Ok, it’s down there with the rest in the entry level DSLR camera and in the point-and-shoot segments, but at this time of the year, Nikon is the only brand — in my opinion — which is sitting pretty at the top of the middle-range to high-end DSLR standings.

Think Nikon D300, Nikon D3 and the latest Nikon D700 — all released within a span of one year, and at a time when Canon seems to be more interested in the mass entry level DSLR market.

Hey, guess what. I might soon convert to Nikon photography religion.

But let’s just put it this way — if I want to buy an entry level DSLR now, I will go for Canon. I will choose the Canon 450D and the Canon 1000D anytime over the Nikon D60 or Nikon D40X.

But Nikon will definitely be the choice if professional camera is what I’m looking for.

I will chose the Nikon D3 anytime over Canon’s EOS 1Ds Mark III, Nikon D300 over Canon D40D and Nikon D700 over the upcoming, yet-to-be-named, upgrade of Canon’s full-frame DSLR, the 5D.

As you may have already known, Nikon has come up with a new camera model, again.

It’s a camera, which if I may say, so perfect to my eyes that it could be used both in heaven and in hell.

I’m talking about the new Nikon D700.

I’m sure you know more than I do about what the new DSLR is capable of and how expensive it is to a lowly mortal like me.

At the rate the cost of living is going up down here on this earth, there is no way I can afford the camera with my present salary. Not even in my lifetime.

But I’ve been working hard to find extra income, alas, nothing seems to work. Even the Google Adsense on this blog is not performing.

I’m now writing this to appeal to you if you could somehow tinker with my fate and let me have the opportunity to own the D700. I will be forever grateful.

Thank you God, and may God bless you.

Thy humble mortal,

Jaxon S.

p/s: Should you ever decide to send Santa down my chimney this Christmas, would you be so kind as to remind him that a Nikon D700 would suffice? You know, I’m quite a grown man already and would have no use of all those candies.

At the time this photograph is taken, I haven’t yet known how to use the AE lock (exposure lock) function of my camera. It’s a useful trick if you want to take pictures of the sky as the eyes see it… with all the details intact without being white-washed as is the case when I took the picture below.

All Things Photography has a detailed explanation of what AE lock is about.

Certain point-and-shoot camera models, like the one I’m using — an old Canon Powershoot G6 — have AE lock function in them. This is another things to consider when buying a point-and-shoot camera — it’s good to have an AE lock function in them so that you can have more freedom to compose your shot.

It disappeared among the trees, behind the lamp post, among the branches and into the moonless sky, making no sound, no threatening grin and didn’t even look at me … a lone lost ghost who meant no harm.

But then it could just be optical illusion.

On one particular stretch of road — some 190km of it — from the state capital of Kota Kinabalu up north to Kudat, you can have a leisure drive over the weekend but don’t forget your camera and make sure you have freshly-charged battery inside.

If you look hard enough for photographic opportunity, I can assure you by the time you reach Kudat, the northern-most town of Sabah, you will have fill up your memory card capacity with vivid pictures of places, people and natural surroundings. And old huts… with some ghostly ones that you’d think zombies lived there.

It’s only that sometimes, the weather will just conspire with the gods to deny you the blue sky. Or worse…

I’ve no prior experience about macro lens for point-and-shoot camera and after playing sometime with it, I’ve now come to believe that the shop owner had given me a raw deal.

I wish I couldn’t but you would be surprise to know that there are many people out there who would look at you quizzically when they see you trying to take photos of something not usually taken by most people, the kind of looks that say, “are you crazy or something?”

I don’t understand really. I’ve even had people smirking at me when they saw me trying to compose pictures of flowers at awkward angles.

I mean, what’s wrong with these people? Why, in my country at least, those who take photos of the surroundings but don’t look like tourists, are being looked upon lowly as though they are social outcasts?

What is wrong with you people? Are you normal or something?