Back in November, I decided to make use of a Nikon D5600 to venture beyond my comfort zone of using an iPhone to click pictures. I was really impressed with the D5600 a captured some beautiful shots in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This time I decided to up the ante a bit and opted for a professional DSLR. In simpler words a full frame camera with tons of options that let you control even the smallest aspect of the camera. My choice was the Nikon D500. Launched in 2016 this camera has been touted by experts worldwide as the best camera of that year. The reason? Well, there are many, firstly it packs a 20 megapixel sensor that has an outstanding 153 point focus system. This means near instantaneous autofocus with unparalleled clarity. The next is the high ISO performance – with a range of ISO 100 to ISO 51,200, this makes shooting fast moving objects and subjects in ultra-low lights very easy. My favorite feature was the tilting touch screen, pinch to zoom – check, navigating through complex menus – check and live view shooting – check.
I was visiting Geneva to attend the SIHH. A prestigious watch fair that has some of the best miasons unveiling their timepieces. Montblanc, Hermes, Cartier, Audemars Piguet and more, These timepieces which are a testament of fine watchmaking are presented to a select group of journalists. Helping me capture these complex mechanical wonders was the Nikon D500 with an 80mm Prime lens. Calling the results impressive would be a huge understatement, just holding the camera right and I was able to get professional quality results. And, this was my first time with a professional DSLR. Below are some images that have been shot with the preset shooting modes.
Oh, Geneva, you beauty.
Along with SIHH, I also visited the factory of Minerva, a watch manufacturer that has been in business since the past 160 years in the beautiful town of Villeret that is two hours from Geneva. I had an exclusive tour of the factory where I tried to capture everything from designing to the assembly of timepieces that cost upwards of Rs 1.5cr.
Note – None of the images are edited in any way. They were shot in JPEG format and have been resized for faster loading.
The Nikon D500 with the 80 mm Prime lens (f/1.4) is available for Rs.300,000. (The camera was provided by Nikon but all the opinions expressed herewith are my own).
