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After finally getting my Nikon D40x, I was determined to learn more about photography and ways to take better photographs. Even after taking thousands of photos with my now retired Panasonic DMC-FZ3 for the past three years, I realized that I still do not know much, if any about photography at all.

Take for instance the mode on the digital camera. Apart from taking “macro”, portraits, landscapes and some other preset modes, there are P, A, S and M. I have always shot in the P mode because that was what I was taught when I first got the digital camera. I never knew what the other modes do and what difference they make. I guess I wasn’t that enthusiastic to learn about them back then.

I have since joined ShutterAsia to learn more from the other shutter enthusiasts. There are many great tips and photos uploaded by the forum members that I find very interesting. When I was going through the forum looking for more information on the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D lens, I notice a thread inviting members to participate in photography challenges. There will be a different challenge every month where cash vouchers and other prizes await the one who comes up with the best photo. This month’s theme is portrait.

I was very interested to join the challenge but hesitated in doing so knowing that it would be a head on collision between Kancil and Mercedes-Benz. After considering the idea for a while, I decided to take up the challenge anyway. It wasn’t for the prizes but to challenge myself to experiment and learn more about taking presentable photos.

The rule of the challenge is that the submitted photo must be taken within the challenge period (1 November to 25 November). I went to the beach and my local mini zoo to take some photos last weekend. There are two photos that I am quite happy with. Thankfully, the organizers mentioned that portraits of animals are acceptable. This is my submission to the challenge.

The photo above was taken at the Teluk Cempedak beach. I spent around 10 minutes taking over a dozen photos of monkeys at close range. The monkeys were hanging over my head only a few feet away. I was worried that one of them may suddenly decide to jump on my head and start chewing into my skull. Anyway, I didn’t have an alternative since my kit lens isn’t capable of a further zoom.

There is nothing special about the photo, really. Apart from being lucky that one of the monkeys decided to stretch its jaws and having a glimpse of its balls, there is nothing much to it.

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I have been looking for a camera shop in Kuantan that can give me a good price for the Nikon D40x that I am aiming for. The normal price I am quoted is RM2,899. When I was at PJ yesterday, I went to the Digital Mall at Seksyen 14 and found a shop that quoted me RM2,700. That is RM200 cheaper and I haven’t even bargained further. I asked if they will offer me any free items together with the purchase and they quickly agreed on a 2GB memory card, a tripod and a Nikon sling bag.

It is almost as if they will give me whatever I wanted (not expensive items of course). It feels like they are more desperate in selling the item to me than I want to buy it. I wonder what the catch is. They have four to six units available. At that time, I thought that they just wanted to sell it off to get some cash flow.

Boy, was I wrong.

I did a quick search and found that the Nikon D40x Kit was selling at RM2,550 in April. A later post in July revealed that it only costs RM2,350. No wonder the guy at the shop was so eager to sell it to me at RM2,700 with “anything else that I wanted”.

Do you know how much a Nikon D40x Kit costs right now? Is there a catch to it? Do all Nikon digital cameras come with a 1 year International warranty?

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