Aputure Amaran Halo AHL-HN100 LED Macro Ring Flash Light 95 CRI for Nikon

Having a little to spend on camera gadgets, I always go to my favorite online stores to look for discounted products, luckily for me Miniinthebox was offering 15% discount for purchases above $40. So I added my sought after camera gadget into my cart and went to the checkout page. The discount plus a coupon for $4 enabled me to get the "Aputure Amaran Halo AHL-HN100 LED Macro Ring Flash Light 95 CRI for Nikon F951" (which usually sells for around $60) for only $46.73. It even included free expedited shipping. The item arrived in our doorstep in less than 3 business days. I could have been so happy if not for the $22 import duties and taxes that I had to pay. I have ordered so many items before and I never had to pay these taxes. Apparently, it depends on how the item is declared. And because it was declared as electronics, I had to pay it. I sent the seller an e-mail stating that they should have something in the payment page that would warn users about import duties. I also told them that I could have paid less if I bought it locally. Their reply did say they have it in their web site and it was just in another page. Maybe because I have been their customer for a long time, they were nice enough to reimburse me half of the taxes I paid ($11) which made me feel better.

I have an idea on how to use it. However, I still need to start reading the manual to learn how to properly use it. I can already imagine my wife telling me "ROI, ROI, ROI...". It means (Return on Investment) I have to be able to maximize the usage so that it is a money well spent.

Upgraded To Nikon D7000

I have posted a couple of months ago that I was planning to upgrade to FX format camera. With the release of the Nikon D600, I thought it was within reach. The D600 body was not very expensive, however, I do have to change all the lenses that I have as well. I happen to find a Nikon D7000 that is being sold at Kijiji for $900. I offered $700 and the seller accepted. It had around 10,000 shutter actuations. That is probably why the seller agreed to what I have offered. I am not worried though because the camera is rated to do 150,000 actuations. I have a Nikon D5000 camera that I have for more than 3 years and I have not even reached 5,000 actuations. I believe I made the right choice. One thing that I like about the D7000 is that it has high-image-quality full HD movie recording of 1,920 x 1,080/24p. It is fast and quiet. The battery consumption is great. I charge its battery half the time I used to with the D5000. It also is compatible with a almost all Nikon lenses available in the market. I am very happy with the purchase.

Nikon D600 DSLR

I had the impression that Nikon's line of DLSRs are like the peoples camera. Main reason would be it's price compared to other brands such as Canon. Having said that, it does not mean that anyone can realy afford a DSLR. I happen to own a low-end which is a D5000. I wanted to switch to a full frame but am not financially able to get one. Basic needs for the family if first and foremost when budget is being discussed.

Nikon has announced the D600, a full-frame DSLR camera that is more affordable. At a little over CAD 2,000 (Body only), it may seem like its still expensive, however, it is still cheap compared to other brands. I need to save all my pennies and maybe get one Christmas time. That is still a big question mark. That probably is my goal for this year.

Below are some of the features of the Nikon  D600

24.30 megapixels

3.2" 640-by-480 LCD

ISO rating (50-25600)

Moisture-sealed magnesium-reinforced body