29th Mar 2021
Seeing that I have had a Nikon D3000 since 2010, I figured it was time for an upgrade. And so I recently took the plunge, and got myself a new DSLR camera.
There are a number of factors that influenced my choice of camera, not least of those the cost. But there are several other things. I have a number of lenses for my D3000, including a wide angle lens, a telephoto lens and a prime lens. These weren’t cheap. It was clearly a no-brainer for me to look for a camera with which I can use all my existing lenses.
Now I have come across a few Youtubers who have tried out the mirrorless cameras, and I would see that these have their advantages over the DSLR cameras. However, the lenses for the DSLR cameras cannot be used with the mirrorless cameras. This, plus the fact that mirrorless cameras are more expensive, was why I decided on a DSLR camera.
Specifically, a Nikon D5600.
There has been many a time when I took a picture that required me to get into rather awkward positions, including but not limited to lying down on the ground, to line up the camera for the shot. And so I come to a feature that the D5600 has, that the D3000 does not, and it is Live View. With it, what is seen by the camera’s sensor is displayed in real time on the screen, which, by the way, can be rotated and tilted to any angle. That said, although there is still a viewfinder. It’s just a matter of preference at the end of the day.
The camera I went for in the end was a Nikon D5600, and it was a step up from the D3000 on several levels. First off is the resolution – 24 megapixels as opposed to 10 megapixels on the D3000.
Other key features include: 39 focus points for autofocus, compared to 11 on the D3000. There is also a wider ISO range: 100 to 25600, compared to 100-1600 on the D3000.
Two notable features the D5600 has that the D3000 does not, are the ability to make HD videos, and communicating with a smartphone through Nikon’s SnapBridge app.
Having tried out the SnapBridge app, the one thing I noted was that it takes a considerable amount of time to connect the camera to the smartphone – you need Wi-Fi to control the camera with the smartphone. I could control the D3000 with a remote control button, which was very simple – it just had one button, which worked the same way as the button on the camera to take the pictures. However, it does not work with the D5600.
In the light of this, I got myself a remote controller, specifically a Hahnel Captur timer kit – comprising of a timer and a receiver. There are a few ways to connect the timer to the camera – wirelessly, by mounting the receiver on the camera, and it can then be controlled by the timer. Or you could just connect the timer directly to the camera, with a cable. In addition to remote button facility, there are also some interval timer programmable functions.
When it comes to making videos, one thing I did note is that if I put a wide angle (10-24mm) lens onto the camera, I could talk into the camera while hand-holding it at arm’s length, whereas with a camcorder that I have been using to make YouTube videos, I had to be at least 2-3m away from the camera. Otherwise, my head would take up what I feel would be too much of the picture.
Unfortunately I have not had any real opportunities to go out on a photoshoot, due to Ireland being in lockdown since the start of the year on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is hoped that some of the restrictions will be eased around Easter. Until then, I cannot do a whole lot with my camera other than still life, and maybe some light trails with my light stick, which I made last year.
When it comes to making videos, I envisage that the D5600 will be the camera I will be using for shots in which I will be talking into the camera (called A-roll, I believe), as well as some B-roll. Other cameras I have include a GoPro, which I will be using for mainly POV (point of view, where I have the chest mounted on a head mount or a chest strap, and also for BTS shots (behind the scenes, where I have the camera on a tripod, and recording myself setting up the camera for example).
At the time of writing (end of March), Ireland will have been in lockdown for three weeks. The daily case count of Covid-19 has been off the Richter scale during the month of January, peaking at more than 8,000 cases on one day. Compare this to nearly 1,300 cases at the peak of the second wave. This means that I’m not supposed to travel beyond 5km from home except for essential purposes, and there is a specific set of criteria for what constitutes essential purposes.
These lockdown-related restrictions are due for review at the start of April, and the government is talking about very minimal easing of these restrictions, if any. If there is any consolation, the vaccination programme seems to be coming along steadily, albeit slower than hoped. To date, about 200,000 people, 4% of the population have now been vaccinated. With the daily figures appearing to refuse to come down any further than 400 a day, it looks like we are hoping that there will be enough progress with the vaccinations to bring the cases down, and allow the country to re-open once and for all, albeit we will still be required to wear face masks and socially distance for the foreseeable future.
Until then, it seems I will have to wait before going out on photoshoots.