I took the canvas print into work with me today to get the reactions of some of my co-workers.

I got a lot of Wows, a that is gorgeous and a couple of it looks kind of 3D.

If you are looking for a unique way to show-off your favorite artwork or family photo, printing on canvas is a great way to do it.  And Easy Canvas Prints is the palce to get it printed.

Or for Great Deals Like 50% Off Your Next Order Check Out Easy Canvas Prints Facebook Here
Photos on Canvas - and Click LIKE for Your Automatic 50% OFF

Welcome, I created this site around the premise of teaching a friend or family member how to get the pictures they want from their new photo gear.The examples and techniques discussed here are primarily based on digital but just as easily translate to film cameras.

A little about how you can navigate this site to begin or enhance your photographic journey.To the left is a list of topics in order.Please feel free to jump around if you have questions about a specific topic.However, if you are just beginning I suggest you follow the topics in order and use the navigation on the left sidebar to pick up where you left off previously.

Enough of that let’s get started!

Did I say let’s get started?Hold it! The first thing you should do is ”read the manual”.I know this sounds simple and if you are like me you say to yourself “I don’t need to read the manual, I can figure this out on my own”. However you can save yourself a lot of headaches and grief by taking some time in the beginning to learn what your camera can do and what buttons, dials or menus control those functions.

I usually do not read manuals either, but I always end up having to go back and read them after all.So, just pick up the manual and read it.Save yourself the grief and trouble down the road by doing this first.

If you just purchased a new camera, the fact of the matter is that you usually need to charge the battery before you can do anything else with it. So spend this time familiarizing yourself with your camera.

Don’t have a camera yet? – No Problem Visit the Camera Types Page for some thoughts.

OK, so you have read the manual and are ready to run out the door.But is the battery charged?Is the battery even in the camera?Do you have a memory card?Does that memory card have any available space?Is the lens clean?

I always do a check of my equipment before I head out to take pictures.I want you to close your eyes and imagine (No, if you do that you won’t be able to read, so wait until you finish this section).Anyway imagine you come across the photo opportunity of a lifetime and your camera won’t turn on because it has run out of power. Maybe your memory card is full of pictures you took at Aunt Mabel’s wedding (or is not with you at all).There goes your shot and it may never present itself again, you just lost it.

I remember coming across a great photo opportunity only to find I had taken all my pictures with the wrong camera settings.I was trying to get a shot of a mountain waterfall just off a narrow two lane road.In my rush to run over and get a few shots before any traffic came I ignored my own rule to slow down and get setup correctly before pressing the shutter.

I had my aperture stopped down to F18 (I wanted a greater depth of field, which we will get into later) and let the camera choose the shutter speed for me. In my rush to get the perfect shot I had forgotten that I had left my ISO speed at 1600 for some night shots I was taking the weekend before.So I just snapped some quick shots and got off the road.

Needless to say the shots I had just taken were all overexposed and washed out. If I had taken a quick glance at my camera’s meter I would have seen that the reading was all the way to the right and blinking at me screaming “Warning!Warning!Too Much Light”. I guess what I am trying to say is slow down and make sure everything is set the correct way before you take your first shot.

Today in the digital age we may tend to rush things because we know we can take as many shots as our memory card will hold for no additional cost.Slow down and pretend that you are using film and only have 36 exposures available.

Here is a list of things you may wish to consider when preparing for an outing.

Camera

Camera Bag- To protect your precious investments

Batteries charged

Extra Battery(s)

Memory card(s) – .Do you know approximately how many photos your memory card will hold?

Lenses (for DSLR)

Is your lens clean?

External Flash

Batteries for flash

Tripod or Monopod (to hold your camera steady)

Filters (We will talk about these later)

Now on to some of the basic controls on your camera that will allow us to adjust how our camera behaves when we depress that shutter button.If it helps you have your camera nearby for reference and on hands testing.

Next Page – Basic Controls>>>>>>>>>>

Camera Types >>>>>>>>>

Related Sites | SpyderMap | Web Portal

How to Photograph Moving Water – To Get  Silky Smooth Water Shots

Have you ever seen photographs of a waterfall, stream or ocean waves?  Where the movement of the water has a wispy,  silky smooth,  cloud or fog like quality?  You can learn to do this too, the key is slowing your camera’s shutter speed down considerably.  I have gotten decent shots at 1/10th and 1/5th of a second, but generally we want to slow the shutter speed down to anywhere from 1/2 second, to over 20 seconds.

F16, 15 Seconds, ISO 100 & 4 stop ND Filter

How Do We Get These Long Exposures

How do you get the shutter speed so low?  Well, if you look back to the basics page, we learned about the three main controls we have over exposure.  They are Aperture (how much light we get), Shutter Speed (how long the light hits the sensor) and ISO (how much energy is the sensor set to).

P.S.  You will need a tripod to hold your camera steady for these long exposures.

The easiest way to lower our shutter speed is to decrease the ISO to its lowest level, maybe  50 or 100 (whatever your camera goes down to).  Also, we need to decrease the aperture to F18, F20, F22 or F32 and set the camera to aperture priority or manual control.  If this does not get your shutter speed down, you may need to also use a filter.  A Circular Polarizer will cut 1, 1 1/2 up to maybe 2 stops (they are also great to have for cutting water reflections, getting beautiful blue skies and enhancing colors).  Another option is a Neutral Density filter, these can be purchased based on how many stops they give you 1, 2, 4… and up.

F14, 10 Seconds, ISO 100 and Circular Polarizer Filter

Lighting Conditions

It is best to shoot in the early morning, late afternoon (golden hours)  or when the water feature is in shade  or on cloudy days.  You can shoot in bright sunlight, but it is harder to get the slow shutter we desire.  However, don’t discount bright days, as a neutral density filter can improve some of these less than ideal lighting conditions.

Safety

Remember when taking photos around water be it a stream, river, ocean or lake just be aware of your surroundings.  There may be sand, slippery rocks and strong currents that can cause you or your equipment harm.

F18, 8 Seconds, ISO 100 & Circular Polarizer Filter

 




Other Thoughts

Use a remote shutter release or your cameras timer to reduce camera shake.

Shoot from different angles, it changes to whole look of the subject.

A very fast moving waterfall will not require as slow of a shutter speed as a slower moving creek.

Bring an extra battery with you.  Long exposures eat batteries alive.  On a recent trip my battery, which normally has 1/2 to 3/4 charge after a full day of shooting, was almost dead at day’s end.

F22, 1/10 Second, ISO 400 (Left from earlier - should have changed) & 4 Stop ND Filter

Shooting waterfalls, rivers, streams and other moving water is one of the most peaceful experiences I have had in photography.  I just lose all track of time when I am composing, setting up and looking  for a new shot.  You know what, I don’t care, in fact I have quit wearing a watch when I am on these trips.  Why worry about time.

Why Shoot Photos in Infrared?

Because it gives us another way to view the world around us through our camera’s lens.  Infrared is light that we cannot see with the naked eye.  You probably have  IR devices in your home right now,  such as, your TV remote which uses IR to communicate your wishes from your couch or armchair.

See End of Page for Color Photo of Same Location

I became interested in IR photography after seeing examples on the internet.  I especially love the way plants and flowers show up as bright white, as if they were covered with snow.  Materials and objects reflect or absorb IR light differently.  With some looking the same as they do with visible light and others giving us a surreal look at an otherwise normal scene.

The Equipment

I took my old Nikon Coolpix 995 3.2 MP Digital Camera and converted it to shoot strictly Infrared.  Which means I can no longer use this camera for anything but infrared photography.  The cost to convert my camera was about $75.00, since I did it myself.  Basically, this involved removing the “hot mirror” filter from in front of the camera’s sensor (which filters out the IR spectrum for normal photography).  It is replaced by either an IR filter or optical glass of the same size and thickness (if glass is used an external IR filter is also needed).  I chose to use the optical glass and external filter since it was the cheaper option (and I was not sure If I was going to screw the camera up by taking it apart). The IR filter basically screens out the visible light spectrum below about 830nm.

If I didn’t already have the camera I would have looked on Ebay and found a Nikon 995 or 990 to use.  There are many cameras that are sensitive to IR, just do a little internet research and see if yours makes a good candidate for conversion.   

Here’s what I needed to do my conversion.  A piece of optical glass sized 11mm x 12mm x 2.5mm thick (the glass was $4 and the shipping was almost double that), a B+W 37mm Infrared (87C) Filter and a 28mm to 37mm Step-up ring to fit my camera.

One test you can do is point your IR remote from your TV at your camera.  Then press a button on the remote while at the same time taking a picture of the front of the remote (without using a flash).  When I tested my cameras, the Nikon Coolpix 2200 could see a little bit, the IR converted Nikon 995, saw  so much IR, I could have used it to read by and my Canon 5D didn’t see anything.

Nikon Coolpix 2200

Nikon Coolpix 995

 ** Just remember if you convert your camera for infrared use, it will not work for normal photography anymore (never ever again). 

Notes:

1)  The Step-up Ring was silver and my first shots; when taken with the sun to my side, showed reflections  (ghosting) in the image.  I remedied this by painting the inside of the ring with flat black spray paint.

2) The IR filter that cuts the visible light spectrum out is very dark glass.  This means you will need quite a bit more available light to actually shoot.  I have tried taking IR photos inside the house and the camera will not even autofocus, because there is not enough light.

3)  I have also noticed the final output is a little soft, requiring some sharpening in the post process stage.  I also adjust the levels (using Photoshop) to increase the contrast a bit.  I have found that dragging the shadows slider to the right, just until it touches the left side of the histogram, makes the IR photo “pop” and gives it some depth.

4) For white balance, I use auto as it seems to give the best look.  Incandescent, florescent and cloudy settings all seem to just tint the photo which is not the look I am going for.

UPDATE:  I recently had my old Canon Rebel XT converted to IR by Life Pixel.  I choose the Standard IR conversion which allows a little bit of the red spectrum into the photograph, about 720nm vs, the Nikon described above whic is deeper at about 830nm.  By swaping the red and blue color channels in photoshop, a false blue sky can be added to the shot.  See below for a couple of examples from my first outing to test the new camera.

If this looks interesting to you, give it a try.  It might get your creative juices flowing in a new direction.

Below are a couple of links to sites I found very useful in my camera conversion:

http://www.abe.msstate.edu/~jwooten/camera/lense.html

Have fun!

Dave

My friends at B&H Photo loaned me another great camera to review, the Sony DSC-HX5V.   As I have said in my previous reviews, I am not going to spend time going through every menu and button on the camera.  There are plenty of sites you can go to for the technical details of each of these items.  My intent is to give my overall impressions of the camera and features I found useful.
















What’s in the Box:

1. Sony DSC-HX5V Camera
   1. Features a Professional Quality G Lens, 10X Optical Zoom (25mm to 250mm equivalent)
2. Battery and Wall Charger
3. Hand Strap
4. Multi Purpose USB/AV Cable Combo
5. Female USB Dongle for Connecting Standard USB to Camera
6. Instruction Manual (does not explain all functionality – see CD ROM) and GPS Use Quick Start Guide (Yes this camera has GPS)
7. Sony Cyber shot Digital Camera CD ROM
   1. Picture Motion Browser
   2. Cyber Shot Manual

Initial impressions:

I found this to be a very nice compact digital camera.  The number of keepers (in focus and properly exposed) I got out of this surprised me.  I have owned a couple of other compacts and I can say they did not perform this well.  The auto focus worked fairly quickly and includes face, blink and smile detection. This camera also has a panorama mode that automatically makes wide angle panoramas for you.  It does have Sony’s G Series Lens, which Sony markets as a professional grade lens.  All I can say is that I got some really sharp and clear photos out of it.  It’s got a 3 inch LCD, 10fps at the full quality setting, HD video (1080i) and the 10X zoom all in one small package.

Let’s take a deeper look into the modes available to you.  The first is the Easy Mode, which is a full auto mode that does not display very much information on the LCD.  I only tried this to see what it was all about, but did not use it again.  The second is the Intelligent Auto Adjustment Mode.  This mode will automatically switch between nine of the scene selection modes depending on how it interprets the scene (i.e.: macro, twilight, landscape etc.).  It also controls when the flash is needed, if it has not turned off manually.  This mode is really handy when you just want to point and shoot with no thought involved. 

This camera also has manual controls for when you want to be a little more creative.  Control over shutter speed is from 4 seconds to 1/1600 of a second, and a choice of aperture of f3.5 and f8 at 25mm or f5.5 and f13 at full zoom.  The LCD will change to show the effects of these aperture and shutter changes.  I found this very handy for shooting indoors without a flash, but had problems seeing the changes outdoors in bright light.  In this shot my cat was sleeping in the bathroom sink (go figure), anyway, I did not want the flash to wake him up or overwhelm the scene since I was pretty close.  So I used the manual mode set the f-stop to f3.5 and the speed to 1/125 of a second and fired away.

The next mode is panorama; I have never had this feature in a camera before, so I really enjoyed the simple press the shutter; pan to the right ease of it.  Be sure to test out your panning speed, as my panoramas fell short of the width available when viewed back home. (I should have been panning more quickly to get more of the scene in)

Next is the movie mode, which like the name says lets you shoot movies in HD 1080i at 60 fps.  Not 1080p but better than a lot of its competitors.  You can also shoot a movie in any of the other modes by pressing the movie button on the back (right side).  There is also the standard scene mode with selections from portrait to fireworks.

A Backlight Correction HDR (High Definition Range) which will give you more detail in shadow areas of the photo.  The camera does this by combining two images of different exposure and blending them together to give you the most dynamic range.  Next is a mode called handheld Twilight, this helps you shoot in low light situations by utilizing the anti motion feature of the camera.  I did a handheld shot of my keyboard as I wrote this and as you can see, it came out reasonably well (what it does show me is that my keyboard needs a good cleaning). Along the same lines is the mode called Anti Motion Blur this also lets you shoot in low light without using the flash.  The major difference that I can see between these two modes is that the Anti Motion Blur used ISO 3200 (more noise), while the Handheld Twilight used ISO 2000 for the same shot.  Some more testing would be needed to figure out which of these modes would be the best in different situations.

Backlight Correction HDR

Anti Motion Blur

A couple of items of note:  This camera has a compass and GPS built into it.  The GPS information is all recorded in the EXIF Info, showing latitude, longitude, altitude and time.  This is great for placing the exact location of a photo on a map (some programs can do this for you automatically) or for marking the location for use in geo caching.  I’m not sure what I would need a compass for, but hey why not.  It always points north with a red arrow.  A caveat when using the built-in flash; if you are not careful in your finger placement your middle finger can obscure the flash as it is on the upper right near the built-in grip.

100% Crop of the above photo

Conclusion:

Again, this is a really nice compact digital camera.  It captured the images I asked of it with sharp accurate exposure and has modes that allow me to do most anything I would need.  While the manual controls are fairly limited; I recommend this compact camera to anyone as a small easy to carry alternative to a DSLR.  Perfect for those times you don’t want to lug around a larger camera.

What’s in the Box:

1. Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 Camera
   1. Features a 12X Optical Zoom (36mm to 432mm equivalent)
2. Battery and Wall Charger
3. Neck Strap
4. Len Hood
5. USB and AV Cables
6. Remote Shutter Release Cable (really nice addition you don’t get with others)
7. Instruction Manuals and Quick Start Guide
8. Casio Digital Camera CD ROM
   1. Arc Soft Total Media Extreme (basic movie editing and burning software)
   2. YouTube Uploader for Casio
9. Reference Manual on CD ROM

 


Initial impressions:

After using the Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 for the past couple of weeks; I found this to be a very cool camera.  The features found on this camera are very unique and fun to play with.  Besides being a very capable single shot camera, the Casio also has some great features which are fun to work with. For example the high speed mode which shoots up to 60 frames per second (fps) in single shot mode or 7 fps in flash mode.  The camera also has a high speed video mode which lets you capture video at 300, 600 or 1,200 fps; as well as, a class leading HD video mode.



 

Let’s look at some of the awesome modes available to you with the Casio EX-F1 that helps you get the shot you want.  One mode is called Prerecorded, this mode can store from one second up to sixty seconds of images when you half press the shutter release button.  In other words, it will continuously update  a buffer of images from the last one to sixty seconds.  When you full press the shutter it records these buffered images, plus any new ones up until the shutter is released to a maximum of 60.   I used this to get a shot of orange juice being poured into a glass from above.  Just think how you could use this to capture the exact moment of a child’s soccer goal or a basketball swooshing through the basket.

Another mode that I love is the High-speed Continuous Shutter; this one will take up to 60 frames in a second.  There are two choices available, 60 fps max or until the memory is full.  Also available is a high speed flash mode that will allow up to 60 frames per second using the LED or you can use the onboard flash to capture up to 7 frames per second, with a maximum of 20 frames in one shutter press.  I used this mode to shoot some stop action photos of water drops.  I got way more keepers in just three shutter releases than in hundreds of shots with my standard camera using the exact same setup. 

Another reason I chose to review the Casio Pro EX-F1 is that it has manual modes available.  The camera has Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and even Manual which will allow the shutter to remain open up to a maximum of 60 seconds.  All the manual modes worked just as you would expect and did quite well.  The shutter speed and aperture are controlled via the menu and the rocker controls on the back.

Movie modes

This camera has some great options when it comes to movie modes.  There is the HD mode which does 1024 by 1080, using the 1080i format.   A standard mode which shoots 640 by 480, and a High Speed mode which can shoot at 300, 600 or 1,200 frames per second.  I used the high speed mode to get some great footage of my cat leaping and twisting in the air while trying to get a toy.  I also used it to shoot a small waterfall and watch it in slow motion later on my computer.  The 300 fps mode is the most useable, as both the 600 and 1200 fps modes narrow the field of view considerably and require much more light to look good.  It’s just really cool to see things that are normally too fast for the human eye to pick up, slowed down to that degree.  This mode could be used to capture sports action and slow it down for later playback and evaluation.  P.S. the movie mode records in the .MOV file format (QuickTime).

See a short clip of my cat flying through the air here - WARNING Very Large File

Or on YouTube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yILqQCQHr8s








Also worth noting is that there are separate buttons that activate the shutter release and the video modes.  The shutter release is where you would expect it, up front by the right index finger.  While the video start/stop button is on the back, where the right thumb would rest (right below it is a selector to choose high speed, HD or standard video).  I found this very handy in that I did not need to use a menu to select each mode.  I used this to shoot a local parade this weekend and found it seamless to shoot a still followed by a high speed or HD video on the fly.











The camera has an available zoom range of 32 to 432, which is really nice.  The ISO range goes from 100 to 1,600; but shows quite a bit of noise at the higher levels, so keep it as low as possible for the best outcome.















The camera also has the ability to switch between using the electronic viewfinder and the 2.8 inch LCD display; however, I found the viewfinder a little dark so I spent most of the time using the LCD to compose all my photos and movies.














Conclusion:

This is a really unique camera in its class. The high speed modes alone make this camera worth the extra cost.  I just keep thinking of new cool things to take both high speed still images and movies of.  The regular photos come out just fine; about what you would expect of an advanced compact camera with a smaller sensor.  The autofocus worked very well and I got sharp images most of the time.  Just take a look at the examples on my site to see the results.  I know when I am in the market to replace my point and shoot camera the Casio EX-F1 will definitely be high on my list of replacements.

Canon Powershot G11 - Video Review

Lens Baby Creative Effects System – Video Review

Casio Exilim EX-F1 Digital Camera Review

Joby Gorilapod – Point & Shoot Mini Tripod

Canon 5D Mark II – Video Review

Nikon D300s – Video Review

Olympus EP-1 Pen Digital Camera – Video Review







Continue to Page 2 of Video Clips>>>>>>>>>>>

To begin with, special thanks go out to my friends at B&H Photo Video for loaning me this camera to review.

I am not going to spend time going through every menu and button on the camera.  There are plenty of sites you can go to get the technical details of each of these items.  My intent is to give my overall impressions of the camera and features I found useful.


 

What’s in the Box:

1. Nikon D3000 10.2 Megapixel Camera Body with Body Cap
2. The Kit sent to me included an AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 VR Lens
3. Battery and Wall Charger
4. Neck Strap
5. USB cable
6. Instruction Manuals and Quick Start Guide
7. Nikon Software Suite CD ROM
8. Reference Manual on CD ROM

Initial impressions:

Spring Cherry Blossoms - ISO 100 f5.6 - Nice Bokeh

After using Nikon D3000 for a week or so, I can say this is one nice camera.  The size of the D3000 reminds me very much of my older Canon Rebel XT and a side by side comparison shows them to be very close in body dimensions and weight.  It is light and easy to carry around for extended periods.  I have heard others comment negatively on the small size of the DSLR’s in this category, but I have never found them uncomfortable or less secure to hold than some of the larger camera bodies.  The grip and button layout is very natural and it did not take me very long to get comfortable with the controls.








One aspect of this camera that is really nice is the 11 point auto focus system.  I found it focused fast and most important accurately.  This is the same focusing mechanism found on the much more expensive Nikon D90, and more advanced than what is available on the other cameras in the D3000’s segment.  






As for the buttons available, there are not many.  Most of the commands are found in the menu system.  There are buttons for exposure compensation, auto exposure/focus lock and a user programmable function button on the left side just above the lens release button.  It can be set to control ISO, Timer, Image Quality, White Balance, Active D-lighting or to Set Framing Grid (allowing you to choose the one you use most).  Another control layout feature I really like is the adjustment wheel that is accessible using the right thumb; it just feels natural and intuitive to me.












The Active D-lighting option is used to increase the dynamic range (usable information in the darker and lighter areas).  I tried this and found that while it does show more details in the shadows, it comes with a price.  Which is slower file write times and a little more noise in the shadows. 

Active D-Lighting Option - Off Left - On Right

The 3 inch LCD screen is large and easy to read.  I had no problems reading it in bright conditions.  One item on the screen that I thought might be useful to the photographer just starting out is the graphical representation of the lens aperture.  It shows the opening and closing of the aperture blades as each different aperture is selected.  Now, you may ask why this is useful.  Well let’s say you are just starting out in photography and can’t remember which F-stop gives you more or less light. This graphic shows you exactly what to expect.  Go from F5.6 to F6.3 and you see the aperture close down.

Washington State Capitol - ISO 400

Also, with beginners in mind, the Nikon D3000 has a new mode called “Guide”.  This is in addition to having the normal modes of Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Full Auto and Scene Modes.  By the way, scene mode is where you can choose action, portrait, landscape, etc. and the camera automatically selects settings for that type of photo.  I tried the new guide mode and think that it might be helpful for beginning photographers or those just switching to a DSLR from a compact camera.  When you choose Easy Operation in Guide Mode it asks you simple questions about the shooting situation you are in and explains which scene mode it is going to use and why. When you choose Advanced Operation it uses aperture and shutter priority modes and explains why you would use them.  You will soon outgrow this mode, but it is nice to have when you have trouble remembering which mode to use in a certain situation.








The Nikon D3000 has an ISO range of 100 to 1600 plus Hi 1 which is 3200.  I tried out different ISO’s and found that it is acceptable up to about ISO 800.  ISO 1600 could be used in a pinch if you really needed it and the image really degrades when you hit 3200. 


I used a 4GB SDHC card and found it hold the following quantities:

Fine/Large JPEG – 524

Fine/Medium JPEG – 922

Normal/Large JPEG – 1000

RAW NEF files – 228

Ianto Playing - Indoor Use of On Camera Flash - ISO 100

Some Other Nice Discoveries:

The menu has a Recent Settings option which allows you to quickly get to camera settings you have used in the past.  It holds the last 15 menu selections you have used.  Great if you want to get to an item you use frequently that is buried deeper in the menu structure.


There is also a framing grid option that is kind of nice.  It super imposes a black grid, using the rule of thirds in the viewfinder.  This grid flashes red when you half press the shutter release button and can be used to help you properly frame your subject.


The Nikon D3000 also has in camera retouching that allows you to make some adjustments to your photos right in the camera.  Such as Red Eye Correction, Cropping, Filter Effects, Color Balancing, D-Lighting (which opens up shadow areas) and other fun stuff. 

Didn't Want Spike to Feel Left Out - Program Mode w/ Flash

The kit lens that came with the D3000 package I tested is the AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 VR.  This is a pretty good lens to get you started out in photography.  I found that it was sharp and clear in the short time I spent with this camera.  The VR (Vibration Reduction) that is on this lens really helps when hand holding the camera in low light situations.  In case all the numbers and letters in the lens name do not make sense to you let’s talk a little about what they mean.  The 18-55mm refers to the lens focal length meaning it zooms from 18mm to 55mm.  The 1:3.5-5.6 refers to the available apertures for this lens.  This means the lens opens up to a maximum of f3.5 at 18mm and progresses to f5.6 at 55mm.  At the intermediate apertures, say at 35mm it opens up to f5.0.


Conclusion:

Statue - ISO 100 Harsh Light

I thoroughly enjoyed using the Nikon D3000 and would definitely recommend it.  The high points are; it’s a light and compact camera to carry, has an 11 point autofocus system that works very well, the ISO performance is good and the modes available will serve beginner and seasoned photographers alike.  I also found the camera body of the D3000 very sturdy feeling, and well built.  One really nice thing about cameras in the D3000 segment is the ability to set the mode into Auto and hand it to someone who is not familiar with DSLR’s and have them snap away.  While this camera does not have video and live-view like some of its competitors, it does take very good photos and allows the photographer many creative options.