Lunch Break

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Dam Site - A Reflection

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/18.0
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Cross Word - Game Anyone?

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 6
Aperture: f/36.0
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 560
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Created an Album Art

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 26 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

L O S T

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Ruined Times

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.125 sec (1/8)
Aperture: f/13.0
Focal Length: 22 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Criss Cross Lines

Camera:	Nikon D40
Exposure:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture:	f/32.0
Focal Length:	38 mm
ISO Speed:	640
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash

Train - Pan Shot Image

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OS HSM Lens - My Travel Partner

After months of debate and exhaustive research, I finally decided to get myself a lens I was interested in acquiring for my DSLR. Since, my Nikon D40 DSLR doesn't have an in-built motor, I needed to get a versatile lens that had a motor inside it which could help me while auto focusing any fast moving objects.

Now, getting such a lens was a daunting task as it would be too expensive and India doesn't have a big market base for photography equipment. I searched my city and found that here Sigma lens weren't available and the Nikkor ones were too expensive without including the 15% VAT. Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens would have been a better choice, if I had real deep pockets filled with loads of Ghandhi heads! But, looking at my budget, I should be lucky to get a Sigma. :D



Finally, I asked my friend Fenz in Mumbai to get me a Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OS HSM lens for me which has set me back monetarily by 23 grands. This is a sort of an all rounder lens with an F mount for Nikon camera and would cover approximately 11x zoom range, good enough to be on your camera while travelling as it covers the wide- to tele- photo range without the worry of having dust in your sensors while changing lenses.

With the 1.5x camera crop factor the lens would give an amazing range of 27-300mm range on a 35mm film camera. Further, I heard that the OS - Optical Stability system is the best of its class, but not a real silent performer. It gives you a 3-4 stops advantage while shooting hand held in tight situations, but it would be of any use just in case you use a tripod.



The only itch is that I still haven't received it in my hands to try and test this baby! I'm hoping that the calender jumps to 15th April, when I get this lens and go around shooting some great street scenes in Delhi the next day. This is not a fast lens but would be much better in comparison to the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens and would cover a good range for my bird & candid street shots. It should be a perfect travel partner for a photographer as one lens and the camera would suffice instead of a whole camera bag filled with an assortment of lenses.

* DISCLAIMER : The images used above for this article are not mine & have been taken from the internet. They are not my work and still belong to the actual owners.

Still Life - Trying a Josef Sudek

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 280
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Read more about Josef Sudek here

Lotus

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash