Nikon D5100

Everytime, when Canon comes up with a new DSLR in market, Nikon always come up with a rival. In August 2010, when Canon announced 60D, Nikon announced D7000 within a month. And Canon 60D and Nikon D7000 fall into same section of DSLRs and are rivals. And when Canon announced 600D, we all were waiting for Nikon to reply on it. And as expected, Nikon replied.

Nikon announced D5100, successor to D5000, on 5th April, 2011. After D3100 and D7000, this is Nikon's third DSLR in the series, which incorporates Nikon EXPEED 2 image-processing engine and the same DX-format 16.2MP CMOS image sensor as the high-end D7000 digital-SLR camera. With 16.2 megapixels, a swivel Vari-Angle LCD monitor, full HD movie capabilities, new EFFECTS Mode and new HDR setting, this camera is surely going to attract the attention of enthusiast photographers.

The main features of this camera which makes it worth the deal are:

Nikon latest D-SLR Technology 

Incorporating the latest Nikon 16.2MP DX-format CMOS sensor and EXPEED 2 image processing engine, the D5100 delivers outstanding image quality. Its CMOS sensor offers a remarkably wide ISO range (ISO 100 to 6400) with reduced noise which enables you to shoot at faster shutter speeds and capture scenes and subjects with less blur. Handheld shooting and full HD movies come out looking great even in low light.

Vari-angle LCD Monitor

Nikon D5100, after D5000, is still the only Nikon DSLR which has vari-angle LCD monitor. With the super sharp 3.0-inch and 921,000-dot LCD monitor, you can view your frame from any angle.

Special Effects Mode

Continuing the rivalry with Canon 600D, Nikon has added different special effects in this DSLR. Selective Color lets you select max. 3 colors to show in the image, Night Vision lets you capture which your eyes even can't, and other effects being High Key, Low Key, Silhouette, Miniature Effect and Color Sketch. 

High Dynamic Range(HDR) Mode

Nikon has introduced new HDR mode in D5100, which combines two different images of the same frame having different exposures(one with high exposure and other with low) and the output is HDR image. This surely is helpful since you don't need a separate software to create HDR image from different images. Still, software will allow you to combine more than two different exposure images to form HDR where D5100 will combine only two.

Full HD 1080p Movie

The D5100 lets you create high-quality movie due to its full HD capability with Full-time autofocus capability.

Other features of the SLR includes:

• 4 frames per second continuous shooting
• 14-bit NEF (Raw) mode (same as D7000)
• 11 AF points (with 3D tracking)
• Pentaprism viewfinder(same as D90 and D7000) with approx. 95% coverage

It is available at Amazon for pre-order at $799.00 for body only and at $899.00  with 18-55mm kit lens. But no release date has been confirmed as of now. In India, Nikon D3100 with kit lens is available at Rs. 32,950 and Nikon D90 body is available at Rs. 43,450. So, Nikon has to keep the D5100 kit price around Rs. 40,000. Also, Nikon D5000 with kit lens is available at Rs. 34,950. But again the question is, how long India has to wait for this camera ? Not so long ! As Nikon has already updated Nikon India site with the camera details and it will be available by end of this month or first week of May.

HTC Incredible S

Its been more than a year since the first single core 1Ghz processor Android phone was launched. And its time for dual core phones now. Few of the dual core mobiles lined up for launch this year are Motorola Atrix 4G, LG Optimus 2X and Samsung Galaxy S2. But these mobiles will be launched in Q3 of this year.

HTC recently launched single core 1GHz processor mobile Incredible S in Asia, which is said to be HTC Droid Incredible successor. And this phone seems to be "The Perfect package" at this time of year. No other android phone matches the specifications of this phone as of now except HTC Desire HD which has larger 4.3-inch screen.

"HTC Incredible S is the answer for those looking for the perfect combination of performance and style and will help them stand out from the crowd as an icon," HTC India Country Head Ajay Sharma said in a statement.

Why is it perfect combination:

• 4-inch Super LCD screen with 800x480 resolution.
• 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with Adreno 205 GPU.
• 768 Mb RAM with 1.1 Gb internal storage(ROM).
• 8MP camera with dual LED flash and 720p HD video recording.
• 1.3MP front camera (first time HTC added secondary front camera for video conference).
• SAR value: 0.876 W/Kg(Head) ; 0.776 W/Kg(Body).
• 1450 mAh (as compared to HTC Desire HD 1230mAh battery).
• weighs just 135gm (as compared to HTC Desire HD which weighs 164gm).
• and lastly, HTC Sense UI.

Also, HTC introduced new design in touch buttons in this phone. When you rotate the phone in landscape mode, not only screen rotates but buttons also. But this introduced a glitch. The four buttons seems to have different brightness, and it varies with the angle of the phone. The only thing which I don't like about HTC is their screens. HTC falls behind when it comes to quality of the screen. The Super LCD screen of HTC is way behind the AMOLED screen of Samsung phones when it comes to authentic reproduction of colors. Also, AMOLED screens are more power saving as compared to HTC Super LCD.

The price quoted by HTC for this phone is Rs. 28,900 but it is available at FlipKart for Rs. 26,999. As of now, the phone is limited by the latest android update. It is running on Android 2.2(Froyo), when Android 2.3(Gingerbread) is already available on many other mobiles. HTC reported that Gingerbread update for Incredible S will be available in June this year.

First blog !

This is the first blog page ever created by me (I am talking about blog page of my own, and not about my company or client blog pages I created..:p ). The main aim of this blog is to update everyone about the latest gadgets in the market: phones, cameras & laptops. Probably will like to update on the cars also, but not for now.