My first experience with Canon EOS 1100D

As expected, I got my consignment of Canon EOS 1100D on September 8, 2014. It was a pretty delightful experience for me since it is the first time I am purchasing a DSLR camera. I ordered for it on the fourth and received it on the eighth. So, Flipkart delivered it within four days, thanks to the online retail giant.

The Canon EOS 1100D DSLR Camera has a black body with EF-S 18-55 mm IS II Lens. The package also contained Canon EOS Digital wide strap, battery charger, interface cable, and software (CD-ROM). The camera has a maximum resolution of 12.2 megapixel (4,272 × 2,848) and moreover, it is compatible with a broad range of lenses including Canon, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, and Carl Zeiss. You can use this entry-level DSLR camera for shooting portraits, landscapes, wildlife, sports, and travel photography. Since I am a newbie as far as DSLR cameras are concerned, I am concentrating on the Full Auto mode in which the autofocus, brightness, and flash firing are automatically set. I will be gradually focusing on other modes of shooting such as Portrait, Full Auto, Close-up, Landscape, Night Portrait, Sports, Program AE, No Flash, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, Auto Depth-of-field (ADEF), Manual, and Creative Auto. I am uploading one sample image that I have shot with this new camera. See you soon with my next update!

(ƒ/5.6 55.0 mm 1/80s ISO 1000) Flash (off, did not fire).

Why Canon EOS 1100D is going to be my next camera

For photography enthusiasts who are just beginners in the field, Canon EOS 1100D can prove to be an outstanding camera for them. It is a digital single-lens reflex camera with a maximum resolution of 12.2 megapixel (4,272 × 2,848). Canon Corporation launched this camera on February 7, 2011.

The most attractive feature of this camera is that it substitutes the EOS 1000D with the introduction of movie mode which was not there in the entry-level DSLRs made by the company. However, unlike other DSLRs made by Canon, this camera is manufactured in Taiwan. In Japan, its name is EOS KISS X50 and in the US, it is available in the name EOS Rebel T3.

Features explained:

• It features 12.2 Megapixel CMOS (APS-C) sensor and DIGIC 4 Image Processor for good picture quality and speed.
• Has improved EOS HD movie mode with expanded recording (720p HD video quality). There are in-camera movie editing options as well.
• ASA/ISO range 100 – 6400 which helps you take shots from bright to dim light.
• Dual-layer, 63-zone metering system allows enhanced metering to ensure precise metering between exposures.
• Focal plane shutter.
• Shutter speed: 1/4000 to 30 s and bulb 1/200 s X-sync.
• Continuous drive up to 3.0 fps which helps you shoot up to roughly 2 fps for 5 RAW frames or around 3 fps for 830 JPEG frames.
• Dependable 9-point high speed AF system employing a high precision, f/5.6 cross-type center point.
• File formats supported: RAW (14-bit CR2) and JPEG.
• Flash: Automatic in-built E-TTL II pop-up flash. 
• Focus modes: One shot, AI Focus, AI Servo.
• Advanced imaging features including the Quick Setting function, new Basic+ function, and Creative Auto help you express your creativity without any hassle.
• Has 2.7-inch wide rear TFT LCD monitor (230,000 pixels) with Live View function for better view. 
• It is compatible with SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards.
• New Feature Guide provides Quick Control screen for simple operation and small descriptions of every function.
• Enjoys compatibility with the complete range of Canon EF and EF-S lenses.
• Metering modes: Partial (approximately 10% at the center of viewfinder), Evaluative, and Center-weighted average.
• Viewfinder: Eye-level pentamirror Single Lens Reflex, 0.87x magnification, 95% coverage.
• Custom White Balance: Daylight, Auto, Cloudy, Shade, White Fluorescent Light, Tungsten Light, Manual, Flash, and user-set.
• Exposure modes: Portrait, Full Auto, Close-up, Landscape, Night Portrait, Sports, Program AE, No Flash, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, Auto Depth-of-field, Manual, and Creative Auto.
• Dimensions: 5.11 × 3.93 × 3.07 inches (130 × 100 × 78 mm)
• Battery: LP-E10 Battery Pack
• Weight: 495 gm (1.091 lb) (only body)

Image source: http://www.photoshopdaily.co.uk/

https://plus.google.com/photos/118049684293805828567/albums/5983269324327450209/6005832309428990082?pid=6005832309428990082&oid=118049684293805828567

My journey as an amateur photographer

Believe me, I did not ever think that photography will become one of my favorite pastimes. With so many mobile devices with cameras and digital cameras available at throwaway prices, photography is no more an expensive hobby. In fact, if we follow the social media sites closely, we will find that many people are doing photography (both amateur and professional) and are in a constant endeavor to promote their photography pages and sites. At the same time, this is contributing towards the promotion of photography as a hobby.

My first camera was Kodak EC 200 though I did not take many snaps with it. It was in December 2011 when I purchased Sony Cybershot (DSC-S3000). It's a pretty low-end, point-and-shoot digital camera with features like 10.1 megapixels resolution, sweep panorama, smile shutter, 4x optical zoom and so on. I clicked a number of photos on nature and other themes with this camera and this worked quite fine. I continued photoing with this till March 2013. It was the time when I thought I should go for a better camera and I found that Canon Powershot SX500 IS fulfills my requirements. Of course, I had my budget constraints to be taken into consideration. Canon Powershot SX500 IS is also a point-and-shoot camera but with better features than Sony Cybershot DSC-S3000. Prominent features include ultra zoom, image stabilization, full manual control, 16 megapixels resolution, improved autofocus, 24-720 (30x) lens with F3.4-5.8 aperture, and Digic 4 image processor. This camera helped me take a number of quality shots that were applauded by many audiences. It was in November 2013 that I decided to create my photography page on Facebook (Susmit Bharadwaj Photography) and began uploading all the pics on that page. If you ever get the time to visit my page, you will find a number of photo albums covering nature, tourist sites, water bodies, and birds. Recently, I went to Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary (Narendrapur) and Chupi Char (Purbasthali, Burdwan) and took a number of beautiful bird photos. All these are available on my page for display. Two photographer friends (Bimalendu and Soumyadip) accompanied me during my trip to Purbasthali, making it more enjoyable. In future, I have plans to visit other wildlife sanctuaries in West Bengal and abroad and get more snaps on flora and fauna.

TANASUKH Novel (book trailer)

Chrysler, Ford not following General Motors on Facebook disengagement

What seemed to be positive for General Motors didn’t seem to be so for Chrysler or Ford.

The representatives from both the vehicle manufacturers stated that they are not going in General Motor’s direction for taking out its commercials from social media major Facebook.

It is worth mentioning that in terms of car unit sales in 2011, General Motors ranked as the biggest car manufacturer in the world. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, the car manufacturing giant faces steep competition from both Ford and Chrysler. Chrysler is another automaker which is based in Michigan with its headquarters in Auburn Hills. It has ventured into a strategic alliance with Italian car behemoth Fiat since 2009. On the other hand, Ford Motor Company is another major US-based carmaker which is headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford ranks as the second biggest car manufacturer in the US and holds the fifth rank in car making in the whole world on the basis of yearly car sales.

In this regard, Ford offers a specifically strong-willed justification of the social media platform. It said that Facebook commercials are quite successful when they are tactically blended with outstanding content, participation, and forward-looking techniques of narrating events. The success rate would have been much less if it was considered as a direct media purchase,

The social media head for Ford Motors, Scott Monty, said that they kept on enjoying a powerful and co-operative association with Facebook. This incorporated unique car displays, promotions and groundbreaking means of content sharing.

According to Monty, the fan base of Ford in all its Facebook pages had touched 10 million.

The engineers and technologists of Ford Motors were also functioning with the engineers of Facebook to design innovative and more dependable modes to combine the vehicle know-how with Facebook.

From the very beginning, Ford was an ardent supporter of Facebook as an ideal launching pad for promoting their brand. The car manufacturer is the first of its kind to introduce a new model particularly on Facebook when 2011 Explorer was launched in the month of July 2010.

In the interim, the spokeswoman of Chrysler, Dianna Gutierrez, stated the car manufacturer did not have any plan for going General Motor’s way in its attitude towards Facebook. All the brands of Chrysler are using Facebook for promotions as a part of its policy.

However, it’s uncertain if other car manufacturers will follow the GM trend. The marketing head of GM, Joel Ewanick, has been cynical about social media for an extensive period. Ewanick informed Brandweek in 2010 that he believed Twitter to be a short-lived platform. According to his opinion, it is somewhat hyped. A new media model is going to substitute Twitter in one or two years, Ewanick said.

However, there are opinions from the analysts that it was not a good move by General Motors and is short-sighted. The company was openly bargaining with Facebook for improved terms which the public will not take well. As a result, the biggest carmaker in the world might repent in the days to come. The defriending of General Motors of the Facebook promos would badly hit the users since Facebook would try to make it up with sponsored stories, paid status updates, App Center, and mobile advertisements.  

Google Search is now 1,000 Times Wiser

Gone are the days when Google search mostly depended on Pagerank, the patented algorithm of Google. Now, the Google search will incorporate a different feature altogether which will make the search stronger and more relevant. It will start using Knowledge Graph in all its search tools. This means besides organic search results, you will also get generic and factual information regarding a specific search.

Google search is never going to be the same again. When you key in any particular term or keyword, it is going to ask you what you are actually looking for through that search. For instance, if you type ‘Queen’, it will come up with a host of results since Queen was a famous rock band and there were many Queens of England and other countries. On the right hand side of your search results, there will be another window that will ask which Queen you are looking for. The error reporting system will help visitors stay away from wrong information and this makes Google search even smarter.

There are a number of fundamental modifications happening confidentially. Google has left behind the phase of simple keyword recognition successfully. The recognition of associations, nodes, and entities is the principal mode of functioning for the search engine. It is simply putting the stress on the relevance and other features of the keyword.

In achieving this goal, Google has taken the assistance of various tools and information resources like Wikipedia, Google Maps, CIA Factbook, Google Local, Google Shopping, and Freebase. Freebase was acquired by Google in 2010.

At present, the Knowledge Graph of Google contains more than 500 million people, things, and regions with not less than 3.5 million features.

The Google Knowledge Graph comes with a range of smart benefits which obviously includes the summary. Viewers can now see a summary of the things they are interested in which will be created by extracting information from different databases. This is certainly a unique feature which will give you the most relevant information. People who are interested to do in-depth research will find this useful. 

However, a certain section of the webmasters has expressed some doubts regarding the degree of success that the Google Knowledge Graph is going to get via implementation of artificial intelligence and relationship models with regards to Google+. There are opinions that these changes will not influence Google+ in a big way and the networking site will not follow updates all the time.

However, there is no doubt that if you search for the answer of a question, you will surely get the most correct answer of your query. You need not go for advanced search or other help features of Google. In the near future, the Knowledge Graph is going to work in all platforms that support Google, namely desktop, laptop and tablet PCs. It will also be available on mobile Google platforms.

 

The SEO experts and web administrators think that the introduction of Google Knowledge Graph will improve search results. With this new evolution in search engine, SEO with Google Knowledge Graph, webmasters can incorporate the following features to get more traffic and enhance visibility of their sites:

• Use Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)
• In-depth and comprehensive content
• Syndication of content from different sources
• Adding pictures and videos to the content

If they are successful in doing these, they will get the following benefits:

• They can enhance their social media involvement
• They can think beyond SEO
• If their website is optimized for Google, it will be optimized for the whole web
• Good content will build their brand
• Good quality linking becomes possible
• Increased traffic generation, ensuring cost-efficient lead generation