The DSLR Information Thread

[Prakritij]

30 k, that's my approximate budget. your suggestions please

for your budget, I can recommend you the Nikon D5200 which comes for around 33k at Amazon.in bundled with a 18-55mm kit lens, a 8GB card and a bag.
It has a nice sensor, 39AF points, swivel LCD, built in HDR and selective color photography(both can be done in post processing but in-camera feature is helpful).
You can also go for the lesser priced Nikon D5100(11AF points) and used the money on additional lenses.

^just my 2cents and I have no idea about equivalent Canon or Sony products.

 

[saideb79]

• What is your budget ?

I don’t believe in one DSLR for learning and then buy another once you think you have learnt the basics. Get a decent gear based on your area of interest and budget.


The best buy should be the Nikkor 70-300 VR but you will need to stretch your budget a bit to about 30-32k.
You also have Nikkor 55-300 VR which is well within your budget. I used to own it for a couple of years and it’s not a slouch at all.
If you have the budget, get the 70-300 VR, if not, a more flexible [wider] and cheaper 55-300 VR should do just fine.

Thanks for clearly pointing out the options available in my budget, i think I will go for the 70-300 lens.

 

[manojodungat]

Tried the wide-angle yesterday, a couple of shots with my 18-35 AF-S VR.

The low resolution of the un-cropped.


The heavy crop !

 

[edios]

Is that from your D610? Wide angle looks cool. Which place is it?

 

[manojodungat]

Is that from your D610? Wide angle looks cool. Which place is it?

Yes but don't judge the capability of the camera+ lens based on the above picture.

Had bit of sun, hence went for a short walk after lunch with it. Wanted to give both camera and lens a bit of fresh air and light. Its consistently dark + wet + cold = recipe for fungal attack I guess.

You can see below two pictures to know how much cropping does the camera allow for a usable image.

 

[edios]

Yes but don't judge the capability of the camera+ lens based on the above picture.:

Had bit of sun, hence went for a short walk after lunch with it. Wanted to give both camera and lens a bit of fresh air and light. Its consistently dark + wet + cold = recipe for fungal attack I guess.

You can see below two pictures to know how much cropping does the camera allow for a usable image.

View attachment 156102

Oh my god! That's some serious.... cropping..

D7000 is just a... low end crap in front of it.

 

[Rajeshmurali]

FRIENDS,

I purchased Nikon D3300 with kit lens 18-55 from amazon. 8GB memory card and Bag as combo.
Do I need to register online for warranty? if yes, on Nikon India site?

2 year comprehensive warranty card by Nikon India, 1 year service warranty slip for camera by Nikon India, 1 year world wide service warranty for AF-S DX 18-55/3.5-5.6G VR II lens by Nikon India slip, Retail/Tax invoice/Cash memorandum, E-sugam form are included.

please guide me how to check the warranty provided is valid? customer care of Nikon says I must carry the camera along with bill and warranty card to any of the four centers (Trivandrum, cochin,
trichur, Calicut)

 

[manojodungat]

D7000 is just a... low end crap in front of it

Nope.
Being a DX, the pictures come cropped by default on a D7000. At the same 500mm and distance, on a D7000, one can get a better reach that you may not need to do such an aggressive tight cropping for the same output. Of course, an FX has its own full frame advantage and D610 has more MPs and much better ISO performance too. Having said that, the D610 AF sucks in low light.

FRIENDS,

I purchased Nikon D3300 with kit lens 18-55 from amazon. 8GB memory card and Bag as combo.
Do I need to register online for warranty? if yes, on Nikon India site?

2 year comprehensive warranty card by Nikon India, 1 year service warranty slip for camera by Nikon India, 1 year world wide service warranty for AF-S DX 18-55/3.5-5.6G VR II lens by Nikon India slip, Retail/Tax invoice/Cash memorandum, E-sugam form are included.

please guide me how to check the warranty provided is valid? customer care of Nikon says I must carry the camera along with bill and warranty card to any of the four centers (Trivandrum, cochin,trichur, Calicut)

AFAIK, Nikon India does not guarantee that they will honour products bought from online stores. It doesn’t mean that the one you bought from the online store isn’t a genuine product. Please do get it checked @ one of the nearby Nikon authorized centres, if it’s playing in your mind.

I don’t think you will need to register your product to avail any warranties it came with but will do no harm in doing so. When I bought my gear in China, I was told if registered I am entitled for an additional year of warranty coverage. I haven’t done it yet though, but then that is because I don't read and write Chinese.

Have loads of fun with your new acquisition and don’t forget to post pictures out here.

 

[Rajeshmurali]

Have loads of fun with your new acquisition and don’t forget to post pictures out here.

Thanks for your advise.

the motivation behind my acquisition is this thread and wonderful pictures posted by you and other experts like HR and many more.

as of now, I am going through the tutorials and presently using AUTO mode only

surely I will try my best to post some pictures taken on other modes, at the earliest

 

[manojodungat]

as of now, I am going through the tutorials and presently using AUTO mode only.

That is a good start. In Auto, one can concentrate on framing your subject and composition.
Next up, you may want to switch over to Aperture Priority Mode (A) which is what I shoot most of the time these days.
Since you have the 18-55 mm, keeping the focal length @ 55mm, try shooting at various f-numbers in the available light to learn about DOF.
For landscapes, with 18-55 I used to shoot @18mm mostly from f- 10, and even f-22 when in very bright light.

Happy clicking !

Edit: A couple of excellent websites I visit regularly !
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm
https://photographylife.com/iso-shutter-speed-and-aperture-for-beginners

 

[manojodungat]

A crop, similar to my earlier post, for composition. The OOF branches surrounding the bird looked so distracting that I was about to delete the original image.

​

Note: No "noise reduction" done at all !
Dimensions: 2514 x 3000 [pixels]

 

[edios]

Nope.
Being a DX, the pictures come cropped by default on a D7000. At the same 500mm and distance, on a D7000, one can get a better reach that you may not need to do such an aggressive tight cropping for the same output. Of course, an FX has its own full frame advantage and D610 has more MPs and much better ISO performance too. Having said that, the D610 AF sucks in low light.

I'm happy with my D7000.

I've only one question, will the D5200/D5300 give better or equal outputs as D7000?

 

[manojodungat]

I've only one question, will the D5200/D5300 give better or equal outputs as D7000?

IMHO, I don’t expect to see any difference in quality between the un-cropped images "on/for screen' from these two camera bodies.

Both these cameras have their own characteristics. While D7000 has a built-in AF motor [allows you to buy much cheaper nikkor D lenses], is 1fps faster, has a faster shutter speed range, almost double battery life and much better built + weather sealed, + more external controls + a slot for a second card, D5300 comes with a sensor with more M-pixels + some fancy features.

Mind you D7000 comes with AF-fine tune adjustment for your lenses which I thought is very handy.

BTW, which lenses do you use with your D7000?

 

[edios]

IMHO, I don’t expect to see any difference in quality between the un-cropped images "on/for screen' from these two camera bodies.

Both these cameras have their own characteristics. While D7000 has a built-in AF motor [allows you to buy much cheaper nikkor D lenses], is 1fps faster, has a faster shutter speed range, almost double battery life and much better built + weather sealed, + more external controls + a slot for a second card, D5300 comes with a sensor with more M-pixels + some fancy features.

Mind you D7000 comes with AF-fine tune adjustment for your lenses which I thought is very handy.

BTW, which lenses do you use with your D7000?

But you'd take D7000 instead of D5300 right?

I use the stock lens only. Sometimes I feel the pictures aren't sharp enough. I guess fine tune would help, but I don't know what value should I use.

 

[manojodungat]

But you'd take D7000 instead of D5300 right?

Yes, but then that is just me.

I use the stock lens only. Sometimes I feel the pictures aren't sharp enough. I guess fine tune would help, but I don't know what value should I use.

"Warning" - Please don’t touch the AF-fine tuning yourself. With the kit lens, I don’t think there is any lens calibration required.

Shaky hands + poor focus + slow shutter speed etc = recipe for unsharp images.