It has been four years since I bought my Canon Powershot G9, and it has satisfied every aspect of enthusiasm for photography. Surprisingly, the G9 has stirred a curiosity in possibly taking an interest in the dSLR, the digital single lens reflex cameras for individuals that want to advance into amateur photography. I have been contemplating for some time if I wanted to bid adieu to point-and-shoots and dive into a more advanced photography realm.
During a recent trip to Los Angeles with my girl pals, I noticed that both of them brought a camera of a different genre. One carried the dSLR Canon Rebel T2i and another one had the latest Canon Powershot G12. I had a chance to closely look at both gadgets and thought they were excellent cameras but with very different feature sets.
The Canon Rebel T2i was fascinating. The multitude selection of buttons and menus may be intimidating, but I was quite intrigued by the challenge of manually or semi-manually controlling the exposure (jargonically speaking, the control of the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed to measure the amount of light that falls upon the camera's sensor so one can achieve an artistic interpretation of the subject's image).
And seeing the G12 and how it resembles my G9 in features and capability, but with a much better image sensor, tools improved with the latest technology, and a swivel screen that made it a cinch to shoot at different angles, I realized how much fun the creative modes were! I certainly utilized features like Color Accent/Color Swap, Miniature Effect, HDR (high dynamic range), and panoramic Stitch Assist to add variation to my photography.
It was surprising that Canon, who manufactured both cameras and had the technology, did not offer a dSLR with creative mode features that are a delight to use. Why not merge them into one amazing camera that gives the best of both worlds?
My curiosity brought me to research on Canon's number one competitor - the Nikon line. Nikon is known to be a world leader in digital imaging, precision optics, and photo imaging. And lately they have a strong marketing presence with the endorsement of Ashton Kutcher and his quirky yet appealing ad campaigns. It was in one of his TVCs that I found an ideal dSLR for the starting amateur photographer who was not yet ready to let go of the pre-set creative tools normally found in point-and-shoots. This camera is the Nikon dSLR D5100.
Here's a rundown of its amazing features:
- Has the same 16.2 DX-format CMOS sensor carried by the more high-end Nikon dSLR model D7000, which means at par ISO range, depth of field, dynamic range, and image quality.
- 3 inch LCD monitor that swings to the left side upto 270 degrees and has 920,000 dots, which means Live View is remarkably sharp and bright even in direct sunlight.
- Shoots 4 frames per second in continuous mode with virtually no shutter lag.
- 10% smaller and 30% lighter than the previous dSLR D5000 model, that carrying it around does not feel like a chore!
- Has in-camera HDR (high dynamic range) - which means it can combine multiple exposures
- Wider ISO range of 100 to 6400, upto 24,600 when expanded, which means it can shoot extremely well in lowlight
- Can shoot 1080p HD videos at 30, 25, or 24 frames per second (fps). Has the ability to record stereo sound with the optional ME-1 microphone. This means your dSLR is also a fantastic HD videocam!!!
- Ability to shoot in 14-bit NEF RAW mode, a feature normally found in more expensive dSLRs. Trust me, this feature is awesome because it allows you to edit your image without losing any data, which you would if you saved in JPEG. But I'm not downplaying the value of the JPEG compression format (which this camera also shoots in). It is pretty useful when you want to maximize the space on your SD media card.
- 16 Scene Modes ( pre-set features found in point and shoot cameras, that are helpful if you do not have time to manually control your camera) that includes Portrait, Landscape, Child, Sports, Close Up, Night Portrait, Night Landscape, Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Pet Portrait, Candlelight, Blossom, Autumn colors, and Food.
- 19 kinds of in-camera Image Editing functions that can be use for still or moving images. These easy retouching tool is actually fun! Fish-eye is particularly cool.
- included View NX2 Imaging software for photos and video editing, and processing of NEF RAW images.
- 660 shots per charge on the Nikon Lithium Ion battery.
- Advance SLR capabilities, afterall the key to creating true artistic and captivating photographs is to be able to control the elements of exposure and play up on the composition of the subject.
- And for my absolute favorite feature that no other dSLR in the market has, as of present time, the Effects Mode that works in both capturing still images and shooting videos. These amazing modes allow me to be creative without the need for any photo-imaging/editing software such as Adobe Photoshop.
The Effects Modes are as follows:
Color Sketch - transforms the subjects into colorful sketch-like images, highlighting on outlines. The results is aesthetically phenomenal!
High Key - artistic ability to intentionally overexpose an image.
Night Vision - ability to shoot at night using high ISO levels upto 102400. Images appear in an artistic black and white monochrome.
Selective Color - select upto three colors (and even determine their color ranges) that you want and everything else will be black and white. Think of this as an upgraded Canon color accent feature, but in a Nikon.
Miniature Effect - ability to make distant objects appear like miniature-scale models.
Low Key - artistic ability to underexpose an image.
Silhouette - creates a dramatic silhoette against a bright background.
With these many features, I have no doubt the Nikon dSLR D5100 can deliver years of blissful creativity. Yes it is larger than the point and shoot genre, but with its amazing features, carrying around a 1.6 lb device is so worth the beautiful photographs and videos it can capture!
Saving my American Express Rewards points finally paid off with the Canon Powershot G9 digital camera...and boy am I lovin it! For years I have been 'tolerating' my five megapixel Sony Cybershot. Although I enjoyed using this camera, there were clear signs, from the broken LCD screen to the loose latch that protects the lens, that finding a replacement was long overdue! 
The picture of the tree is an example. This is tool is amazing! If I were to receive the same effect I would need to spend hours in Photoshop editing the picture. Canon instantly became my manufacturer of choice! 
There's also an option to shoot at wide frame (As an example I took a shot of the dainty looking homes overlooking a park). 
