My New DSLR!

So, after much researching, researching, and second guessing myself, I pulled the trigger and forked over a decent chunk of change for a new Nikon D3300 Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera (DSLR). I’m supposed to get it in the next day or two, hopefully I’ll be able to take some pictures of it before I release this blog post.

Buying a DSLR camera wasn’t an easy decision, but it ultimately boiled down to my curiosity and desire to take a process better photos. A lot of people could argue that you don’t need a DSLR to do this, many point and shoot cameras will take wonderful photos if you understand the mechanics of photography.

Nikon D3300 Body with Two Lenses

I ended up getting a Nikon D3300, because the places I looked on the internet all pointed to the Nikon D3300 as a good starting point for beginners looking to get into photography. Plus, one of the nice things was that I got a great deal as Nikon was offering a huge discount. Normally the camera pack (body and two lenses) would have cost almost $1,000, I got it for $600. I’m a happy camper.

So why did I chose to get a DSLR?

Get a better grasp on photography

I enjoy taking pictures when I go out and about, however I’m usually disappointed by the quality of the photos. Some could argue that I’m not doing the appropriate post processing, or I’m not taking the photos properly, but I wanted to get a better sense of how to take good photos. Whether it’s getting a better sense of aperture settings, shutter speed, ISO, or post processing, there’s lots to learn.

Get a better grasp of filmography and cinematography

While the camera I got is not a dedicated camcorder, it still takes very videos. I’m interested in getting better videos and learning about filming techniques. I hope to look into more video stabilization methods, such as creating gimbals for getting stable and smooth footage.

Use my home built computer to its full potential

A couple of years ago I built my own desktop for the purpose of doing more filming and video editing. I was able to get a good discount on a full suite of Adobe video and photo editing programs, including photoshop and premiere pro. Sadly, I haven’t used it for it’s purpose in the last couple of years, other than to play Starcraft II or Civilization at a decent frame rate. Even for gaming, it appears I don’t play enough from my win-loss record. I’m going to try and put at least Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro to good use.

Test of the Auto Function

A Beautiful Mug my Mother Made Me

My Backyard

The above photos were just images I took with the camera without any kind of post processing. I was just testing out the camera to see what the images were like. As you can see in the first two images, the focused image is pretty sharp while the background is slightly blurred. This is known as “depth of field” which is related to the aperture of the camera (the part which lets light in). With this camera, you can adjust the “f-stops” of the camera to adjust the aperture to let more light in, which gives a shallower depth of view, or let less light in, giving a greater depth of view. Depending on the type of photo you want to take, you adjust the aperture accordingly. (If anyone reads this and knows that my info is incorrect, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I’m an absolute beginner, and don’t need to start off with the wrong information.)

More to come in the future as I learn more about photography!