ISSUE 07 I VOLUME 05 I OCTOBER 2009 I RS.100
FESTIVAL SPECIAL
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www.smartphotography.in
Sense & Sensibilities Interview with
Somsubhro Sarkar
LEARNINGS Photographing Fireworks & Illuminations Basics of Photography (Part-IX) Replace Boring Skies How to Use Filters Digital Camera Snags Lightroom 2 (Part-III)
REVIEWS ISSUE 07 | VOLUME 05 | OCTOBER 2009
Nikon D3000 Kodak EasyShare Z915 Sigma 24-70mm F/2.8 IF EX DG HSM Tamron SP AF 60mm F/2 Di II LD (IF) 1:1 Macro Epson Stylus Photo TX700W
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Picture of the Month We are sure that all of you must be having some pictures that you think could be prize winning. It happens very often that you don’t know where to send the image that could put a feather on your cap. If you have such images (we’re sure you have many!), send us ONE such image. If we find it good, we shall publish it as a double-spread. a. You have to guarantee that the picture was shot by you. b. If there are people in the picture who can be identified, we’ll need a model release. c. The picture must not have been printed in any magazine/newspaper, or offered to any publication. d. The image has to be at 300 ppi for 17x11 inches. e. Mark it as the “Picture of the Month”. f. You may send a print/e-mail at sphoto.india@gmail.com
Participate in the Picture of the Month contest and win a Mr Site Takeaway website easy-to-use website developer tool. Worth Rs.2,999/-
Photograph by Soumen Basu, Howrah
Showcase Different Strokes H
e left home in 1996 to study photography at Fergusson College, Pune, equipped only with a basic 35mm SLR and two rolls of negative ďŹ lm. But, the real trigger happened when his images were published in the Times of India, which bolstered and
Bird’s eye-view of the Gateway
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motivated his creative genes. From there on, for Ritam Banerjee, the creative world looked like an array of faces, objects, different hues, and a moment of silence that really transformed his outlook towards art forever.
But the real start to his creative endeavors happened during the course of a work related sojourn to Mumbai, after his graduation.
he reveals that the assignment was the real test of his creative abilities that broadened his photographic horizons toSHOWCASE the core.
The City of Dreams — Mumbai — is synonymous with limos and local trains, millionaires and slum dwellers, Bollywood and reality. This is because they all happen to come together to make a canvas streaked with different colors called life. According to him color and light cannot be separated from life. Its been for over a decade now that Ritam started his journey, yet he feels that it has only begun.
He is today associated with an ever expanding list of clientèle from leading corporates to demanding advertising agencies and also NGOs. His list of International clients includes the likes of Citigroup, Daimler Chrysler, Microsoft and Deutsche Bank. His creative endeavors have been published in the reputed international publications including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Observer (London), The Guardian (UK), The Vancouver Sun, The National Post (Canada), ABC News, The Independent (UK), Stern (Germany), Bild am Sonntag (Germany), l’Espresso (Italy), LIFE (online) etc. Visit: http://www.ritambanerjee.com for more details
Through his incredible travails across the country and beyond, he has documented commercial images, art, portraits, travelogues, and many more.... The infamous 26/11 terror strike on Mumbai was captured by him exclusively for Getty Images. In hindsight,
Mathew Thottungal
Painting the World Red
Business Talks
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SHOWCASE
Men will be Men!
Beautiful Folklore Sweta Prasad (of Iqbal fame)
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SHOWCASE SHOWCASE
Sushmita Sen
Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale all smiles
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NIKON D3000
Start With Us! Price: Rs.37,950/- (with kit lens) Final Score: 85%
E
ntry level D-SLRs are responsible for conferring market leadership to brands. For years, Canon had wrapped up this end of the market very securely and in the process safeguarded its Number One position. A resurgent Nikon has, however, struck back and is now only a few percentage points short of Canon in world D-SLR market share.
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Nikon’s D60 was getting a bit jaded and a replacement was overdue. Nikon has now announced the D3000, which will be Nikon’s cheapest D-SLR and sits below the recently announced D5000. A new Guide mode, Nikon’s Picture Controls, and a Retouch function are some of the new features that the D3000 promises.
DESIGN & BUILD QUALITY The D3000 is a typical Nikon in design although smaller in size. It features a plastic body that is nicely wrapped in a textured finish. The quality of finish is basic, but not shoddy. Dimensions are (at 126x97x64mm) slightly larger than the Panasonic Lumix G1, which sets the benchmark in this area. The D3000 body weighs 485g without battery, memory card or body cap.
KEY FEATURES
1 On/Off Switch 2 Mode Dial 3 Lens Exposure Compensation Button 5 Command Dial AE-L/AF-L Button 7 Flash 8 Accessory Shoe 9 Info Button 10 Flash Release Button 11 Function Button 4
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Inside the box • Nikon D3000 Digital SLR • EN-EL9a Rechargeable Li-ion Battery • MH-23 Quick Charger • UC-E4 USB Cable • DK-20 Rubber Eyecup • AN-DC1 AN-DC3 Camera Strap • BF-1A Body Cap • DK-5 Eyepiece Cap • BS-1 Accessory Shoe Cover • Software Suite CD-ROM
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The D3000 surprisingly, sticks to the 10.3 MP DX format APS-C size CCD of its predecessor but upgrades the LCD to 3-inches with 230,000 dots resolution. The LCD monitor, however,
is fixed. Particularly impressive is the fact that Nikon has provided 11 AF points (with one cross type sensor) in an entry level SLR. (The D60 had three points). Nikon has used the Multi-CAM 1000 AF module of the D5000 and the D90 in the D3000. A maximum continuous shooting speed of three frames per second is also impressive. Since the camera is aimed at the beginner, Nikon has introduced a new intelligent ‘Guide’ mode on the mode dial. This mode works like an on board tutor and via text on the LCD, navigates a beginner through various settings needed to achieve specific results. Since quite a few novices rarely read instruction manuals, the Guide mode can indeed prove handy. Other features include dust reduction system, diopter correction, a choice of 3D Matrix Color Metering, self timer, all the standard exposure modes plus six scene modes, ± 5 EV exposure compensation and ISO sensitivity up to ISO 1600 or one stop above (i.e. ISO 3200). Nikon’s Active D-Lighting feature available on other more expensive models is also included. The built in flash can be switched off, if necessary. Flash compensation (-3 to + 3EV) is also available and the flash has a Guide Number of 12m at ISO 100. All the usual White Balance settings are provided including fine tuning of White
Left: Battery compartment Right: DC-IN and USB port
Mahesh Reddy
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SHARPNESS & DETAIL
Balance as well as manual setting. The D3000 accepts SD/SDHC cards. There is no Live View nor is there a Video mode. Considering that the camera is aimed at a beginner, this is perhaps not a surprise.
ERGONOMICS
ISO: 100 Shutter speed: 0.4sec Aperture: f/11
NOISE
ISO: 100
ISO: 1600
JPEG COMPRESSION
Nikon has tried to make the D3000 as simple as possible. The 3-inch LCD monitor and the large type used do aid this process. The Guide mode, which is selectable from the Mode Dial has three selections viz. shoot, view/delete and set up. It certainly helps the newcomer to learn the main settings like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, White Balance etc. Because of the Guide mode, functions like ISO and WB selections are accessible only through the menu. However, direct access can be set through the customizable function button. Given its light weight and compact size, the camera poses no problem on the handling front.
PERFORMANCE Aided by 11 AF points, the D3000 put up a superlative performance on the autofocus front. The AF assist lamp produced a powerful beam, which no doubt speeds up AF in low light situations.
Large Fine
Large Basic
COLOR ACCURACY
Color Checker shot using Auto White Balance in sunlight. Auto Levels applied.
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Metering on the D3000 with its Matrix system was perfect except in complicated lighting where it struggled a bit. (This would happen with a number of cameras). For a budget camera, the D3000 acquitted itself well on the noise front. At a native image size of 8.6 x 12.9-inche at 300 ppi, images up to ISO 400 produced no noise. Some noise was visible at ISO 800. At ISO 1600, images were noisy and at the Hi 1 setting (i.e. ISO 3200), noise was very high. Most amateurs would not go beyond ISO 800 and the results should be seen in that light. On the White Balance front, the D3000 caused some concern with a cast being observed at almost all settings. Although difďŹ cult for an amateur, we would recommend fresh manual settings with gray card readings and then further manipulation in Photoshop. The kit lens supplied with the D3000 is the 18-55 mm f3.5/5.6 IS lens. For a kit lens at a budget price, the lens produced very sharp images with best performance at f/11. At full aperture, some lateral chromatic aberration was visible as also darkening of corners. At 18mm, some purple fringing was
NIKON D3000 FINAL SCORE
SPECIFICATIONS
Design and Build Quality
16/20
+ Good build for the price
Key Features
17/20
+ Good AF performance
Ergonomics
17.5/20
Performance
17/20
Value for Money
OVERALL
17.5/20
85%
Effective pixels Sensor Anti-dust measures
+ Guide Mode + Price - No Live View
Image quality Color space Lens compatibility
- No tiltable LCD Monitor - White Balance performance could be better - No video
Mahesh Reddy
Autofocus Lens Servo
AF-Area mode
Focus Tracking Focus Area Exposure Mode Exp. Compensation AE Bracketing Sensitivity Auto ISO Options Shutter speeds White Balance
Image parameters
LCD Monitor Memory storage Battery Weight Dimensions (WxHxD)
also apparent. Barrel distortion, visible at 18mm, disappears at 24mm. There were two things about this lens that did not quite appeal. One was its plastic mount. The second was the rotating front element whilst focusing. Overall, the D3000’s performance was a tad above average. Good autofocus and good control over noise was marred by the indifferent White
Balance performance. The provision of in-built post capture editing functions on the D3000 is also a major attraction for the beginner.
VALUE FOR MONEY The D3000 carries a MRP of Rs.30,450 for the body and with the kit lens the MRP rises to Rs.37,950. This is an aggressive price and compares well with other rivals.
: 10.3 million : CCD (23.6x15.8mm) : Image sensor cleaning system Airflow control system Image dust-off using NX2 software (Optional) : RAW, JPEG, RAW+JPEG : sRGB, Adobe RGB : AF-S, AF-I: All functions supported Type G and D AF: All functions supported except AF Other AF Nikkors: AF and 3D Color Matrix Metering II not supported Manual lenses: Can be used in Manual exposure mode but exposure meter will not function. : 11-area TTL phase detection Nikon Multi-CAM1000 AF module : Single Servo AF (AF-S), Continuous Servo (AF-C), AF-S/AF-C, Manual Focus (MF) : Single Area AF, Dynamic Area AF, Auto Area AF, 3D Tracking (11 points), Closest Subject Priority Dynamic Area AF : Predictive focus tracking automatically activated according to subject status in AF-C : Can be selected from 11 focus points : Auto, Scene, P (Flexible), A, S, Manual : +/- 5 EV in 1/3 EV steps : Not available : Auto, ISO 100-1600; Hi 1 (ISO 3200 equivalent) : On/Off, Max. ISO, Min. Shutter speed : 30 sec to 1/4000 sec, + B. X-sync: Up to 1/200sec. : Auto, 12 manual modes, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Sunlight, Flash, Cloudy, Shade, Custom. : Picture Controls: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape; Sharpening, Contrast, Saturation, Hue. : 3-inch, 230,000 pixel : SD/SDHC card : Li-ion (EN-EL9a) : 560g : 126x97x64mm
VERDICT The entry segment is obviously very important to Nikon. The D3000 will lead the attack in this segment. It produces very good image quality and has an excellent AF system. Anyone entering the SLR market for the first time should give it a good look. Recommended, heartily. H. S. Billimoria October 2009 Smart Photography
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