Posts Tagged ‘Digital SLR Camera’
Nikon D90 DX 12 3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18 105mm f 3 5 5 6G ED AF S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens

Fusing 12.3-megapixel image quality inherited from the award-winning D300 with groundbreaking features, the D90s breathtaking, low-noise image quality is further advanced with EXPEED image processing. Split-second shutter response and continuous shooting at up to 4.5 frames-per-second provide the power to capture fast action and precise moments perfectly, while Nikons exclusive Scene Recognition System contributes to faster 11-area autofocus performance, finer white balance detection and more. The D90 delivers the control passionate photographers demand, utilizing comprehensive exposure functions and the intelligence of 3D Color Matrix Metering II. Stunning results come to life on a 3-inch 920,000-dot color LCD monitor, providing accurate image review, Live View composition and brilliant playback of the D90s cinematic-quality 24-fps HD D-Movie mode.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Best I’ve owned
The Nikon D90 is the best camera I’ve ever owned. I currently own a D90 and D700. However, the ease of use, the portability and the utilitarian characteristics are amazing on the D90. The picture quality is equal to professional levels if you learn how to use this camera. I simply took pictures non-stop for six months and began to learn how to adjust settings. While I use the non-automatic settings you can get great pictures using the automatic settings as well despite what the books and critics say. I like nature photography and the fast setting has given me some great shots of birds in flight and animals on the run (horses, coyotes, deer, rabbits, etc). I recommend getting a Nikkor 70-300mm lens for telephoto and a Nikkor Micro 105mm for close-up work. You can use the 70mm-300mm without a tripod because it comes with vibration control. Very nice, indeed. With the 18mm-55mm lens that comes in the kit this is all the lens you will need to cover a wide range of shooting. I have photo’s in galleries from this camera. I am a serious photographer and have read the manuals, books, and watched video’s on this camera. I have also taken some courses on photography in general. While I use the D700 for some of my work I use my D90 for most of what I do. I highly recommend this camera to anyone.
5 Stars Great for the semi-pro
I have a D40 and a D60 and was about to purchase a D5000, but after looking at all the reviews I could find of each model, I chose to add the D90 to my collection…so glad I did. The quality is great for the price, and the pictures are amazing. I have added a wide angle (11-18) lens and I am so impressed with the results. I belong to a retro Thunderbird club, and getting 70 T-Birds in a clear concise photo was a major concern. Even large prints of the pics I took are of poster quality…which means, blown up, much detail can be seen. Great camera!
5 Stars The D90 Rocks!
I am an amateur photographer by far but got tired of missing the great moments waiting for my piece of junk ‘point and shoot’ to figure out that I wanted it to take a picture. After missing every attempted shot at my daughter’s gymnastics meet, I told my wife we are droppin’ some coin on a nice camera. I did a lot of web research reading reviews and talking with friends who had nice cameras. I had to go to Bestbuy to handle a few cameras because Montgomery ALABAMA does not have a single camera store……capital city too! NICE!
Bottomline – this camera does more cool stuff than I had realized. Download the owner’s manual from Nikon and see for yourself. I will not miss a great moment again. I could go into all of the features but others have done a much better job at writing reviews. I have never owned a Nikon nor a dSLR camera for that matter so I really have nothing to compare it to except my crappy ‘point and shoots (misses)’. Try Cameta Camera on eBay because they offer the same package deal as on Amazon but for $40 less. Still a good deal on Amazon with the extra lens, case, battery, etc.
3 Stars After the first 3 days, noticed 3 issues so far…
* Amazon customer service is second to none
* Nikon tech support is very responsive and seems knowledgeable, BUT, they will not tell the truth on certain issues, pretending that they have never heard of it before, which is common practice for most companies anyway, but I wish they would change that.
Aside from the following issues, the camera is perfect in most other respects, and I’m “VERY” picky, when it comes to choosing the right camera for me. I have been in the digital camera accessory business for over 10 years. No camera is perfect, if it was not for these issues, I would’ve given this at least a 4 star.
Here are some of the issues I’ve encountered so far.
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Oct 6, 2009
Received first camera from Amazon
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Oct 7, 2009
Shot about 200 pics, received the “F- -” error. Called Nikon, they instructed to remove and reattached the lens, which worked. They stated that it is a known issue, but they do not know the exact cause.
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Oct 8, 2009
I was reviewing a pic, suddenly, I noticed the AF assist lamp was on steadily, not sure for how long before I noticed it, I then pressed a button, forgot which one, the lamp went off, so I didn’t think of it as anything major.
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Oct 9, 2009
After about 500+ pics. I was shooting in HI continuous mode, when I went back to shoot again, the camera would not focus at all and displayed the “ERR” message. I pressed the shutter all the way, just to see what would happen, I did hear the shutter snapping sound, do not remember if it actually took a pic, then it was completely locked up. Called Nikon, they stated if releasing the shutter does not get rid of the “ERR”, return to Nikon for service. I removed the battery and that fixed the problem for now. Called Amazon, they are now sending me a new replacement, even though it seems to be working fine for now, I prefer not coming across any future issues.
Searched online about this “ERR” message and found a good amount of people having experienced the same or similar error problem, one or more times. Some also stated that by removing the battery will fix it every time, but not all have the same result.
I don’t really like seeing so many posts on this “ERR” message, so I’ll wait for the replacement and see what happens. I have two SanDisk Extreme III 8GB cards used for different devices, while I’m waiting, I’ll swap the cards and see if this “ERR” message comes up again.
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Oct 10, 2009
Called Nikon about this “ERR” issue (surprised they were opened on a Saturday), they stated that by removing the battery will work sometime, but not always. They claimed that “IF” I do need to send it in for service, they “WILL” be able to fix the “F- -” and “ERR” errors “FOR SURE” permanently. So far, from some of the posts I’ve read, that seem to be the case, but you may have to wait about 3 weeks to get the camera back (waiting is the tuff part).
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Will continue with updates…
5 Stars It’s a D300 for half price.
I had the D300 and loved it until this came out.
The D300 is great, but it can be complicated at times.
The D90 is a D300 in the body of a D70. Sure, there are other features on the D300; metal pro body and seals – but when it comes to speed, handling, and image quality – you will be hard pressed to see a difference.
Buy the D300 to impress people.
Buy the D90 to take awesome photos, and with the money you saved, you can fund that next awesome lens you wanted.
Seriously, it’s that good.
Former D300 owner, have also owned the D80 and D70.
Presently own the D40x, D90 (new – and love), F100 and a FE. Don’t ask me about lenses – I own too many as it is.
ps. I sold my D300 and got the D90.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21 1MP Full Frame CMOS Digital SLR Camera with EF 24 105mm f 4 L IS USM Lens

Compact, lightweight with environmental protection, EOS 5D successor boasts a newly-designed Canon CMOS sensor, with ISO sensitivity up to 25,600 for shooting in near dark conditions. The new DIGIC 4 processor combines with the improved CMOS sensor to deliver medium format territory image quality at 3.9 frames per second, for up to 310 frames. Triggered from Live View Mode, HD video capture allows users to shoot uninterrupted at full 1080 resolution at 30fps — for amazing quality footage with outstanding levels of detail and realism. The integration of HD movie capability into a high-end 21.1-megapixel camera opens a multitude of new possibilities for photojournalists and news photographers. With its full frame CMOS sensor and outstanding ISO performance, the EOS 5D Mark II will appeal to any photographer in search of the finest camera equipment available — from studio and wedding to nature and travel photographers.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars This is a B – Camera
I am happy with the 5D mark 11. But I have on going issues. The screen decides to shut off by it’s self when reviewing photos. It has frozen and then shuts off.This is when I am using the camera. I hate the idea of a video in the camera. Canon should have focused on the camera and not at all on video. I have all Canon due to investing in lens. Unsure if Nikon is better. My partner uses Nikon D3. He loves it. And craps on mine all the time. But over all Canon should have did more testing and spent more time and money on this Camera. And forget a video. Over all I would say it’s a B- camera. I hate to say I like and trust my 50D more. I took the 50D to Argentina. It had no issues at over 10,000 shots and nearly a month from cold to jungles. But of course the 50D has major disadvantages over the 5D. Maybe step up to 1D……………..that’s a big jump.
5 Stars Love it!
Bought the 5d Mark II earlier this year. I’m a non-professional and first time full frame user. I’ve used a variety of cameras but not Nikon or Canon. I’ve EF lenses and have been using the camera for portraiture and scenic, in city, country, during winter and summer and am thrilled with the results (the enlargements are great). The movie function wasn’t an issue for me as, although I’ve tried it with good results, I could’ve done without it. It’s a little on the heavy side with the distance lenses which took a bit of getting accustomed to. No comment on price as, in my opinion, you often get what you pay for and I’m totally pleased. I work a lot in manual but I’ve not had any problem with the autofocus either. However, I did find it a little complicated at first – my problem not the mark II’s.
4 Stars Good Image, Poor Construction
I have been using this camera for 5 months with about 10000 shots. To canon’s credit, the images quality are excellent, so is the video. However, the huge pet peeve is the cheap memory card door. In order to hold this heavy camera, your palm will press firmly agaist the back of the handgrip, where the memory card door is located. This flimsy plastic door generates non-stop noise because of the pressure. This is particularly harmful when shooting video of concerts etc, as the noise gets amplified in the sound track. Extremely annoying in video play back. Can’t Canon make a better card door for this $2700 camera?
The other problem is several hot pixels when shooting video. Before I sent back the camera for service, I searched the internet and found a solution (now I forgot how, but it’s searchable with keywords). It works fine now. I didn’t bother to send it back.
5 Stars best high ISO camera EVER!
i am constantly amazed by the pictures i get from this camera. i love the extra width i get from full frame as well as the extra shallow depth of field. i’m a wedding/portrait photographer and this camera is beyond amazing for what i do.
if you shoot high ISO, you can’t beat this camera at the moment. i shoot ISO 6400 like it’s ISO 1600, it is that clean. and ISO 3200 is the new ISO 800 for me, i don’t even hesitate. i will not go above ISO 6400 though as you’ll start to see banding.
the lcd has me spoiled, so much so that i’m selling my 40d so that i can either get a 50d or the new 7d. on the 40d all of the pictures just look blah…and blurry. they still turn out good on the computer, but it can be very frustrating at the time. on the 5d II, you can tell right away if you’ve misfocused or if your exposure is off.
video quality is amazing though i don’t really use it for that.
autofocus is better than people like to give it credit for. i shoot mainly dimly lit receptions and it locks perfect whenever i need it to. i’m talking ISO 6400 f/1.6 1/30s dim. also i have no problem using outer focus points as they work great as well.
manual focus is a cinch with the 5d II. if you put the camera in live view, move the small box over what you want to focus on, then push the zoom button twice to see that box at pixel level. focus the lens and shoot away.
lenses used are 35mm f/1.4L, 85mm f/1.8, 16-35mm f/2.8L I, and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS.
if you need high ISO and want full frame, this is the camera for you. if you don’t need either, save some money and get the 50d or 7d…or even a used 40d.
2 Stars Sub-par body & features
Great sensor & image quality. However, the camera lacks many features one would expect from a $2700 camera:
* Auto-focus points are poorly placed (focus and recompose doesn’t work well due to shallow depth of field).
* The CF card door creaks & is flimsy—this affects the grip; I can’t attach a heavy lens (24-70L) and hold the camera comfortably. This problem is very common and well documented (do a web search).
* Outer auto-focus points hunt quite a bit. The camera feels non-responsive when using outer AF points (I’m coming from 40D).
* The camera is quite heavy; I don’t see why it should be given the poor construction. Weight becomes a problem especially with heavier lenses (24-70L and 85 f/1.2L), where you get blurry shots more frequently (again, compared to 40D).
* Lack of pop-up flash is bothering (although I have an external unit); If Nikon can do it, why can’t Canon?
* Lack of auto-focus during video recording. Expect to get a lot of out of focus videos if you shoot family & kids. No 720p option. The video files are huge (~1 gig for 3-4 mins of video).
Canon EOS 50D 15 1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF S 18 200mm f 3 5 5 6 IS Standard Zoom Lens

Canon’s new EOS 50D bridges the gap between the novice and the seasoned pro with a perfect combination of high-speed and quality. It features an APS-C sized 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 4 Image Processor for fine detail and superior color reproduction, and improved ISO capabilities up to 12800 for uncompromised shooting even in the dimmest situations. It features a refined 3.0″ Clear View LCD monitor, Live View Function with optional Remote Live View Shooting, Face Detection Live mode, and a number of new automatic Image Correction settings. White Balance – Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash, Custom, and Color Temperature setting Updated EOS Integrated Cleaning System with a fluorine coating for better resistance to dust 9 cross-type high-precision sensors for accurate target subject acquisition and diagonal center cross-type AF point with f/2.8 and faster lenses EX-series Speedlites Compatible Flash Shutter Speeds – 1/8000 to 30 seconds ISO Speed – Automatically set, ISO 100-6400 (in 1/3-stop or 1-stop increments), Basic Zone modes ISO 100-3200 set automatically, Extension settable (with C.Fn.I-3-1) ISO 12800, and High Tone Priority settable ISO 200-1600 HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) output for displaying full high-resolution images on a High Definition TV Next generation DIGIC 4 Image Processor for faster processing – Maximum Bursts JPEG (Large/Fine) approximately 60 (Up to 90 with UDMA), RAW up to 16, and RAW + JPEG up to 11 Dimensions – Width 5.7 x Height 4.2 x Depth 2.9 (145.5×107.8×73.5mm) Weight – 25.7 ounces (730 grams) body
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars New Amazing Product for Best Available Price
Bought for my wife’s Birthday (professional photographer), she loves it over the overpriced, under performing, Nikon that she was using in her 1 year professional photography program. Camera, lens and all accessories are high quality and in perfect condition, never been out of box, packaged excellently and arrived almost 2 weeks before the beginning of the estimated shipping time frame. Amazing deal especially considering that I had to cancel my order from a mainstream photography equipment company who said it was out of stock for over 2 months, and is now charging almost $400 more than Amazon.com for the same exact thing, even though it still says out-of-stock.
5 Stars How to make your wife happy.
I don’t know much about photography so you may want to pan this review but my wife loves taking pictures. Her rebel was acting up so we bought this beauty. Although a little costly it was worth it to see how excited my wife was when she got it.
5 Stars Completely Satisfied
The Canon 50D is great. I added the Tamron AF18-270mmm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF} Macro (Model Bo003) lens from Amazon to this camera and I am extremely satisfied with their performance together. The quality of my pictures with the new camera and len are significant. I was using a Canon Rebel Xt with a Tamron 18-200 lens.
2 Stars You get what you pay for
I have a Canon 1DIII, and was looking for a more compact second body. I was not happy with the prospect of either the 50D or 5DII but decided to give the 50D a try first. It’s not that it’s such a bad camera, it’s just leagues away from the 1 series, and in my opinion, leagues away from the Nikon D300. Why do I say this?
First, it’s not at all weatherized, which does matter to me as I do mostly outdoor shooting, and there are competing products from Nikon, Pentax, Sony, that are pretty well weatherproof.
Second, the viewfinder is small and dark, and there’s only 9 AF points, compared to 50 something in the Nikon D300, and at least 11 in most other cameras. I don’t need 50 points, but the little rhomboid pattern in the Canon amateur and prosumer lines is really sub-par for the industry.
Third, there’s more pixels, but then there’s also more noise, and fewer pixels would have been just fine, along with less noise. What good does ISO 12800 do, when the pic is unusable?
In summary, Canon has been resting on their laurels, made mainly cosmetic improvements in each iteration since their 20D came out, and I sold the camera a month after I bought it at a substantial loss on ebay. Good riddance, money can be recouped.
5 Stars I love this camera.
I had dreamt of buying a good digital camera for a long time. I had been shooting films until now since I could not afford a digital camera that produced the quality I desired.
In short, this camera is worth every penny (in my opinion of course). I totally fell in love with it the day I received it. The picture quality is awesome. The pictures are both sharp and the colors are spectacular. It has all kind of great features but what matters most for me is the picture quality. I already have one of my pictures taken on this camera displayed on a wall in the living room, it is 5.2 feet wide and even despite of the size, the picture quality is good.

The Panasonic Lumix G1 is the world’s first camera to employ the new Micro Four Thirds System standard. Together with an innovative mirror-less structure that also dramatically downsizes the camera body, the LUMIX G Micro System achieves a dramatic portability and ease of use by an adoption of electronic Full-time Live View Finder instead of conventional optical viewfinder. Despite the G1’s ultra-compact design, it comes fully equipped with features that assure outstanding ease of use, made possible by the contrast AF system. The G1 also boasts iA (Intelligent Auto) mode, a feature that took the world by storm in Lumix digital compact cameras. iA mode brings together a full range of functions – led by AF Tracking , Face Detection, Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure – that together let users take strikingly beautiful photos with maximum ease every time they shoot. The G1 breaks new ground in styling too, overturning SLR camera conventions by giving users a variety of body colors to choose from. For people who have been hesitant about moving up to an SLR camera, the G1 is a perfect fit. It is a small, sophisticated, easy-to-use camera that will greatly expand any user’s photographic capabilities.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great travel camera
Before I go on I should mention I also have a Nikon d700 which is a pretty fancy camera costing about five times as much as the G1 if you include appropriate lenses. When compared to the d700 you can see the G1 doesnt have the same sort of brick like construction quality, it is much more plasticy and doesnt have as many controls to hand. The upside of this is that its about 1/2 of the weight of the d700 with lens and in fact a large part of my decision to buy the G1 was because of its small size.
When I compared it to cameras at the more compact end such as the “super zooms” I found the G1 had a physically larger sensor and better picture quality. There was also a real lens up front with ability to change lenses. Also, superior access to deeper parameters like ISO, white balance, focus and exposure modes easily. The downside here is the G1 costs a bit more than similar “super zoom”, though I am amazed at the differences in prices sellers are asking for it. I paid about 20% more than my girlfriends top of the range compact which I felt was worth it.
So I wanted something much lighter than my d700 but still with lots of ability to fiddle with parameters. I have not been disappointed in this camera, its great fun to use. Setting of most functions require only one or two button presses and scroll of the wheel. I love the small size and reduced weight. Although the electronic viewfinder sacrifices some naturalness you get used to it pretty quick and it has the ability to do things you cant with a SLR viewfinder. These include ability to preview the effects of changes to aperture and shutter speed which is great for lower light shooting. You can also see how much image blurring will occur with slower shutter speeds, and also preview depth of field. When travelling in dodgy places I also feel less self conscious pulling this camera out in public, and feel less likely to get mugged!
Ive noticed some reviewers have marked this camera down as being too complex and I feel this is not a fault of the camera. It would be different if the camera were poorly laid out but its not, one button press will give you access to a whole range of parameters, its hard to fault. Little things are annoying like when you want to delete a photo you have to press the delete button then press a scroll right button to choose ‘yes” and then press a “menu set” button to confirm. So thats 3 different buttons. On my d700 you just press the delete button, get asked OK? and then press again. Much less finger moving around. These little details are what distinguish higher end cameras but this is a minor quibble.
More obscure parameters need more button pressing but this camera is no worse than even the d700. If you are not interested in learning about what goes into a photograph then I would agree the ability to tweak settings will be unnecessary and intimidating and you would be better off with a more preset oriented camera. Then again, the G1 has about 8 scene presets, so at minimum you can just point and shoot. This is good when you want to hand your camera over to a non-camera friendly stranger or friend to use without baffling them.
To sum up, this camera was a compromise for me between the high end picture quality of my d700 and the need for something more lightweight, compact and less obtrusive, but still with enough sophistication to allow tweaking and user input into the photo.
5 Stars A near perfect mix of portability and image quality
I’ve had my G1 for three months, and there isn’t much I can add to the other 5-star reviews. It’s a very solid camera that is easy to carry and easy to use. It takes great pictures. It has three excellent kit lenses to choose from, and it can use hundreds of great lenses from the days of film that are now very inexpensive and easily available.
I have both kit zooms and 3 legacy primes. I’m particularly impressed by the performance of the zooms, which are both exceptionally good for such moderately priced lenses.
All in all, I highly recommend this camera (or its sibling, the GH1, if you need video) to anyone who is moving up from a fixed lens camera and to anyone who is tired of lugging the weight of a full frame dSLR around.
One note: I’ve noticed that several reviewers cited poor high-ISO performance as a drawback. While literally true – a less than full frame sensor is at a technical disadvantage with respect to noise – I’ve found that this is much less of a problem than I expected. Part of the reason is that Panasonic took a deliberately conservative approach to setting ISO levels, unlike Canon, Olympus, and others who have exaggerated their ISO numbers. For this reason, a G1 image shot at what Panny calls “ISO 800″ is essentially identical in exposure to what many dSLRs produce when set at what those other companies call “ISO 1600.” The amount of light hitting the sensor is the same in both cases, and therefore the amount of noise is quite similar.
Thus it is important to compare the noise in an ISO 800 shot from the G1 with the noise from most other popular cameras set at 1600, and so on at every other ISO increment. (Certain Nikons are an exception, as they are closer to the Panasonic definitions of ISO than the inflated Canon/Olympus definition.)
After all, it’s the actual exposure settings that matter, not the labels the camera makers put on the ISO. If two cameras shoot the same scene with the same aperture and the same shutter speed, the two exposures will be the same. It doesn’t matter that one camera is set at ISO 200 and the other is set at ISO 400, the amount of light reaching both sensors is the same.
What this means in practical terms is that the G-1’s TRUE low light performance is one full stop better than most people expect if they just go by the ISO settings.
5 Stars Panasonic Lumix G1 Review
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 12.1MP Digital Camera with Lumix G Vario 14-45 mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Mega OIS Lens (Blue) is certainly small. Its a very handy Camera to travel around with.
The picture quality is good..
Rarely are photos taken in ISO 800.. after which the noise starts creeping in.
The Live View Finder is superb. Though at low light.. it is almost unusable..
I am happy with the purchase.
5 Stars Lumix G1 a great camera for dads
I am a photography novice, my experience with cameras is mostly confined to chasing my two kids around with a point and shoot. I was accustomed to getting blurry, noisy, and dark pictures of my family with my Canon PowerShot. I made a list of the things I wanted in a new family camera.
1. Great image quality! Not good, not fair, but great image quality indoors as well as outdoors.
2. Relatively compact size. I was looking very seriously at the Canon PowerShot SX1IS, and the PowerShot G10
3. Ease of use. I don’t have time to fiddle with settings and take six exposures of the same scene to get a good shot.
4. Speed. My kids can’t hold still, its like an invisible gnome is following them around with a cattle prod.
5. Price. I can’t afford the moon. I needed to keep this purchase well under $1000.
I have had the Lumix G1 for about a month now, and I LOVE it. It fits all 5 of my requirements nicely.
1. The G1 takes great pictures. I have tried it outdoors and indoors, I am very happy with the results.
2. I was a little worried about its size at first, but in comparison with a full size SLR, the G1 is tiny.
3. I can hand this camera to my wife, leave the camera on iauto and she is fine using it.
4. I can actually focus on my kids now. I take this camera to the park all the time and get great shots.
5. The street price is about $650 for this camera. Well within my budget.
Particular features I like:
1. Grip. This camera is easy to hold for me and my giant hands. Its small for an SLR, but not so small that I might accidentally swallow it or something either. Its very easy to carry around. It also has a rubbery coating on the body which gives it a nice sheen, as well as added grip.
2. The swing-out LCD viewfinder. Makes taking shots from low angles really easy. I also like that the camera knows when I am looking through the eye piece and turns the LCD off.
3. The intelligent auto feature detects when a face is present, or when a subject is moving and adjusts settings for you–fast.
4. The interface is easy to get around in. I can actually switch settings on this camera without a degree in engineering.
5. My wife isn’t put off by it. She feels very comfortable picking it up and taking pictures with it.
In the end, this camera takes great shots. It is easy to learn, and very easy to carry around. I would recommend it to any dad who is looking for SLR quality pictures without the bulk and complication of use those kinds of cameras generally offer.
5 Stars excellent camera
Ijust can’t stop loving it. The functionalities and the look are just so facinating. If I were to buy a camera again, I will surely go for it.












