Just one of those shots I play around with when I am bored, when I have nothing else to shoot.

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The arrival of Canon 450D has got me really thinking of graduating from point-and-shoot camera to digital single lens reflex (DSLR).

And with a better Malaysian ringgit-US dollar exchange of late, it seems I can afford the 450D.

This, to me, is a good camera. It fits nicely the segment between 400D and 40D. The 400D is much too small and light for me while the 40D is way beyond my budget reach. The price tag of US$900 (body and kit lens), will work out to around RM2,950, which is a manageable amount.

But I shall wait for two things before deciding on this camera — first, what the reviews say about the camera, and secondly, what Nikon has up its sleeves to contest what seems to me is the best entry-level DSLR todate.

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A ripe mango fruit lay on the ground, with its sweet fibery flesh exposed, portion being eaten by a squirrel.

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The sensitive plant, or scientifically known as Mimosa pudica L., can be found in abundant in Tropical areas.

According to Wikipedia, Mimosa pudica L. is a creeping annual or perennial herb often grown for its curiosity value: the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched, re-opening within minutes.

In my place though, the plant is considered a nuisance plant and therefore, is not grown.

But according to older people in my village, you can actually boil the root and drink the water to treat indigestion. Not scientifically proven though, so I don’t recommend you try it. It’s not poisonous though, so you can drink the water from the boil root just for the heck of it.

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Some people find the close-up image of a fly, or other household insects like cockroach, disturbing.

As for me, it depends on what the fly was doing when the picture was taken. I guess, this two macro shots of a tame one perching on a wooden plank wouldn’t be a problem.

But then again, you might find the shallow depth-of-field, disturbing.

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How close do you want to go? Me, as close at it an be. This a close-up picture of the sofa fabric in our living room, close enough to make up the threads inter-weaving among each other to form colours and shapes.

But I do want to get even closer, much closer than this, but I don’t think it is possible at the moment with the limited capacity of my camera and lens.

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The following list — not meant to be exhaustive — contains what I think is the Top 10 digital camera review sites. The first five is accompanied by a brief info while the other five contains just links to the sites.

While each has it’s own strengths, I find Digital Photography Review, #01 on my list, to be the most comprehensive camera site overall.

#01: Digital Photography Review: DP Review, without doubt, is the most comprehensive camera review site.

From DSLR to compact cameras, to image storage and lenses, DP Review goes beyond discussing about the latest, though not all, camera models in the market.

It also discussed trends in digital imaging technology and accessories as well as an active forum with dozens of threads.

Started in January 1999 when digital photography was shifting from high-end industry to mass consumer, DP Review has recorded over 871,600,000 visits so far.

I won’t be surprise if by the turn of this decade, the figure reaches one billion mark.

#02: Steve’s Digicams: At first I want to put Steve’s Digitams and DCRP in the same #2 spot for I find the two to have similar strength.

But what I like more in Steve’s Digicams, is the way it presented the “Best Cameras” section, listing what I myself agree to be the best cameras in their category — from high end DSLR cameras to prosumer cameras and super-zoomers and compact cameras.

Steve’s Digicams would come expecially handy if you want to double check a particular camera model, just before you go to the shop to buy your camera.

Instead of listening to the shopowners’s ramble about which camera is better, you spared yourself the agony by first heading over to Steve’s Digicams for informed opinions on the camera models you are thinking of buying.

#03: Digital Camera Resource Page: As mentioned above, I wanted to list DCRP in the #2 spot along with Steve’s Digicams but for the reason which I’ve explained.

Having said that, I found DCRP to be a very useful site and even after browsing DP Review and Steve’s Digicams, I would always find myself drifting to DCRP for a second opinion about certain camera models.

I also like the way DCRP reviews are written and how the reviewers present their write-ups as though they are sitting right in front of you to tell you about what they think about the camera you had in mind.

#04: Imaging Resource: The first Top 3 camera review sites had been my most frequented sites since 2004 when I first came across these sites for opinions on a particular digital camera I was buying at that time.

Until recently, when I came across Imaging Resource.

Imaging Resource is what I call a buying guide site as the it looks to have been tailored as such. Here you can browse camera models by price, by megapixels, compare samples and so on. It also has a section dedicatied to — but not limited to — camera accessories.

Here you can also read about scanners, printers and softwares; all related to photography.

#05: Digital Camera Review: Digital Camera Review is perhaps a place where you can find the most comprehensive reviews on digital point-and-shoot cameras.

It still has highly informative reviews about DSLR cameras but just by the look and feel of the website, you can tell it is targetted at the compact camera mass market.

Even the “15 Most Popular Camera” section, which is measured by the click count, are from the compact to high-end non-DSLR cameras.

It also has a quick search functionality where you could search for camera based on their make, price range, megapixels and optical zooms.

Folks, that has been the first Top 5 camera review sites. And if five is not enough, then here’s another five review sites for your browsing pleasure, which I’ve also put in numerical order. Enjoy!

The other camera sites I frequented: #06: CNET Asia, #07: What Digital Camera, #08: Camera World.com, #09: PC MAG.com, #10: Digicam Review.

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“The Flying Lady”, which has been adorning the hood of Rolls-Royce cars for almost a century now, is one of the most exotic, if not the most exotic, car mascots in the world.

The silver adornment, also known as The Spirit of Ecstasy, is the creation of sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes and modelled after a real woman of bewitching beauty, Eleanor Valesco Thornton.

Eleanor Thornton, the commoner who lived during the tail-end of Victorian-era England, had fallen in love with a noble, Lord John Walter Edward-Scott-Montagu, who fell in love with her equally as much.

Their relationship — Eleanor Thornton was Lord Montagu’s secretary — went on secretly for over a decade.

To cut the story short, Lord Montagu ordered Sykes, a sculptor, to create a special mascot for his Silver Ghost Rolls-Royce — a figurine depicting a young woman and Eleanor Thornton was chosen as the model. Lord Montagu put the figurine on top of the car’s radiator hood.

But this was not to be the one shown here. Lord Montagu later commissioned Sykes to create another mascot after the earlier one become so fashionable that others had also adorned their cars with mascots, some vulgar.

Then the Spirit of Ecstasy was created and it had since become the official mascot for Rolls-Royce cars.

Blogger’s note: This article is written based on information from “The Spirit of Ecstasy“. Picture taken by yours truly in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on Borneo Island at the 2004 Borneo Rolls-Royce tour.

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Car shows are a dream come true for phototaker enthusiasts — notice I didn’t use the term photographers here — and I make it a point to visit one whenever there is one nearby.

One of the car shows I attended some months back was an exhibition of BMW Art Cars. Ah, but they are encased in glass panels, providing only limited photo-taking opportunities.

And armed with only a point-and-shoot camera, I rest my case…

The BMW Art Car by Roy Lichtenstein, 1977

Frank Stella, BMW Art Car, 1976

Frank Stella, BMW Art Car, 1976

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Like I said recently, I’m running out of nature macro pictures. I don’t have a backyard full of grass and shrubs to photograph so I would have to challenge myself a bit by focusing on objects in the house.

This is a lens ring of my old PowerShot G6 camera. Digital Photography Review, arguably the most comprehensive camera review website, calls it a bayonet-style lens ring, which you need to remove before you attach the LA-DC58B lens conversion adapter to mount macro, wide or telephoto lenses.

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