You guys get extra credit for being especially perceptive, because as some of you have noticed, we got a new camera (we weren’t paid or perked, we just bought it with our own benjamins for reasons I’m about to explain).
It’s a Nikon 3200 that we purchased on Amazon (here’s an affiliate link to the same model we bought) – basically the latest version of our previous DSLR, the Nikon 3000 that we got back in early 2010. The reason for the upgrade? Well, let’s just say the resident klutz around here (that’s me) finally klutz-ed it up a bit too much for our poor camera to handle. Can I get a womp womp?
It actually happened back when I was working on the deck. I was cutting my stair stringers and in a heat/sawdust induced haze, didn’t realize that I had set the camera down on the other end of my 2 x 10 board. Long story short, the vibrations of the saw subtly shook the board until the camera shimmied right off the edge and onto the concrete (I was looking down at my cut, so I was completely surprised by this turn of events). Here, allow me to reenact it for you.
It was not my finest moment. In fact it was up there with failing inspection when I had to tell Sherry the camera had fallen on the ground because of some dumb cutting incident.
This is not the first time this camera has been dropped. Considering the activities that we photograph regularly (we’ve taken about 300 photos a week for the past 2+ years with this guy, which adds up to over 39,000 photos!), it’s had its fair share of bumps, drops, paint splats, dirt smears, and sawdust-ings. But I guess this particular incident was too much for it to handle and suddenly we could only take pictures in manual focus mode. Awesome. Just kidding, it stunk (auto focus is amazingly helpful for us since we often grab pics of things in action- like Clara & Burger, and don’t have time to auto focus each time).
I called our local camera shop and learned they’d have to send it off to Nikon to repair it. And assuming it’s a fixable issue, our max cost would be about $150. Not too bad… except that it’d take 6-8 weeks to complete. And since we quickly realized we couldn’t survive (aka: blog) for two months without a camera, we thought about:
- renting a camera while ours got fixed (it turns out that renting one for two months would have cost more than just buying a new one)
- getting a cheap point & shoot camera for the next few months (but we decided that cheaping out on a just-for-now camera would be money down the drain, instead of putting it towards something we’d really want, like an updated DSLR with more capabilities)
So ultimately we took it as a sign from above that we should get ourselves a new one after over two and a half years of faithful use of our older one. We’re still going to get the old one fixed though, just to always have a backup DSLR on hand (so that if we should ever break the new one we won’t feel the same we-have-a-blog-and-can’t-be-without-a-camera-for-two-months pressure to buy yet another camera ever again). Hooray.
We decided to stick with Nikon (we’ve been very happy with our first DSLR) and go with something in the D3000 series (since we weren’t looking to relearn everything and it meant the 50mm lens we bought last summer would still work on our new camera). Of course our new camera wasn’t cheap (we got it for $699 on Amazon – it was about $250 more than our previous one) but at this point we’re looking at it as a necessary business expense. And the D3200 offered some nice improvements – like better shooting in low light, a more accurate auto white balance, and my favorite: HD video (hence the improvement some of you have noticed in our latest videos).
Yep, the image above is a video screenshot, not a still photo (which is a huge improvement from our Flip cam’s capabilities) and it gets me all hot and bothered. And not just because of my sexy wife.
So as much as we’re excited by the new features, we’re still definitely getting the hang of it. But overall we’re really happy with the new camera. Here are a few of the photos we took (all without white-balancing or worrying about lighting like we did with our prior camera):
It’s definitely a great upgrade for our blog (hooray for less time spent white balancing and worrying about low-light photos – and of course upgraded wider-angle videos are a big plus) and it’s also a nice little upgrade for our family (we shoot a ton of photos & videos of Clara and Burger). It almost makes that whole John-dropped-and-broke-something-again thing seem like a good thing. Right Sherry?
Psst- On another subject entirely, Sherry wants to talk about the finale of Bachelor Pad. So to anyone who saw it… what did you think? Honestly, I wish I had secretly taped Sherry’s reaction.
Jessie says
John did a nice job! Steady hands indeed! Huge difference from your last video – although, we appreciate it!!!
Thanks for shaing! i haven’t done ANYTHING in my house in 6 months! man, I’m a slacker! LOL!
keep up the great job!
Ladizzle says
Cool camera!
I totally thought that was so awful of Nick. He admitted that they had talked about splitting it…so he lied and to treat a “friend” like that was terrible. They BOTH got STUCK with each other and without the pull of her friends…well nobody knew who he was so he wouldnt have won. So sad for her.
I have to agree Erica Rose looked really good so much more natural its a great look for her…now if she’d just leave her gavel at home! Sara…looked strange I’m thinking in a few months when Chris treats her like he did Jamie (what was up with her look? I seriously couldnt get over the headband and sparkles..who can take that seriously?) she will feel so silly to have jumped on his crazy train!
erin says
Nice camera!! How crazy-sauce was that BP finale!! Holy cow!! I feel so bad for Rachel! Nick did have a point though that it is a game for $250,000. Although, after the way that it played out, I think that Nick will have a hard time finding anyone to trust him again! Especially women! I think Tony is so sweet and thought it was adorable how he proposed, but I really hope he doesn’t get hurt. She seems a little high maintenance and I hope he can handle that. And I hope she likes rain, because it sure does get wet where she’s moving to!
jaclyn says
Maybe you’ve addressed this before and I missed it, but I am wondering how you sort/organize/store all of the photos you take.
I guess a few specific questions would be:
A. Do you keep every photo or do you pick the best shots/options and delete the rest?
B. Do you use a particular folder system or grouping method? For example, I keep my travel photos separate and categorized by trip location and for all my every day photos I have them organized by year:month:occasion.
Since you take so many photos, any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Jaclyn
YoungHouseLove says
A. We keep only the good ones and delete about 80% of them (which aren’t as good)
B. We use iPhoto to organize everything. Each folder is labeled as something general (like family pics 2012, which keeps them all in chronological order in that folder) or as something specific for the blog (ex: making our headboard) so we can hopefully find things easily!
xo
s
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
Demonstration of nerdiness… I love it!
Michelle says
I have a D3000… much like the one that took a fall during your deck project. ;) Don’t feel bad.. I had a D50 prior to this one and my now 5 yr old managed to get ahold of that D50 and yank it to the floor when he was pretty little. Guess that is what happens when they figure out how to climb on dining room chairs to get things off the table!! Have fun with your new camera!
Steph says
Holy smokes bachelor pad!!! I totally get why Nick did it and applaud him for it. Good on him! I thought his speech was great and i was rooting for him!
Jenn says
Okay, seriously – I have been busy — but WHAT is going on?! What is with the wood slatted stools in the kitchen – really cute, but where are the industrial metal ones? When did you get the really cook wicker-y chairs in the dining room – also love, but what have I missed?!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we blogged about the dining chairs this past Monday and the stools were the subject of a post last week! If you scroll back about 10 posts you should be all caught up ;)
xo
s
Laurel says
We just bought this camera, too! Partially encouraged in our final debate between the Canon Rebel T3i and the Nikon because of the great pictures y’all get of everyday stuff. Now we just have to learn how to use it:)
alisha says
We don’t have cable, so I had no idea what Bachelor Pad even was, but after hearing all about the craziness from you guys I HAD to go check out the madness via the interweb =]
Totally reminded me of the parody web series Burning Love! If you haven’t heard of it you MUST check it out! I stumbled upon the grand finale episode by accident and had to go back and start from the beginning it was too spot on! Has a bunch of the cast from The State and Adam Scott, Jennifer Aniston, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, Ben Stiller, etc…
YoungHouseLove says
So funny! Sounds hilarious!
xo
s
Deborah says
As a former newspaper photographer, I can’t tell you the nightmares I had about breaking my camera. I wore out (really, just wore out the shutter) a Minolta SRT202 then went to a Nikon F3. Oh how I miss the rich, sweet odor of a fresh roll of film, not to mention pungent dark room chemicals, but I know digital makes more sense in too many ways to count. I’m sorry the old camera bit the dust, but I rejoice with you in your new one. Please set the old camera up on a shelf. I really regret that I do not have all my old cameras (starting with a Kodak Brownie StarMite c.1962), and other electronics (radios, stereos, computers, cell phones, et cetera). I could have my own museum :)
Best wishes, dear ones. Please give a hug and kiss to Clara and Burger. It makes me deliriously happy to see their pictures. :)
Melissa says
While I’m sorry to hear about your camera breaking, I’m glad to have an insider’s advice on the DSLR v. Point-n-Shoot debate.
My old point and shoot recently went overboard during a kayaking trip (Talk about womp womp) and I have been debating what I want my next camera to be. iPhone is great for impromptu photo needs, but I really want to have “nicer” pictures when I want them.
Would you definitely say it’s worth investing in the lower end DSLR vs. a high end Point and Shoot?
When you’re on vacation and such, do you find it a pain to carry the “big” camera around, while wrangling Clara and such?
Are your pictures awesome b/c you’re using an awesome camera or are you just great photographers who could take great pictures with anything?
These are my burning DSLR questions! Hahah
YoungHouseLove says
For you it sounds like a higher end point & shoot might be better. We have friends who got a lower end DSLR and are scared to bring it around (we carry the big one all the time) and never really got a handle on how to use it, so they regret the purchase. So unless you’re dying to carry a big camera around and learn all the modes and ways to shoot, it might be easier to just get another point and shoot. It’s such a hard call though! I would definitely say that we couldn’t get half of the pics we get with a point and shoot, and our DSLR makes them possible.
xo
s
jaclyn says
My husband and I had the same debate last year and are beyond thrilled that we went with a Micro Four Thirds camera. The model we purchased is the Panasonic Lumix gf2.
It has the capabilities of a DSLR but it’s much more compact like a point-and-shoot which is great for travel.
My husband likes to fidget with all of the manual options while I can just put it on Auto and start snapping!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like an awesome compromise!
xo
s
Jodi says
After reading all of the Bachelor Pad comments, I am definitely in the minority because Nick keeping the money didn’t make me mad at all. Good for him. No one thought he “deserved” it but in my opinion none of them “deserve” it. It is a game and he played it very well. Kudos to him. I definitely think Erica Rose looks better with the darker shorter hair. I’m a Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad junkie so I enjoyed reading the comments! Thanks!
Kim Weigand says
I noticed you have new dining room chairs in the above photo…did I miss your post on that upgrade?? Btw, I love them!!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, if you scroll back a few posts there are all the deets on those!
xo
s
Anne says
We must be on the same wavelength (shutter speed?)! My camera (Canon T1i) also succumbed to abuse. I’m not sure exactly how but I have not been kind to it. I was able to just replace the lens (bought a used one from eBay) to fix the problem. Looking forward to more great pics from your new camera, though! Please post again later about whether you think the upgrade was worth it/what features if any you notice that are different.
YoungHouseLove says
Will do!
xo
s
Rachel says
I have never posted – just always here to read and get ideas – but this post was so pertinent to my life, I just had to! :) Congrats on the new camera. Seriously, a big deal.
You may or may not care, but just like you guys are a duo of house redos and don’t-dos, my husband and I are camera people. Here are some tips and tricks.
ALWAYS shoot in RAW. ALWAYS.
1. Get Lightroom. Get it. Soooo much faster for editing pictures than Photoshop. Sooo easy to pick up. And cheap!
2. When shooting videos, keep your shutter at 50 with your ISO at one of these numbers (160, 320, 640). This is going to give your videos less of a “soap opera” look and more of a real film. (I assume these numbers are the same for Nikons, but I have a Canon 5D).
3. Never auto-white balance videos. Photos are forgiving, and I do that all the time. Videos… every clip will look different and it’s a lame thing to fix later.
We spent our entire first two years in the video biz with just a Canon 5D and 7D. We have since changed cameras, but we have a special place in our hearts for these DSLRs. You can make some beautiful and fun things with these cameras. Aaaaand you can do a motherload with your stock lenses. Email me if you want to know my favorite primes. :)
Happy DSLR’ing! Keep up the awesome work! I am inspired every time I read a post and have done many things to make our home beautiful with your help!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tips, Rachel! Might just have to give Lightroom a try now.
-John
Denise says
Something like that ‘has’ to happen to my camera so I get a nice excuse to upgrade ;) Looks great you guys!
Meagan says
With your fancy new photos and videos, do you ever have computer storage problems? I think I read before that you use an external hard drive but do you store anything online? I recently bought an HD camcorder and have been experiencing storage problems on my mac and am trying to figure out the best option…internet storage vs external HD, any advice?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we both have big computers with extra space and also use an external hard drive but we’re big fans of uploading video to places like Youtube.com and vimeo.com to keep it safe and stored. So once we’re done with stuff we’ll put it over there and then just store stuff we’re actively editing on our computer. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Michelle says
You guys inspired me to give a DSLR camera a whirl :) I just got a D5100 I’m slooooowly learning to use. Any recommendations for a stylishly affordable camera bag?
YoungHouseLove says
We just got the regular Nikon one but I slip it into my purse or the stroller or just wear it around my neck most of the time!
xo
s
Kelli from LittleCottageOfMine says
Hey guys,
How’s the new camera holding up? I’m looking to upgrade my d3000 but I’m curious why you chose the 3200?
It annoys me that the 50mm is not an autofocus lens with the 3000 series. I have the 1.8 and my pics are never sharp manually focusing, especially when you’re taking pics of a three year old.
Also, for Clara’s photo project what lens do you use :). Thanks for the input :)
Kelli
YoungHouseLove says
We love it! It definitely works so much better in lower light, and we haven’t had any issues with the autofocus or anything. Very happy with it so far!
xo
s
Teresa @ wherelovemeetslife says
Hey! We are contemplating a camera purchase as a “Christmas gift” for both of us… and would love to know what you think of your D3200 so far? I am still new to the camera world, and will need lots of practice and tutorials. As a beginner (who doesn’t mind taking a larger camera around), how would you rate it? SO far I have read great reviews on it, but hearing from someone I “know” would be nice!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve been really happy with it! It’s a bit more user friendly than our D3000 was, but still not a “point and shoot.” It took us a little futzing around and reading direction to figure out how we could take photos we were happy with. So if you’re willing to put in a little bit of trial and error time I think you’d be very happy with it.
-John
Shannyn says
I realize that this is wayy after the posting date so I’m not sure I’ll get a response. I have a Canon Rebel T2i and need to do something to help with the lighting especially as we get into snowy winter months when lighting sucks… I poked around and am still looking for way to optimize natural light or set up lighting in the home to simulate natural light for any photos that just look blah.
Not sure if y’all use extra lighting props but thought I’d ask! Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We just hold up a blanket to diffuse light and occasionally will use indoor lights to try to lighten things up if there are dark corners (although we prefer shooting in natural light whenever we can). Also, using a tripod really helps in low light (longer exposure = lets more light in) as well as certain lenses (our 50 millimeter lens works better in low light than our stock lens).
xo
s
Emily says
Hi John & Sherry! I just got this same camera for Christmas, but it seems to be a little slow between shots (communicating with the memory card). I’m wondering if you’ve ever had that issue, and what memory cards you use. Thanks for always having such great advice!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! That sounds like a glitch to me! We use the memory card that came stock I believe, and we have never had issues with slow (sometimes with the flash on there’s a delay, but we don’t shoot with the flash very often).
xo
s
Nicole says
Just bought a Nikon 3200 with the 18-55 and 55-200 lenses for a STEAL of $699 at Costco. Came with the 2 lenses, memory card, and case. Any tips you all have. I am pretty new at using it, and still learning lots about it. What setting do you use most? and How do you blur the background of your photos?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome! I’d check out Pinterest and look up DSLR tutorials and tips since there are amazing visuals and posts about how to get the background blurry, how to get the best shots, etc. It’s really a big learning curve (we still feel like we’re amateurs) but that’s a great place to start!
xo
s