My New Baby

I have a new love. It's the Nikon D7000, a present from Hub. Only three days old and baby and I are still getting to know each other. We have 3 of those film Canon SLRs sitting in the cabinet but this is my first DSLR. As you know, most of my photos are taken with the Panasonic Lumix FZ 50, a great point and shoot camera that has given me excellent shots, especially in color and clarity. Some of my photos are taken with my daughter's Nikon D90 whenever she's around.

Why did I choose the Nikon D7000? Well, it has received excellent reviews, is affordable and not too daunting to handle although I suspect that I'll probably use only 1/10 of its features. For years, I resisted the upgrade to DSLRs because I didn't like their size and weight. The new Nikon D5100 is perfect in size and features because honestly, I am too amateur to play with anything above that. But I was afraid I'll outgrow the D5100. The D7000 is just nice, not too low or too high for an amateur.

Why Nikon? Now that's truly a million dollar question. I love asking people if they are Nikon or Canon people. They usually hesistate, like it's something they never thought about. The world is split into either Canon or Nikon DSLR people, I've found. Asians love Canon DSLRs (in Europe, I saw that Nikons outnumber Canons 9 to 1) and I always thought it was because Canon cameras have more features for the same price (value for money), are more trendy and of course, Canon has many terrific lens (I find Canon lens give brighter, whiter colors while Nikon colors tend to be a bit mellow). Then I read that Canon cameras are preferred because in Malaysia, the cameras are made and assembled in Japan while Nikons are made in Japan and assembled in Thailand. That did disappoint me a bit although I overcame that by trusting in Nikon's quality control. If you are the premier camera maker, you wouldn't risk your reputation churning out lousy stuff. I knew that if I bought a Canon, I'll always covet a Nikon. Way back in uni, my roommate and I took a summer course on film development and we both yearned to own a Nikon SLR because in those days Canon didn't have the same ranking as they do now. The funny thing is CY did get her dream Nikon SLR while I ended up with several Canon SLRs because I married a Canon man. But now CY is using a Canon point and shoot ( I too prefer Canon p & s over Nikon's) in the Mayan ruins and the River Kwai while I now own a Nikon DSLR. So why did I choose a Nikon, other than to fulfill one of the desires of my youth? I asked 3 camera shop keepers and all three said they prefer Nikon.  One guy said he started with a Canon DSLR and "then I handled a Nikon. I felt the difference"--a comment I've heard over and over again. But then this is not about Nikon vs Canon because ultimately, both make great cameras. It's a very personal choice.

I didn't want the kit lens (18-105mm) so I took the Sigma 18-200 mm lens, a much cheaper option at RM1600/USD530 compared to the Nikkor lens of the same range at RM2500/USD830. However, once I got home, I found the lens a little bit noisy, tight on the focusing ring and the clarity wasn't as good as I expected. Maybe it's because I just didn't know how to use it. I preferred the results of the new Tamron 18-270mm but was told Sigma lens are better although now I think that's really a matter of choice and specific lens. Anyway, I decided within an hour of using the Sigma lens that I wouldn't be able to live with it so the next day I returned it. I'm still not sure if I should take the kit Nikkor 18-105 mm or the 18-200mm. In the end I got the Nikkor 35mm 1.8f as recommended by PW (note: I just read that PW recommended the 35 mm 2f which works on her full frame camera, not the 1.8f. Oops) and the sales person. Most people go for the standard 50mm for good bokeh (shallow depth of field) but PW said the 35 mm (her current fave lens) is more versatile and gives better results while the sales person said it gives less bokeh but sharper photos and beautiful portraits. At a higher price of course. Here are some photos. I don't do much to my photos except brighten and contrast (on Blogger!) but the following photos are not corrected at all:

Using the Sigma 18-200mm lens, all taken in auto mode:


The Sigma lens gave very nice outdoor color I think.


From a distance in low light, no tripod.


In low light at night at ISO 5000, no tripod. Over exposed but still, no black mess.


Disappointingly dull.

Using the Nikkor 35mm lens, all taken in Aperture mode:


Low light at night, ISO 400


In my dark storeroom, ISO 800. Wow.

I love the 35mm lens, so much that I couldn't fall asleep last night because I couldn't wait for daylight to shoot with it. The best thing about the D7000? It handles low light extremely well. It has an ISO of 6400, a big improvement for a camera that's not in the professional league. I don't know how to correct the white balance yet. You can edit the photos on the D7000 but that really is rocket science to me. I haven't taken any food photos yet; I'm delaying the gratification until I cook something special. I promise I'll have at least one nice post next week. Excuse me now because Baby is calling.