Digital SLR - Buying criteria

Posting the expert advice of my friend Somak on the things to consider for Digital SLRs -

Assuming you’ll mainly focus on still images, you need to really consider few things like (this is general gyan and may not related to the cameras you are eyeing now) –

1.Auto Focus – most will have, but remember this is the mode you’ll be taking most of your photos in, so this better be good. The number of AF points will vary from Camera to Camera. Remember that this is the property of the Camera body (sensor) and not the lens. So you will remain with the number till you remain with the camera. Therefore higher the number the better. A camera with 20 AF points is way better than one with 15 AF Points. In general a difference of more than 5 AF Points should definitely contribute to your decision making, with 15 AF Points very good and anything above 25 is too much to handle J. AF points are required for those crisp clear images you must be planning to take. You would definitely need to be able to choose what you want to focus on while shooting at a speed (spontaneous shooting) which mostly you will.

2. Resolution – Anything above 10MP is good enough and anything above 12MP is no brainer photography. Most DSLR cameras will definitely have more than 10MP. This is required to bring in the crisp ness of the image. Your images won’t look good if you don’t have a good MP value in your camera.

3.The LCD Panel on your Camera and a good View Finder. Remember that when you are out shooting you won’t have a laptop/desktop to immediately check your photos. By design photos are of ‘moments’ and they don’t repeat. And it’s heart-breaking to come back home and figure out that you have screwed up on focus/composition or whatever. So the view finder should be able to guide you and the LCD panel should be able to show you the photo with immediate effect (including zooming into the photo) and with high resolution. So that you at least have a fighting chance to recover the moment for a second try. This is very important especially for subject photography which will be a substantial part of the photos you take.

Note: Also check that your camera has a Diopter Adjustment Control. It corrects the optical viewfinder to match your eyesight. This is required for both of us as we wear specs. But this should be in most cameras.

4.Lens: Lens compatibility is at par on both models and most of the lenses are awesome! J. Take a lens with range of 28-140 or 18-105mm. which roughly estimates to 5X optical zoom. You should be good. This is like not too less nor too big. Start with this and you can graduate to Telephotos later.

5.Sensor size – Again these are standard but DX on Nikon is very good. But still the lesser the crop factor the better the camera is! Because since we mostly take landscapes the lesser the crop factor the better…right!

6.ISO Range (the larger the better). But also check how much noise you are getting in higher ISOs, higher ISO alone doesn’t make sense. This is essential in low light/night photography which you definitely will. So read the reviews and figure out which camera gives lesser noise in higher ISOs.

7.Flash mode – flicker mode and red eye reduction mode is a must. And you’ll obviously have the standard exposures. But remember Nikon has better reviews at flash and exposure modes.

8.Image stabilization which Nikon calls VR and Canon calls IS.

9.SD Cards – If you want to do HD photography then SDHC support (High Speed SD cards). For normal photographs SD is just fine.

10.Image editing option inside the camera, like color balancing etc. This is more of a good to have feature and is very subjective. But some basic imaging should be there. You’ll need it occasionally.


Other than this everything you see in sites/brochures are pure marketing gimmick and mostly not very useful for us. But again give importance to your own judgment.

Some very good links (although you must be doing lots of studies already! J):
1. Always read reviews from www.dpreview.com

2. A good buying guide: http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/best-digital-slr-camera.html

Symbolism - Sagar Manthan

Every Indian (and also the Thai, Indonesian, etc) have heard about the story of the Sagar/Samudra Manathan - Churning of the Ocean by the Devas and Asuras to get the nectar of immortality. But very few people know the symbolism and the real meaning hidden in the story. Here it goes (special thanks to wikipedia) -

The story represents the spiritual endeavor of a person to achieve self-realisation through concentration of mind, withdrawal of senses, control of desires and practice of austerities and asceticism.

* The Devas and Asuras represent the positives and negatives respectively of one's personality. The participation of both the Devas and the Asuras signifies that when one is seeking bliss through spiritual practice, one has to integrate and harmonise both the positive and negative aspects and put both the energies to work for the common goal.

* The ocean of milk is the mind or the human consciousness. The mind is like an ocean while the thoughts and emotions are the waves in the ocean.

* Mandhara, the mountain symbolises concentration. The word Mandhara is made up of two words Mana (mind) and Dhara (a single line) which means holding the mind in one line. This is possible only by concentration.

* Mount Mandhara was upheld by Lord Vishnu as a Kurma (tortoise). The tortoise here symbolises the withdrawal of the senses into oneself (just as a tortoise withdraws its head & limbs into its shell) as one practices mental concentration and meditation or contemplation.

* Vasuki symbolises desire. Vasuki used in the churning of the ocean denotes that the Devas and the demons held desire (to seek immortality) as a rope and churned the mind with the help of concentration and withdrawal of the senses. Desire, if not controlled will overpower and destroy an individual.

* The Halahala poison symbolises suffering and pain (counter-reaction of the mind and body) that one undergoes at the beginning of spiritual sadhana (practice). When the mind is subjected to intense concentration, the first thing that comes out of the process is intense suffering and great inner turmoil. These must be resolved otherwise further progress is not possible.

* Lord Shiva symbolises the ascetic principle. His role in this story as the consumer of poison suggests that one can deal with the early problems of spiritual life by cultivating the qualities of Lord Shiva, namely, courage, initiative, willingness, discipline, simplicity, austerity, detachment, compassion, pure love and asceticism.

* The various precious objects that come out of the ocean during the churning stand for the psychic or spiritual powers (Siddhis) which one gains as s/he progresses spiritually from stage to stage. The seeker should be careful about these powers as they can hamper her/his progress unless s/he uses them judiciously, not for selfish gains but for others' welfare. This is the reason why the Gods and demons distributed these objects as they did not want to lose sight of their original aim which was to gain immortality.

* Dhanvantari symbolises health and signifies that immortality (longevity, to be correct) or spiritual success can be achieved only when the body and the mind are in a perfect state of health.

* Mohini symbolises delusion of the mind in the form of (or originating from) pride. It is the pride of achievement to which the asuras or the demons succumbed and thus lost sight of their goal. Pride and egoism are the last hurdles one has to overcome in spiritual life before experiencing self-realisation.

* The Amrit symbolises the ultimate achievement of the goal of self-realization.

* Lakshmi represents universal enrichment which comes as an automatic by-product of the internal self-realization or Amrita

This kind of spiritual symbolism is present in many of the Hindu stories; one just has to open his mind to see it!