I. AM. STOKED!
I mentioned in a previous blog, my wife and I got new cell phones when we switched providers and sold our old phones to Amazon (they have a buyback program). We got just over $600 for them in the form of an Amazon gift card. My wife told me she wanted to get me a camera with it. So Monday night, she bought me the camera and some other stuff to go with it. Here's what I'm getting:
Nikon D3300 (Certified Refurbished) Camera Body
AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II Lens
AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II Lens
It's certified refurbished from Nikon so I know it'll be fine as a used and refurbished camera. And frankly, it's a fraction of the cost of a brand new one. It's supposed to come with a strap, battery, battery charger, USB cable, body cap, eyepiece cap and eyepiece too, which all comes with a brand new camera. If not, those things aren't expensive and I'll just buy them.
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF NIKKOR Lens
Every photographer needs a prime lens.
Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Infrared Shutter Remote Control
I like to shoot lightning, sunrises and sunsets, and I really want to try astrophotography. A remote shutter release is a must to get sharp photos in low light and/or long exposure photos. (I already have a very good tripod with a ball head.) Plus I can take "selfies" and family photos (with me in them) with it because the camera has infrared sensors on the front and back. Could also be a plus for portraits/studio photography.
2 Replacement Nikon EN-EL14 | EN-EL14A Batteries
Because you always need spare batteries, just in case.
SanDisk Extreme SDXC UHS-I/U3 SDSDXNE-064-GNCIN Memory Card, 64GB
Gotta have on camera storage if I'm going to take photos.
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I got the spare batteries and SD card today. The camera kit is supposed to arrive on Friday. The rest should arrive sometime next week.
There are still a few other things I want to get to complete my photography kit:
-- A couple more SD cards, just in case.
-- Additional UV filters - They are great for protecting lenses. I like to have one for each lens so I don't have to swap them out.
-- Polarizing Filter - They enrich the colors in landscape photos, especially the blues, making clouds pop.
-- Neutral Density Filter - They allow you to step down the exposure so that you can open the aperture and slow down the shutter speed to get motion in a photograph... like running water, people and vehicles in motion, wind turbines, rustling leaves, weather vanes, etc. Really cool effect.
-- A larger camera bag - Ideally, a backpack style bag that also has the capacity for a hydration bladder for when I go on hikes. I'd also like it to be big enough that I can carry my Konica film camera, its lenses and all of the other bits and pieces.
-- FotodioX Pro Lens Mount Adapter for Konica AR Lens to Nikon F Mount Camera - because I have good lenses for my Konica film camera and would also like to use them with my new DSLR. My Konica camera is fully manual, so it won't bother me that the adapter won't work with auto-focus. The lenses aren't auto-focus lenses anyway.
-- Nikon WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter - This item is low on my wish list but it would be nice to have so that I could transfer a few photos to my iPhone or iPad. But, what's really cool about this is that you can see the scene on a larger screen, like an iPad while you're composing the photo, which could be really handy in harsh lighting and the camera's LED screen is difficult to see.
-- Various flash devices along with a wireless flash transmitter and multiple receivers - while I don't normally shoot with flash, there are times when a flash is necessary: low light conditions and to soften shadows in harsh lighting conditions.
-- Lighting stands, mounts, diffusers and reflectors - An on camera flash doesn't always allow the photographer to direct the flash where it's needed and keep it away from where it's not needed. So the stands and mounts are necessary in those cases. Since flash lighting is harsh, diffusers soften the flash light. Reflectors are good with flash to bounce the light onto the subject rather than directly on the subject. In addition, reflectors can bounce natural light into darker areas.
-- A weather umbrella that I can mount to my tripod to keep my cameras dry during inclement weather... or a mount that I can use with the large umbrella I already have.
-- Light meter to properly determine lighting to set the correct exposure.
-- White Balancing/Color Balancing Cards - again, for getting the correct exposure.
There's probably some other stuff I could add. Not all of it is need it now. Simply stuff to put on a wish list for later purchase. Some things, like the white/color balancing cards, I'll get sooner than later since they are inexpensive.
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So this weekend, I'll have the new camera and two of the lenses. I may just go out and shoot somewhere in or around Las Vegas this weekend. But it's going to be hot AF... we're expecting 108* or so this weekend. It's only the middle of August and I'm already ready for summer to be over.
Stay Tuned...
DeadGuitarist