneer

Also, please let me know whether its good to buy camera with auto focus or lens with inbuilt motor in them, i am seeing lots of discussion and .

Buy Canon and this point becomes moot.

[thalavoy]

If you are going to USA, then you should pick up cameras/systems that you can't pick up in India. For example, Pentax.
A colourful Pentax K-30 with 2 lens kit would serve you really well. You can then stand apart from the Canikon crowd

[jacs]

Pardon me if I am so stupid to ask these questions. Though budget constrained, I started thinking of swaping my Canon 18-55 Non-IS and Sigma 70-300 DG Macro for a better quality all-rounder travel lens as Canon 50 1.8 Prime is glued to my 1000D most of the time.

Offcourse suggestions are welcome as I moved to Kochi and no Toehold to rent me lenses for on hand experience .

Would these better lenses feel unrespected while mounted on 1000D? Would it really become a need to consider a body change in near future, I am bit confused? I am not really worried about mpx till date, only concern is on the limited AF points available.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by jacs

Offcourse suggestions are welcome as I moved to Kochi and no Toehold to rent me lenses for on hand experience .

Two upgrades (Real Upgrades) I can suggest :
- A 70-200 F4 IS
- 10-22

I can assure you that if you are no into birding you can cover almost every thing. I never felt the need for the 18-55, after I switched.
I did not go for 55-250 and saved for the 70-200. But really... it was WORTH it !

You also have the prime. These are of course expensive (more so after price correction), but I am sure you wont anything else after that. (Well may be a macro at best).

[jacs]

Originally Posted by ampere

Two upgrades (Real Upgrades) I can suggest :
- A 70-200 F4 IS
- 10-22

I can assure you that if you are no into birding you can cover almost every thing. I never felt the need for the 18-55, after I switched.
I did not go for 55-250 and saved for the 70-200. But really... it was WORTH it !

You also have the prime. These are of course expensive (more so after price correction), but I am sure you wont anything else after that. (Well may be a macro at best).

Thanks Ampere. Shaju also suggested Ultra-wides to replace my kit lens. I am trying to get one for couple of days and convince myself by playing around. Heard Tokina is the favorite of most of our BHPians.

My Sigma is just used for Macros though not great for handheld shots. I am eyeing on a Raynox kit for Macro shots which is the cheapest best. Just waiting for some buddies to return from US.

70-200 IS F4 L used to be in my search cache but completely out of my budget now! So no Super Zoom in radar for now. I can rely on my Sigma for some relief

Offlate got a chance to feel the 24-105 F4 L, it sounded a good companion for any travel covering reasonable range without much compromise on light. Whats your take on that?

[jacs]

Originally Posted by jacs

Thanks Ampere. Shaju also suggested Ultra-wides to replace my kit lens. I am trying to get one for couple of days and convince myself by playing around. Heard Tokina is the favorite of most of our BHPians.

My Sigma is just used for Macros though not great for handheld shots. I am eyeing on a Raynox kit for Macro shots which is the cheapest best. Just waiting for some buddies to return from US.

70-200 IS F4 L used to be in my search cache but completely out of my budget now! So no Super Zoom in radar for now. I can rely on my Sigma for some relief

Offlate got a chance to feel the 24-105 F4 L, it sounded a good companion for any travel covering reasonable range without much compromise on light. Whats your take on that?

How is the usabilty of a 70-200 F4 Non IS? Could see many used ones for sale ar <30K budget.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by jacs

Offlate got a chance to feel the 24-105 F4 L, it sounded a good companion for any travel covering reasonable range without much compromise on light. Whats your take on that?

Definitely 24-105 F4 IS L is a amazing walk through lens. But I would still recommend a 70-200 because you can get amazing candids too.

[Me-hul]

Originally Posted by ikoneer

Hi,
I am planning to buy my first DSLR camera and have zeroed in NIKON D5100. The product is priced around Rs 33k at flipkart and around USD 600 in amazon.

I am travelling to usa shortly and would like to have your inputs on where to buy, since there is no big price difference is it better to buy in india itself, what are the advantages?

Also, please let me know whether its good to buy camera with auto focus or lens with inbuilt motor in them, i am seeing lots of discussion and understand that its a pricey affair in either case, so what are the workarounds available. Having used point and shoot camera, auto focus will be really help at least initially.

Flipkart, nowadays, is not among the cheapest to buy stuff. Give ebay a try.
Usually there are deals wherein you get D5100 as low as 28k. Keep looking in the deals section.
Regarding in-built focus motor, it does help to have a built-in motor to save costs later on lenses. To give an idea, Canon 50 1.8(w/o auto focus) would cost you 7k+ Inr, whereas Nikon 50 1.8 with auto-focus would set you back by nearly 14 k. Now since Canon cams have in-built motors you can buy lenses w/o focus motors.
You can save up on lenses, and invest on better lenses in future.
Hope this helps.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by Me-hul

Flipkart, nowadays, is not among the cheapest to buy stuff. Give ebay a try.
Usually there are deals wherein you get D5100 as low as 28k. Keep looking in the deals section.
Regarding in-built focus motor, it does help to have a built-in motor to save costs later on lenses. To give an idea, Canon 50 1.8(w/o auto focus) would cost you 7k+ Inr, whereas Nikon 50 1.8 with auto-focus would set you back by nearly 14 k. Now since Canon cams have in-built motors you can buy lenses w/o focus motors.
You can save up on lenses, and invest on better lenses in future.
Hope this helps.

Just a correction ALL canon lenses have built in focus motor.
All EF lenses auto focus on all canon bodies and no body has motor.
Additionally you can use m42, m39 , k mount , nikon F mount and various other manual lenses with adapter except canon FD and minorita MD lenses.


Problem is Nikon specific as not all F mount lenses have motor and not all bodies have motor. Also lower end Nikon bodies can not meter with some older nikon lenses.
In some cases you need to check AI/AIS differences as well.

[gd1418]

I am planning to sell my D300 - Serial #: 6033729 - Date of purchase: 2009-08-18 - approx 8K actuations. What should I expect?

Thinking of either a D600 or D7100. Comments & suggestions...

p.s. - Any news of the rumoured D400?

[Samba]

Originally Posted by gd1418

I am planning to sell my D300 - Serial #: 6033729 - Date of purchase: 2009-08-18 - approx 8K actuations. What should I expect?

Thinking of either a D600 or D7100. Comments & suggestions...

p.s. - Any news of the rumoured D400?

If you have compatible lens then you should go for the full frame body. That will definitely give you much more advantage in low light situations. Over all you are upgrading from D300 which is an excellent body. Plus D600 is a bit more time tested and has got good reviews too whereas the D7100 is too new in the market, so if the first lot gets some bug it has to get fixed. If your target is to go for the D7100 I would suggest you to wait for a couple of months. But no doubt both are very capable cameras.
Oops just saw your signature i missed it out! As you already have a D800 then you can very well consider the D7100. As the 1.5x crop factor will give you more advantage in shooting birds or wild life.

[ikoneer]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Buy Canon and this point becomes moot.

Thanks Amit, what are the models to consider in canon at the same price range

Originally Posted by thalavoy

If you are going to USA, then you should pick up cameras/systems that you can't pick up in India. For example, Pentax.
A colourful Pentax K-30 with 2 lens kit would serve you really well. You can then stand apart from the Canikon crowd

It's just that being a newbie, would like to go along with the crowd. Thanks for the tip, let me check the model

Originally Posted by Me-hul

Flipkart, nowadays, is not among the cheapest to buy stuff. Give ebay a try.
Usually there are deals wherein you get D5100 as low as 28k. Keep looking in the deals section.
Regarding in-built focus motor, it does help to have a built-in motor to save costs later on lenses.

Thanks me- hul. I haven't done any big purchase in flipkart except books and small stuff. The experience has been good so far. Another major reason, for autofocus is, my kids are after the camera always and they will not leave the slr as well, so it's better I have one with autofocus so they will not touch the lens.

An open question to all camera gurus, are there any other models apart from Nikon and canon in this price range with better features and functionality. Is it a wise option to consider those?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by ikoneer

I am travelling to usa shortly and would like to have your inputs on where to buy, since there is no big price difference is it better to buy in india itself, what are the advantages?

USA is the land of plenty. So no matter where you go you should be able to find some specialized camera shops. If you find yourself in New York I would highly recommend visiting B&H. See http://www.bhphotovideo.com

By the way B&H stands for Beards and Hats. Go figure, these day under the diversity rules you will actually find shop assistants without beards and hats. Last time I was helped by a Jamaican guy with dreadlocks. Admittedly he did look a bit out of place, but he was very pleasant and knowledgeable.

Still, this shop is an experience and something to be seen to be believed. Your purchases are carried around on elevated conveyor belts. I've been there twice in the last four years and I still order most of my photographic equipment from them as well. I find they are usually pretty competitive on prices and their services are very good. Helpful, knowledgable staff whether you go to the shop or whether you shop on line.

But like I said, the USA is the land of plenty so you should be able to find well stocked photography stores everywhere. If you're looking for the big brands and not necessarily the latest models try a place like Best Buy or Nebraska Furniture or similar places.

In all honesty I have no experience buying my photographic equipment in India. I've been in Delhi for 8 months and nothing, not a single store comes close to what you will find in the USA. Maybe price wise there's not much difference these days. But if you just would like to indulge and spend literally a few hours just mooching around photographic equipment, talking to knowledgable and friendly staff in a shop that basicly more or less stocks everything, the US is difficult to beat. On photography and most other hobbies too, if I'm honest.

There used to be a very nice specialized camera shop in Topeka about a hour and a half driving from Kansas City where we lived. Every now and then I would just drive over and just spent a few hours looking at their stuff. Just remember to bring your credit card!

Good luck and enjoy your stay in the US. We sure did!

Jeroen