Sunday 12 January 2014

Beginners' Guide: Buying a Camera Kit


One of my blog readers asked me what's the best kit for a beginner. As a beginner, we all have that question in our minds. So, I am going to give you a guide on 'Buying a camera kit' and I will also show you what an ideal kit would consist of. 

There's a lot of things to look at before you invest money on a kit. A beginners' kit must be simple and of course the investment should be small. According to me, a beginners' kit must comprise of a SLR, 2 or more lenses, a tripod and a kit bag. Moreover, a beginner must invest in a cheap SLR and invest more in accessories. Now, let me consider myself in place of a beginner and I have about Rs 50,000 ($ 813) in my pocket. And I'm going to invest this in buying a kit for photography. Then, my kit would comprise of the following items:

1. Camera: Canon EOS 600D (Body only)




Source: Flipkart


Canon EOS 600D is one of the best entry level DSLR and I think it is one of the best budget DSLR for a beginner. The 600D is powered by an 18 megapixel CMOS sensor. Other key features of the camera is ISO 100-6400, expandable upto 12800, 9 AF points, Built in flash, HD video recording. These make the Canon EOS 600D a must buy camera for beginners. I have chose this camera after considering some facts, reviews, and more. You can also check out these cameras:

  • Nikon D3200
  • Nikon D5200
  • Canon 1100D
  • Sony Alpha A57

2. Lens 1: Tamron AF 18-200 mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro


Source: Flipkart


As a beginner, you need to have a zoom lens in your kit. I prefer the Tamron 18-200mm because it has a focal length from 18 to 200 mm. It even has a macro switch which will able you to shoot macro with this lens. This lens can be used for shooting portraits, landscapes, birds and animals, macro and more. I have chose this lens over the kit lenses like 18-55 mm or 18-135 mm because of its focal length and also for the fact that it costs about Rs 13,000. 

3. Lens 2: Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II lens


Source: Flipkart


I feel every beginner must have a prime lens in their kit. Prime lens are unlike zoom lenses as they have a fixed focal range i.e., you cannot zoom in and zoom out using this lens. You may be wondering, why this lens then? Let me tell you. Prime lens provide great image quality, wider aperture and better aperture compared to zoom lens. As you are not able to zoom in and out using this lens, you need to get close to your subject. This makes you think before you click. Eventually, this will help you develop your photography skills. The 50 mm is one of the basic prime lens and it costs around Rs 6000. You can shoot portrait, landscape, macro and more with this lens. Other prime lens for 600D:
  • Canon EF 40 mm f/2.8 

4.  Tripod: Benro T-600EX


Source: Flipkart


According to me, tripods are a must in a beginners' kit. Tripods not only help you in shooting landscapes, waterfalls, lights, fast moving objects, star trails etc but also helps you to work with different exposures. With tripods you can make exciting images. Tripods makes understanding exposures easier. The Benro T-600EX costs about Rs 1500.

5. Camera bag: DigiFlip Wizard CB001 


Source: Flipkart


A photographer is always in move. So you need to have a suitable camera bag to hold your camera and its accessories. There are different camera bags in the market, but I have chose this considering the items I have. The DigiFlip Wizard camera bag cost around Rs 1ooo

This how I would make use of my budget to buy a beginners' kit. You can even invest in other accessories like UV filters, flash etc. Don't make the wrong move by investing most of your budget on the camera body and least on the accessories like lens. Choose your items wisely. Be patient. Take time, make a research on the items you are interested. Check out the reviews online and do check out the sample images. That's all I have to tell in this post. If you anything more to ask me, do comment below. Thanks for reading. 

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Sunday 5 January 2014

Landscapes at the Beach



Beaches are an exciting place to photograph landscapes. These are some images taken by me at a beach in Singapore. And there's more! I will tell you 3 tips for shooting better landscapes! So let's get things started.

I haven't seen islands so close to the beach as in the first photograph. And there was a way to those islands from the beach. Of-course, there was water all over the place, making it a perfect landscape. But wait! There was something missing. I had read in one of the photography magazines that landscapes look wonderful when you show human impact. So, I waited for the right moment. Eventually, I saw this couple walking along the beach. By adding them into this landscape, I made a better landscape.


As I spent time in the beach, it turned dark. The sun was about to set and I found this wonderful scene. With the trees in the lower part of the scene and blue sky dominating the rest of the scene. Moreover, there was the sun ready to say bye in the middle of the scene. I increased the shutter-speed, widened the aperture and set a low ISO to click this image. The reason why I did that was, I wanted a silhouette. 


I have done some serious works on landscape photography and I have also made good research on 'How to photograph landscapes?' and more. So, I will let you know some landscape photography tips that will help you shoot better landscapes. 


  • Go wide! Unlike other photographs, in landscapes you are not focusing on a particular subject. You are showing equal importance to the whole frame. So, you must take the photograph in such a way that the whole part of the frame is in focus. This can be achieved by setting the camera to a large f-stop number i.e., you are widening the aperture. 
  • Next up, is making use of a tripod. Tripods can be very useful while shooting landscapes. By using a tripod, you can work with wide range of shutter-speeds. You can even get sharper photographs by following this method. You can even buy a new lens for landscape photography.
  • And for the final tip. Switch your camera to landscape mode. By this, the camera will provide you with the best settings for getting the best landscape. Once you are an expert, switch to manual. Do look for landscape photography ideas online.

    I hope you liked the photographs and the tips as well. Do check out other posts on this blog. Have anything to tell me? Then, do comment below or send me an email! More in the next post. Till then, bye!

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