Eternity

Aperture

2017-11-21T22:51:00.002-08:00

Aperture

Aperture being one of the three main elements in photography while other two being shutter speed and ISO, it can be used to control the overall exposure. Aperture determines the amount of light entering to the camera by varying the diameter of the iris. For example if the iris is wider, more light can go through to the camera and if the iris is narrower, relatively small amount of light can go through.

Figure 1.0 lens with high and low aperture

The F-Stop value (Measurement of Aperture)

Stop value in photography act as a measurement of exposure and will depend on the 3 major elements aperture, shutter speed and ISO. When it comes to aperture, it is denoted as f-stop. With the f-stop value you can determine the depth of the field. In lower f-stops, amount of light can pass through from the lens is high and pictures appear to be blurry this is called a shallow depth of field and this lowers the clarity of the entire picture. A high f-stop picture is less blurry and has higher number of focal points and so it is a picture with a higher depth of field.

Figure 2.0 f-stops and aperture.

How Aperture Determines the Depth of Field

Aperture directly involves in depth of field which is in focused objects in a photograph. For example if the f-stop is high as f/32 then all the objects in the photograph will appear focused, and if the f-stop value is low like f/1.4 then the focused objects will appear sharp but background objects will appear blurry. A single photograph means series of layers capturing at once. Depending on these layers, the depth of the photograph can be visualized.

Figure 3.0 Low f-stop photograph and a high f-stop photograph

In figure 3.0 we can see that photograph on the left has most layers blurred out and only the object in-front appears to be sharp. This is known as a shallow depth of field because the background of the image cannot be visualized.

The photo on the right has more layers focused and sharp so the details of the each layer are clearer. This can be identified as an image with a higher depth of field.

How Aperture Controls the Bokeh effect

The term 'Bokeh' comes from the Japanese word 'boke' which means blurry. The effect of Bokeh is considered to be the soft blurry background that you achieve when capturing a subject. For a good Bokeh photograph, your lens should be set in high aperture position and focus on an object, Bokeh is highly dependent on the aperture, so in order to obtain more Bokeh effect out of the

picture you need to have high aperture lens. For instance f2.8-f4.0 lens can give you a reasonable Bokeh effect, but for a good quality blurry background or Bokeh you may need f2.8 or higher lens.

Figure 4.0 Bokeh example

As you already noticed both the pictures in figure 4.0 are with shallow depth of fields and only few layers appear out as sharp so both these pictures were taken at higher aperture levels, hence the background is blurred.

Picture on the left has Bokeh lights which happen to be the shape of the lens iris when it is widely opened.

How to Use Aperture in Photography

Since we already know what aperture is and how to control it, it is time to see when and where to use it. We can use shallow depth of field to focus and direct the lenses in to a particular subject and this is useful in object photography and portraits. If you are taking a landscape or a scenery, in most of the cases you need all the layers sharp in other words a deep depth of field. So when taking these kind of pictures it is better to use small apertures (higher f-stop).

Lighting conditions are also affected by aperture, if the lighting conditions are very good as in mid-day you can lower the lens aperture allowing only small amount of light to go through the lens and take pictures without being over exposed. Similarly in low light conditions such as at dawn or at night you can use high apertures to get more light into the camera and avoid being under exposed.

Actually, when controlling aperture levels, there are no limitations and boundaries. It is always up to your imagination and therefor based on the picture you take you can control the aperture level accordingly.

Slow-roasted Meat

2017-02-28T05:18:00.000-08:00

Slow roasted pork with black paper

When it comes to pork my favorite method of cooking is roasting,though it seems easy it is not !

first pork belly should be wrapped and rolled and then marinated with spices.Secret is to cook it slowly in low heat,when cooking butter and lemon can be use to avoid the dehydration.Best way to serve would be thin slices with some assorted vegetable salad.

Roasted Lamb

Roasting lamb can be done as the same way as above , but do not need to pre rolled or pre process the meat like the pork but the proper marination method should be followed, my proffered is to marinate with rosemary,lemon,and chopped fresh coriander leafs,black paper and salt, but you can add any combination you want , there are no limitations and the combinations are really limitless, its defers with how you want it to taste.

Grilled Chicken

Yes ! this might be the most famous grilled meat , you don't need to slow cook chicken and you can cook it over a grill with less than 15 minutes, but I prefer you follow a good process of marination before cooking ( means you have to rest the meat for few hours in the marinade mix)

Wild Asia

2017-02-28T01:37:00.001-08:00

Yala National Park is most famous wildlife park in Sri Lanka, being the second largest park and its location attracts tourists ans locals every year. Yala has several layers of blocks and not all these blocks are open for general public. Yala suits for most of the travelers because its a paradise of birds for bird watchers and it has a wonderful beach with white sand and for wild life photographers Yala offers distinctive Elephants and leopards. Yala has a great history when it comes to national parks in Sri Lanka it is one of the very first national parks created in Sri Lanka along with the Wilpattu national park.

Traveling to Yala is easy, from Colombo you can take the southern express way up to Matara and then from the coastal road you can easily reach to Yala. Once you reached there you should find a good safari service in case you are not driving your own off road vehicle,

Yala and Kumana are very famous for its migratory birds which can be seen only in a certain time of the year.

Tourist attractions and activities

Bird watching.
Wild life photography.
Mangrove Swamps.
White sand beaches.
Camping.
Safari.
Bike rides.
Explore the local delicacies.

road for travelling Yala ,

Sun set at Pasikuda beach

2017-02-27T17:45:00.000-08:00

Pasikuda beach is one of the best beaches you'll see in Sri Lanka,Specially because of it's crystal clear waters and most part of the beach is shallow but still deep enough for swimmers to crawl.Though you don't find much facilities in these parts of the country you can still lost in wonders of the sea.

Climate Change Explained

2017-01-18T19:03:00.001-08:00

Climate means the average weather in a place measured for a long time.this will include weather patterns,temperature patterns,humidity,wind..etc.Climate patterns gives the idea of how the natural Eco systems will behave in future,and its kind a predication of how the future is gonna be like.in last ten to twenty years climate is rapidly changing and temperature is rising for last decade or so average temperature rose to 1-2 degrees.This is faster than what we had for last 1000 years.

Divided we fall united we Stand

2017-01-18T03:25:00.001-08:00

Fun facts about ants is that they can lift 20 times its own weight. Ant colonies are controlled by a queen ant and there are soldiers and workers,ants can track their own trails for miles and there are more than 10,000 species of ants all over the world.
But one of the most important thing about ants is their unity and bond, they always joined as a whole. This is one thing that humans can learn from ants “Divided we fall united we stand” its like the only thing that ants are following. On the other hand this will limit the creative and free thinking because if we all act like ants and doing only the things we told to do then humans will never invent the massive structures and complex technologies in past and humans will never evolve like this.
I believe humans are free thinkers and always curious about their surroundings and this lead them to invent and explore, but still we have to admire the unity and the workmanship that ants have.

Photography ! Start with Basics

2017-01-17T01:03:00.000-08:00

one of the biggest question in photography is that "do I need a DSLR to do photography" and the answer is “absolutely no”
Now days anyone can find a good point and shoot lens in smart phones as well,I believe what really matters is your perception and your willing to do photography. I have seen many people who are waiting to buy a DSLR just to start photography but at the mean time they do nothing,remember you still have good quality cheap alternatives to start up with and starting with a DSLR is most of the times not going to work, my advice is to do photography with a smart phone or a point and shoot camera and see where your pictures leading you and if you feel like you are in the current track and you have the passion then go for a DSLR and continue and remember doing photography with a DSLR is a expensive hobby so be-careful with your choices and be wise too.

I decided to share some of the pictures I taken seven or eight years ago,all these are taken with a point and shoot camera and these are the pictures which made my mind to buy a DSLR and continue my hobby.

When to Buy a DSLR

Once you get used to photography you can first master your skill sets ( these things are different from one to another ) and once you feel like you want to do photography further, you can first study bit about photography , you-tube and some on-line articles might help you with this, and one important thing is to identify differences and similarities between good photographs and study study about good photographers ( this will help you a lot ! ).After that you can decide whether you needing a DSLR or not,but always remember if your pictures are not good enough and you are trying to make them good by buying a DSLR then you are doing something wrong ! Because as I said earlier you don't need a DSLR to shine your abilities and creativity.

Flower

White water flowers

Dawn at the Lake front

2017-01-12T21:36:00.000-08:00

Dawn at the Lake front

Blue Misty Lake

Lakes and reservoir are the next best thing after the sea, and in most lakes, lake front make the most beautiful place to sit back and enjoy the lake scenery, My advice would be to enjoy the sun set or sun dawn from the lake front and if the sky is not too cloudy you can enjoy a good view.

For a photographer lakes are a fantastic place to harvest new ideas for a shoot, in most of the

lakes you can find birds flying around and if the bushes are near there will always be animals as well.

For me Its the Dawn and sunset which I always love to capture, this need bit of a dedication and a good gear as well but when considering the gear in these days even a smart phone has a good point and shot cam,

My gear is canon 600 D and I used 18-55 mm default kit lens for most of these shoots and for some I used canon 18-135mm / Tamron 70-300 mm as well.

Dawn at the Lake

Tips to do Lake photography

First if you are taking the sun , then you have to plan it within the golden hour ( first hour from the dawn and last hour before dusk).
And my advice is to go early and find a good spot and be ready.
If you are doing slow shutter captures better to have dark filters with you , in case you might need them.
Avoid high cloudy days and heavy rainy days, but then again there is no bad weather for photography because some times weather makes the best and rare shots.
Be equipped with a wide lens.
If you are going to take bird photography or wild life near the lake consider the wind direction as well , because animal can sense your appearance from the wind easily.

Lake Front

Kandalama , Sri Lanka

2016-12-02T01:30:00.000-08:00

Kandalama is one of the major tourist attractions in Sri Lanka and it consist of several spacious and luxurious Hotels and significant destinations such as Sigiriya and Dambulla.Traveling to Kandalama is really easy and can find less congested roads with moderate traffic after passing Colombo and Gampaha.

Places to Visit

Kandalama Lake

Kandalama lake is positioned near Dambulla boarder and its no doubt the most tranquil place in Kandalama

Picture : Kandalama Lake Form the Signature By Amaya Hotel

Sigiriya & Dambulla

Sigiriya is the most tourist attracted place near kandalama and travelling there is really easy from kandalama it's just 30-40 mins ride from the Kandalama Town.

Dambulla Town is also right next to the Kandalama lake and worth a visit.

Places to Stay

There are so many guest houses and holiday bungalows around the Kandalama town and accommodation is really easy and cheap.If you have time and you are considering a memorable stay

Kandalama Hotel is the best Hotel that you can find, infect it might be the best Hotel in whole Sri Lanka as well.

Heritage Kandalama

Heritage Kandalama is built in early 90s and continue hosting guests as one of the green friendly hotels in Sri Lanka and the scenic beauty around the hotel is just unique and wonderful.

And there few other Hotels that you can give a try when you visiting Kandalama , Hotels such as
Elephant corridor , Jetwing VilUyana , Aliya Resort ,Amaya Lake , Signature by Amaya ...etc

Aliya Resort , Sigiriya

Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay in Singapore

2016-08-23T04:41:00.001-07:00

Gardens by the Bay

Flower Dome and Cloud Forest

Cloud forest means a foggy forest and generally can be found in tropical countries. These evergreen forests can be identified by their unique moist and misty nature which makes several layers of threes usually large trees in cope with a canopy layer and grass layer. Unfortunately, Singapore is not a country with these kind of massive cloud forests yet they have built an incredible indoor cloud forest which is identical to the real thing.

Singapore is a country that spend tremendously to develop their tourism. As a result of this they created the Gardens by the Bay in Marina Bay front in order to attract tourists. Gardens by the bay consist of several attractions, first of all they have multi-cultural gardens which were beautifully maintained then there are the giant tree groves which take the gardening to a whole new level. There are several indoor gardens such as flower dome and cloud forest and a garden specially design for children as well.

Flower dome is an indoor flower garden which consist of amazing flowers and on the other hand cloud forest is the main tourist attraction, It’s an eight story tall concrete mountain with numerous rare trees and top up with an iconic waterfall and some tree top walking paths. In a country like Singapore where you have limited nature resources to visit, cloud forest has given some hope for indigenous to admire and feel the presence of nature.

Super Tree Grove

As I said earlier super trees are massive concrete tree structures which add unique beauty to the whole garden and at the same time they support planting and provide shade to the open area.it is free to visit the large tree-like structures but you have to take a ticket to walk on the tree top bridge and if you wish to have dinner on a tree top there is a tree top restaurant as well.At night those super trees are lighted up and gloves in dark to provide a ambient environment should never be missed.

Bay Front

Marina bay is one of Singapore’s largest economical hubs where sea meets with some brilliantly designed architectural buildings. It is the best place to review the rapid development of the country and what they achieved in such a short period of time. There are few museums which can be access freely and also some night bars and restaurants with mouthwatering Singaporean cosine. If you are planning to visit Gardens by the bay and bay front it is good to consider the visiting times because early morning would be the best time to visit flower dome and cloud forest and later in the day you can wander around the garden and at evening and night is the best time to see the bay front and super tree grove.

picture 1 - Entrance from the MRT to bay front

Marina Bay at night .

Getting there is absolutely easy, my advice is to take the local MRT which is linked to almost all of the cities and only thing you have to do is find the MRT station nearest to your location and then drop in at Marina bay or bay front, and if you are a travel enthusiast like me it is better to get down at the Marina bay and take the long walk to bay front. And if you are willing to spend few bucks don’t forget to visit the Marina Bay Sands which is one of the luxurious hotels in the globe.

following are some of the pictures taken at the cloud forest and top of the gardens at the could forest

Waterfall at the entrance of the cloud forest.

B-52( COCKTAIL ) History and My Favourite Recipe

2016-08-10T02:45:00.001-07:00

B-52( COCKTAIL )

In definition B-52 is a long-range bomber air craft,but B-52 cocktail was named after the famous band B-52.but as a cocktail B-52 refers to a layered cocktail served with neat with out ice and sometimes with a burning flame.

B-52 Stratofortress

B-52 Air craft is a long range bomber built in 1950s by US company Boeing,

The B-52's

The band B-52 is a rhythmic band formed in 1976, in Athens, Georgia

History of B-52 cocktail

The cocktail was originally inspired by the Long ranged bomber because of its charismatic flame and color. However, there are stories in early days that it was named after the B-52 band. Even though the band is also formed in 1970s with the fame of the Original B-52 air craft.

One B-52 story refers to bartender at the Banff Springs named Peter Fich as the creator of the cocktail.Fich was an ambitious bar tender and founder of many cocktails during his days.He used to named his cocktails with a band name so the story suggest that he named the B-52 cocktail with the band of the same name,

I got the chance to try out B-52 while I was in Kandy, Sri Lanka above picture refers to the cocktail made by the kandian Bar tender who works at Amaya Hills Kandy.

Ingredients

Coffee liqueur

Coffee liqueur is a combination of coffee and alcohol and sugar is added to neutralize the bitter taste of the alcohol.

Irish cream

Irish cream is a liqueur similar to coffee liqueur but mixed with cream instead of coffee.Irish cream normally use a Irish whiskey as the base and Milk or fresh cream as the cream and also sugar is added to balance out the strong alcohol favor.

Orange-flavored liqueur

There are a number of different orange liqueurs on the market. Most famous types are triple sec and curaçao. Triple sec is a clear liqueur made from neutral grain alcohol (essentially vodka) that has been sweetened with sugar and flavored with orange peels.

My Favourite Recipe

My favorite is Kahlúa coffee liqueur and Baileys Irish cream top up with Triple sec. and in addition I like to lit up the Triple sec just to add more diversity while presenting it.Should carefully mix the alcohols because if they mixed together then the layers would not be visible.For this reason I normally add the coffee first and then by using a back of a spoon and gently pour the heavy Irish cream liqueur on top of that and repeat it with orange liqueur.

Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM Lens Pancake Lens

2014-12-12T03:53:00.005-08:00

canon pancake lenses are small but highly valued tools.it's small in size and also less expensive and worth for the price ,

Specifications

Pancake lenses are smaller in size and light weigted but pictures are clean and sharp, good for quick snaps ,

recomended for street photography.

Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM Pancake Specifications

focal length conversion 38.4 mm
1 piece using high-precision glass molded aspherical lens
full-time manual focus
shortest shooting distance is 0.16 M
maximum magnification is 0.27X
22.8 mm thickness Weight 125g

Build Quality

Although its small but its build quality is reasonably high , with having a metal mount.

but rest of the body seems to be plasticy

Picture Quality

It's Appature is not high as expected but pictures are sharp and detailed, and its a wide angle lens good for panaromas and landscape shots and also for street photography.

can find some of the pictures from flicker pool under following link

Canon 40mm Pancake lens Flicker Pool

A video Review from Christopher Frost Photography

Hands on Review

Little monk shining a begging bowl

2014-12-05T03:16:00.001-08:00

This was taken in Ampara , Sri Lanka, Main Town in Ampara District and one of the major cities in Eastern Province Sri Lanka.
and the place was Bddhangala temple.Buddangala temple located little far from Ampara town and it's nearly a 45 mins journey from the town.

Buddhangala Temple is clearly a sight to visit in Ampara , located on top of a little cliff and surrounding is amazing on the way to temple.

Normally in Sri Lanka , monks don't go around the village for to get foods like in Thailand or Myanmar.but Sri Lankan monks will use these beggin bowls to eat their foods during local arms giving s, and this little monk is shining a copper begging bowl using braso,

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Camera deals ( 2014 )

2014-11-24T22:40:00.000-08:00

Amazon Deals

Black Friday deals at Amazon UK
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Black Friday deals at Amazon Italy
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Online Camera Store Deals

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ebay Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals at > link

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Canon USA Black Friday Deals > link

Canon USA Cyber Monday Deals > link

Sony Store Holiday Deals > link

Canon

Canon 60D
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Canon 70D
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Canon G1 X & Underwater Housing Kit
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Nikon

Nikon 1 AW1 Kit
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Nikon 1 J4 Kits
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Nikon Coolpix A
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Nikon Coolpix L830
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Nikon D610 (refurb)
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5 Tips for Gothic Photography ( with Images)

2014-10-28T01:40:00.000-07:00

Tip 1 Colour Control

When doing Gothic photography colours have major role to play , because there are certain colours that can emphasize the gothicness within the picture .It's not the colours you see in your day to day life , thus it's far beyond from reality and some where along side with fantasy , but not every Gothic art is fantasy there are many situations where reality it self giving the Goth effects , examples like , Misty mountain ranges , pinkish sun set , ...etc. but mostly the colours are grey/ash/black and plus any saturated single colour like Purple,Red,Green,Blue ,

Tip 2 Location

Next best factor would be a suitable location , not all of the places you see are look haunted but there are certain places that do , such as monuments, old buildings , abounded places ... etc. and even the place wasn't that gothy, you can make it by taking the shot in a artistic way such as focusing on a tree branch or capturing a window would give some haunted look you seek.

Tip 3 Models

Adding models is the next step in learning goth photography. When doing this, you need to decide how much focus you will want on your model. Do want them to blend into the background to add to the overall effect, or do you want the whole image to be about them, making them stand out? With answers to these questions, you can decide on colours, clothing style, and hair and make-up for your model.

When introducing models into your photography, take many, many shots. Try as many different angles, light sources, expressions, and poses as you can think of. It is not uncommon for a photographer to take a few hundred photos of their subject just to capture about a dozen “perfect” shots. Playing with different filters like sepia tone can also change your effect and the entire image.

Tip 4 Misty Atmosphere

Misty places always have that Gothic kind of a look , best way is to take some pictures in a gloomy and mist full environment and select few , and there's another way of doing this , and its mostly useful when you are in a position where you cant reach to a misty place.trick is to create smoke , this can be done in many ways , one is to lit some old leaves and have some smoke , and for closed environment you can use dry ice.

Tip 5 Edit Pictures

This might be the easiest way to start with Gothic photography . and you must remember the first tip when you are editing as well so you can change a normal picture.

all you needed is bit of photo editing skills together with Gothic visionary , but first of all I must say that , this is not entirely Gothic photography at all , if you are a big fan of Gothic photography then should not try to rely on these methods ,

any way this method is really easy , all you have to do is add some Hue/Saturation / Sepia effects to your normal looking photograph and turns it into a stunning Gothic art ,

Canon 5D Mark IV

2014-10-24T04:26:00.000-07:00

Canon announced 5Dmark iii way back in 2012 and they released it on the same year

and its now been a lengthy cycle without an update for the 5D series , so most probably there will be a 5D mark iv in early 2015 to replace this full frame giant from canon .

Canon 5D Mark IV

5D mark iii specs ( 2012)

Sensor Resolution 22.3 Megapixel

Optical Sensor Type CMOS

Total Pixels 23,400,000 pixels pixels

Effective Sensor Resolution 22,300,000 pixels pixels

Optical Sensor Size 24 x 36mm

Field of View Crop Factor 1.0

Sensor Dust Reduction Yes

Sensor Features EOS Integrated Cleaning System

Image Processor Dual DIGIC 5+

Auto Focus TTL phase detection

Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 61

AE/AF Control Predictive AI Servo AF

Face Detection Live Face detection AF mode

Digital Video Format MOV

Image Recording Format RAW + JPEG

Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080

AV Interfaces composite video/audio

Although another fact for canon to release 5Dmark iii is that lack of sales in canon 6D which wasnt that popular on full frame business.Canon working on improving their sensor technology so hopfully we'll see a new sensor tech with 5D mark iii,

Expected 5D mark iv specs

and expected specs will be around 24-30 MP super FullFrame sensor,

and touch lcd,14-bit linear ADC, 16-bit data pipelines, as the D3X.

View Finder

will be 12-channel parallel readout.98% coverage.

0.72x with 50mm lens.

18mm eyepoint.

AF : 65 Points

Shutter

1/8,000 ~ 30 sec, bulb.

Flash Sync: 1/200.

frame rate 8-10 fps

Nuwara Eliya Sri Lanka

2014-10-24T01:44:00.001-07:00

During the colonial era , it was called by "Little England" because of its unique climates which is different from most of Sri lank-an city climates. Nuwara Eliya town was founded in the 19th century by the British,
Even after the Colonial period still the remaining s of the buildings features the Architectural aspects of Colonial period , and even most of the new building still tries to retain the old glory as well.
Probably the best time to visit Nuwara Eliya would be April-May Season and August -September , where the flowers blooms.

Activities / Places

Horse Riding
Boat Riding
Local Foods
Flower Gardens ( Victoria & Haggala)
Water falls

and there are mainly two ways to get to the City , one is via Colombo -Kandy road
and other is to travel from Awissawella -Haton -Nuwara Eliya

Village Life of Nuwara Eliya

Village life of Nuwara Eliya mainly scattered around local plantation of Tea , which is one of the best in the world and their life is so simple, village people in NE are more reluctant to cold climates and they continuesly struggle for survive specially on high hill zones

Waterfalls

Sri Lanka is a fountain of waterfalls and specially around Nuwara Eliya you'll found many
including most spectacular water falls like Galaboda falls , Devon, Laxhapana, ...etc

Laxhapahana Fall

Canon 5D Mark IV & Canon 1Dx mark ii ( Canon Rumours )

2014-10-23T22:46:00.001-07:00

Canon 5D mark iii and Canon 1Dx both pro level cameras from Canon are more likely to be replaced in 2015 , 5D mark iii which was introduced in 2012 is to be replaced first and the 1Dx will soon follow which was introduced on 2013 , both cameras will have the new advanced sensor technology.
Normally Canon continuing to have lengthy update cycles for their high end pro series cameras but as the 7D mark ii ( the replacement of the 7D ) these two full frame pro cameras will have their successors in next year ,

Canon 1Dx

Canon 5D mark iii

Canon road map of DSLR cameras

10 places to visit in Sri Lanka before you die

2013-04-23T00:42:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka has always been a great place for travelling , compiled with rivers waterfalls , lakes forests , tropical beaches …etc Although the country is relatively small in size, it has the highest biodiversity density in Asia, but when considering the tourism destinations in Sri Lanka few names pops up all the time but many awesome places remain out of the radar .and one of the saddest things for me is that even Sri Lankans are not been overly whelmed by the beauty of this country only few Sri Lankans are annually exploring the country for new places

#10 Namunukula Mountain

Namunukula is a mountain at Badulla district of Sri Lanka and closed to Monaragala District. Main peak of Namunukula is hight about 6600Ft. Namunukula willl become lovers mountain of students of University Of Uva Wellassa Sri Lanka. Namunukula town is at between Badulla, Ella and Passara towns. Namunula is popular as good obeseravation point in up country, Main mountain of Sri Lanka and tea plantation. Namunukula Plantation is also very much popular and listed in CSE.

There are several accessing points to Namunukula mountaina. Those are from Badulla town, From Passara or Badalkumbura and Ella town. Most popular entrance and beautiful entrance is Ella entrance.-Lakdasun-

and climbing Namunukula is not a easy task first have to go through tea plantation site and then the pine tree forest which is really a amazing view , then forest will become more heavier and harder to climb through and when reaching back it's better to visit Black pool which is a natural pool made out of graphites,andt it's another long walk too , but in spite of that it's a must go place in Sri Lanka ,

#09 Sinharaja Forest Reserve

Located in south-west Sri Lanka, Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic species of mammals and butterflies, as well as many kinds of insects, reptiles and rare amphibians. There are many ways to reach there , from Mathgama , Rathnapura area or can also visit from Deniyaya

For more valueable Information

visit : Eco Team

#8 Deer Park Girithale

It's one of the five star hotels in Sri Lanka , located near magnificent Girithale lake, unlike in many other hotels it's astonishing surroundings and calm quite atmosphere raised it among the top of the best hotels list ,and it'll be the perfect gateway from busy ordinary life ,

there few things that you must do if ever visiting here ,

1) Walk around the lake with watching Birds

2) Safari Ride which is not mush expensive but guaranteed to be full of adventure .

3) Cycle rides.

4) Last but not least have to taste the aromatic Sri Lankan cuisine, many variety of foods to be selected from will be a great experience ,

#7 The Ark

The Ark is one of the modern looking hotels in Sri Lanka , and it's architecturally a different hotel than other typical ones.located in Mathugama , and certainly worth to added in the list ,

#6 Nagadeepa Lake, Mahiyanganaya

Mahiyanganaya , Sri Lanka is one of the significant places to visit is Sri Lanka but yet it was under the radar of both local and foreign tourists , but that doesn't reduced a bit of the natural beauty of the place. As for me I went there for 3-4 days as accepting a invitation from a local friends who lives in mahiyanganaya,

The journey begins from colombo , and we catch a bus at about 10.00 pm and started to travel during the night time , whole bus ride took 5-6 hours but should say it's not a pleasant one , but in the early morning we reached the destination. And their hospitality is so amazing !!!

I'm not much intend to write much details about the journey but it's the Lake that mesmerized me through out the time I spent there , it's named “Naga deepa lake “ and the little mountain forest which near the lake is also an amazing work of nature .

Culture & Wild Life

The whole village is so much depend on the lake and it's their main source of water for vegetation during the dry season,they mostly grow rice and corn , corn is arguably the main food in the whole village , their affinity to corn is astonishing, they know thousand and one things to do with corn , and we enjoyed some of the finest home made corn meals too ,

Because of the large surrounded forest and the lake , and also due to lack of human activity , wild animals live freely among the lake banks and near by forest , and both the wild animals and the villagers live side by side peacefully.

#5 Delft Island Jaffna

This island is named as Delft in the Admiralty Chart unlike the other islands in the area which are named with their Tamil names. The island's area is 50 km² and it is roughly oval-shaped. Its length is 8 km and its maximum width about 6 km .It has it’s own Hospital and school , and also a mini culture sperated from the mainland , but what it’s most famous for is wild horses , during the colonial era Portuguese and Dutch introduced the breed and they are still hanging around in the wild . reaching there is not hard first from the Jaffna city have to go for Kurnikadduwan bay which is the port for both Deft and Nagadeepa temple boats ,then need to catch a boat for Delft ,which is completely safe with life guards and journey will take about 25 to 30 minutes ,and on the island there are few places to go for , Old castle , inside lakes , and delft beach ,

But traveling facilities inside the island is very hard to come by main travelling medium is Bikes and lorries.delft beach has its own unique characteristics but have to say it’s not for everyone !! because it contains high density of salts , so the waters are not taste as the sea water that we familiar with but instead it has a awful bitterness , and this has caused it’s Density to be different from others ,So on the sea it’s literally floating ,

Hospitality of the village people are also noticeable , both the Tamil local civilians and Sinhalese Naval officers are there to help at any time . and can ask for local house to prepare lunch it's not expensive at all and they will honestly prepare a grand lunch with nothing to spare !

#4 Galaboda falls

What is the most beautiful water fall in Sri Lanka ?

when ever I asked this question from a sri lankan they obviously say falls like , “Dunhida”, “Diyaluma”, “Laxhapana” … “Bopath falls ( only the people from Rathnapura may be )

any way , and if I said what about “Galaboda falls ? .. then they'll just be mad at me ,

but it’s the truth , perhaps only handful of Sri Lankans who already been there , but to me it’s one of the ahh moments in my entire life , as the structure of the fall you can go through the heavy waters to reach the cave and it's indeed an awesome experience that one must have in Sri Lanka during their lifetime !

it’s located near Haton town in Talwakale, and going there is not easy too , had to walk nearly 12 kms to reach the legendary falls but it still one of my greatest memories here in Sri Lanka , may be due to is lack of popularity and hard to reach conditions , it's yet resurrected by the nature without any pollution, so as for the sake of the fall , I should not mention the ways of getting there also !

#3 Pasikuda & Arugambay

When it come to beaches , Sri Lanka has it’s own unique ones to offer , sandy beaches like Kazrina,Delft, Unawatuna, Polhena, Mt livina , Pasikuda, Trinco, Nilaveli , Arugambay … and many more , In Sri Lanka“ if you looking for a good beach travel East “ it’s famous saying here in SL ( or may be I just made that up )
but nevertheless it’s true in general , because Pasikuda, Arugambay are just so beautiful with white sands aquamarine waves & eternal sunshinehere , so definitely a must visit place before you die ,

Pasikuda ,Batticaloa

Since the end of the civil war in 2009 and the completion of Tsunami rehabilitation projects, Pasikudah has become a popular tourist destination amongst locals and foreigners alike. This is because Pasikudah is known to have one of the longest stretches of shallow coastline in the world. In other words, people walk kilometers into the sea because the water is only a few inches deep and the current is relatively weak compared to the rest of Sri Lanka's coasts.

Arugam Bay

Lovely Arugam Bay (aru-gam-beh) is the east coast’s most traveller-friendly destination. It’s basically a single laid-back strip of beach accommodation, following Siyabalanduwa District which is a place with very low population and vast natural beauty

#2 Horton Plains National Park

It's a shame that if I'm not added it to the list !!

Horton Plains National Park is a protected area in the central highlands of Sri Lanka and is covered by montane grassland and cloud forest. This plateau at an altitude of 2,100–2,300 metres (6,900–7,500 ft) is rich in biodiversity and many species found here are endemic to the region. This region was designated a national park in 1988. It is also a popular tourist destination and is situated 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Nuwara Eliya.

The Horton Plains are the headwaters of three major Sri Lankan rivers, the Mahaweli, Kelani, and Walawe. In Sinhala the plains are known as Maha Eliya Plains. Stone tools dating back to Balangoda culture have been found here. The plains' vegetation is grasslands interspersed with montane forest, and includes many endemic woody plants. Large herds of Sri Lankan Sambar Deer feature as typical mammals, and the park is also an Important Bird Area with many species not only endemic to Sri Lanka but restricted to the Horton Plains. Forest dieback is one of the major threats to the park and some studies suggest that it is caused by a natural phenomenon. The sheer precipice of World's End and Baker's Falls are among the tourist attractions of the park.

History

The original name of the area was Maha Eliya Thenna (මහ එළිය තැන්න - "great open plain"). But in the British period the plains were renamed after Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, the British governor of Ceylon from 1831 to 1837,

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker had advised the British Government "to leave all Montane Forests above 5000 ft. undisturbed" and an administrative order to this effect had been issued in 1873 that prevented clearing and felling of forests in the region. Horton Plains was designated as a wildlife sanctuary on 5 December 1969, and because of its biodiversity value, was elevated to a national park on 18 March 1988. The Peak Wilderness Sanctuary which lies in west is contiguous with the park. The land area covered by Horton Plains is 3,160 hectares (12.2 sq mi). Horton Plains contains the most extensive area of cloud forest still existing in Sri Lanka.

Bakers Fall

Baker's Falls is a famous waterfall in Sri Lanka. It is situated in Horton Plains National Park on a tributary of the Belihul Oya. The height of the Baker's waterfalls is 20 metres (66 ft). The falls were named after Sir Samuel Baker, who was a famous explorer. Many Rhododendron and Fern

Plantation

The vegetation of the park is classified into two distinctive groups, 2,000 hectares (7.7 sq mi) of wet patana (Sinhalese for "montane grasslands") and 1,160 hectares (4.5 sq mi) of subtropical montane evergreen forests.Nearly 750 species of plants belonging to 20 families have been recorded from the park. The forest canopy reaches the height of 20 metres (66 ft).

Frequent fire and grazing characterises Plagioclimax communities of the grassland flora. Waterlogged swamps or slow moving streams are found in low lying areas,

Tree trunks and branches are ornamented with many species of ferns, Old man's beard (Usnea barbata) hanging from branches adds to the beauty of the forests. About 16 of the orchid species being endemic. Other notable plants include shrubs. rost and soil erosion.bushes can be seen around the waterfall.

#1 Sigiriya

And for the final destination ... it's Sigirya a must visit place . I've been here for 6 times and still didn't had enough of it.

Sigiriya (Lion Rock, Sinhalese - සීගිරිය, pronounced see-gee-REE-yah) is located in the central Matale District of the Central Province, Sri Lanka in an area dominated by a massive column of rock nearly 200 meters high. According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle the Culavamsa the site was selected by King Kasyapa (477 – 495 AD) for his new capital. He built his palace on the top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes. On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place is derived from this structure —Sīhāgiri, the Lion Rock. The capital and the royal palace were abandoned after the king's death. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until 14th century.-ost Wikipedia-

Sigiriya today is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning. It is the most visited historic site in Sri Lanka.

The Mirror Wall

The Mirror Wall and spiral stairs leading to the frescoes

Originally this wall was so well polished that the king could see himself whilst he walked alongside it. Made of a kind of porcelain, the wall is now partially covered with verses scribbled by visitors to the rock. Well preserved, the mirror wall has verses dating from the 8th century. People of all types wrote on the wall, on varying subjects such as love, irony, and experiences of all sorts. Further writing on the mirror wall has now been banned.

Passerine Birds

2013-01-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

Passerine Birds

Passerines are the largest list of birds with more than 5000 species , and most of the birds on earth falls under passerine type,Passerine birds are Within the order of Passeriformes,when looking at the main features if these type of birds they have a toe which faces backwards. ad also many of them have pointed curved claws and most of the Passerines are gifted with unique distinguish sound and also they can make a harmonic noise like a song ,so that they can produce two sounds .

example Passerine : Magpie-Robin

Magpie-Robin is a small passerine bird that also classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae they have a log tail and body is black and white. and like the most passerines they are also able to produce two sounds ,there harmonic songs are so beautiful .They can be mostly found in south Asian countries like Sri Lanka , India , Bangladesh ( In Bangladesh Magpie Robin is their National bird ), As I know in Sri Lanka those were called " demalichcha" and they are more likely to be seen with around people , but not like in highly crowded cities ,

Gothic photography part 2

2013-01-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

Gothic photography part 2

( one of the inspired Gothic photograph I found on web and author is unknown used to illustrate how the models can be use in Gothic photography )

if you already started doing Gothic photography and you have the knowledge of what it is , lets discuss some cool ideas that can enhance the Gothic arts , and this little blog post is mostly inspired from the article that I found in BrightHub , and credit should goes to Chrissy Dean, Rhonda Callow for the Original writer and the editor.

Using Models in Goth Photography

Adding models is the next step in learning goth photography. When doing this, you need to decide how much focus you will want on your model. Do want them to blend into the background to add to the overall effect, or do you want the whole image to be about them, making them stand out? With answers to these questions, you can decide on colors, clothing style, and hair and makeup for your model.

Nature in Goth Photography

Other subjects can be used to break from stereotypical goth photography, as well. Experimenting with elements found in nature can add depth and interest to otherwise formulaic shots. Some examples include gnarled or dead trees, macro shots of spiderwebs and spiders, and even mangy or emaciated animals. Some of the best animals to consider are the ones which create fear naturally, such as wolves or birds of prey.

To see fine examples of all these elements together, you can visit the artist Viona’s website. Or for a wider selection from many Gothic photographers, check out the goth photos at this website. Taking notes of the styles and imagery which appeals to you can help you identify and develop your own style and talent.

Being a Gothic Photographer

Being a Gothic photographer does not necessarily make one morbid or depressed, but many social stigmas and misunderstandings will cause you to be labeled this way. Many shy away from this type of photography, both as artists and audience because of imagery and beliefs they already have of the style. The goth subculture tends to go to great lengths to portray dark, sad, and disturbed individuals.

Seeing beauty in isolation, and identifying yourself as a Gothic photographer can have negative effects on others' opinion of you, and you must work hard to overcome these predispositions. If it is something you are passionate about though, keep working and honing your skills to show your audience what you see in the darker side of life as beautiful, rather than scary.

How to Choose The best Digital Camera For you !

2013-01-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

How to Choose The best Digital Camera For you !

This is a buying guide for a digital compact cameras or the point and shoot cameras. Today's compact camera market holds lots of brand names and products. and most of the same range products looks similar in specifications but there are noticeable differences , So if you buying a digital camera for the first time then the selection can be tough and selecting the best one can be tricky so lets analyze step by step about what you need to consider and let's define your needs .

Consider your budget

most probably this is the first thing to do before buying anything . Knowing how much you are willing to spend will prevent you from buying a wrong camera that you don't need .There are many cameras for different price rages so it's important that you have a budget first , then only you can focus on a particular range.

Ask your self “what you need “

( DSLR or Compact ?? )

you have to have an idea of what you going to do with the camera , you might like shooting portraits , Landscapes or else you might be using it for mostly in out doors or you are going to using it for indoor usage ... etc so having know what you going to do will help you to choose the right camera for you , for example if you love doing macro photography then you need to consider a camera with good macro functionality and with very low minimum focus length . and if you interested in doing wildlife photography then what you need is a digital camera with large zoom range . and you should understand the different between a DSLR and a Compact camera , DSLR cameras are more used for professional stuff or when needing a very high resolution and quality and it can give you splendid field of depth , and also you can interchange the lenses of a DLSR but all these are costly , so knowing your ground is important , if you looking for mega zooming camera then you don't always have to look for a DSLR with a long tele lens but you can get 30x or higher zooming camera for much lesser price .

Resolution or the Mega pixels can trick you

Most of the Digital camera manufactures tend to market there product in terms of Mega pixel value , and they wanted consumers to believe that MP value is everything.so you go on and on looking for the camera with the highest MP value.but this is not always true .

Nearly all digital cameras use CCD's as the sensing element. This is what takes the place of film. The resolution is the number of pixels in the captured image. Computer images are divided into little dots called pixels. The more pixels, the more detailed the image can be. Here is a guide to choosing resolution, estimating the size print you can make from each:

1.3 Megapixel = 1280x960: Great 4x6's, acceptable 5x7's.

2 Megapixel = 1600x1200: Pretty good 8x10's.

3 Megapixel = 2048x1536: Great 8x10's, good 11x14's.

4 Megapixel = 2272 x 1704: Great 11x14's, and acceptable 16x20's.

5 Megapixel = 2560x1920: Pretty good 16x20's.

6 - 10 Megapixels = At this point you are usually limited by the lens, not the pixels.

Casual photographers are satisfied with bigger prints from each size, while those who like to look at 8x10's from a distance of three inches think I am being too generous in the above evaluations.

( source - http://users.wfu.edu )

and there are compact cameras with 18MP and on the other hand we have expensive DSLRs with the same 18 MP or similar so what's the different ?

DSLR cameras uses a large sensor when comparing to a normal point and shoot camera it's a sevaral times larger , so the field of deapth and image quality is very high in a DSLR . any way since we are not talking about DSLRs here what you should know is image quality is not totally depend on the Mega pixel value .

Lens quality / Zoom range / Focal length /aperture

(Mega zooming digital camera )

in almost every compact camera zoom range is marked as ( 4x , 6x...etc ) it's the pure zooming capability of the lens and in a mega zooming compact cameras can have zoom ranges up to 30-40x , equaling nearly 600mm in a tele lens ,and you should checkout the quality of the lenses too, because lot depend on the quality of the lens, Focus length is the distance between the center of a lens or curved mirror and its focus.

The aperture of a lens is its maximum opening. The bigger the aperture, the more light is gathered, and the less light you need to take a good photo. This is the most overlooked lens specification, but it very important, especially if you like to take photos indoors without flash or from a reasonable distance.

Lens aperture is measured in f/numbers, such as f/2.0 or f/3.5. An aperture of f/2.0 literally means that the lens opening is half the focal length of the lens. Thus, smaller numbers mean bigger lens openings. You would rather have a lens that is f/2.0 than a lens that is f/4.0. but in most cases people don't even look for these numbers.but it'll be good to bare it on your mind,

Do not fascinate about the Digital zooming.

Digital zooming is not done by the camera lens , it's just cropping the image . so image quality is highly reduced , so when buying a camera simply ignore the digital zoom number .

Shutter lag

In photography, shutter lag is the delay between triggering the shutter and when the photograph is actually recorded. This is a common problem in the photography of fast-moving objects or people in motion. The term narrowly refers only to shutter effects, but more broadly refers to all lag between when the button is pressed and when the photo is taken, including metering and focus lag.you can check the shutter lag buy taking some test shots with the camera and for digital camera it's good to have a minimum shutter lag between 0.1 sec to .2 sec

Build quality

everyone would like to have a more stylish and a sleek design , so it's up to you to compare the build quality of the models you looking for , and if it's made up with metal and have less plastic on it , it's better ,and check out the LCD as well size resolution , quality. importantly if it's has a hard body then it'll be last long.

Recommended brands

when buying a camera , you should read the full manufacture specification , and you can find specs on

DP Review, and then you can compare models from each brand or from the same brand , and also you should not go for lesser famous brand names , brand names like Canon , Nikon , Olympus, Fuji, Sony, Samsung , has a good range of compact products ,you can compare cameras from SnapSort

Make a list , take time and review each camera

you can have a list of the models in your price range and you can sort this list by price , features , build quality , etc , what's important is you should always have to look for the cameras that suit your needs then you can shorten the list by eliminating the unnecessary ones.after you have 3-4 cameras on your list go to DPReview and read the specs , take your time , never be hurry to pick a one but be patient and pick the best one, after that you can even go for few shops to have a look by yourself or else you can use hands on review videos on YouTube ,

Nikon rumors in 2013

2013-01-20T23:19:00.000-08:00

Nikon rumors in 2013

Nikon D8000

The Nikon D7000 is a 16.2 megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) model announced by Nikon on September 15, 2010. It is a new class of camera placed between the professional D300S and the 'midrange' D90. The D7000 offers numerous professional-style features over the D90,

And there is a possibility that Nikon will introduce a new camera to the same lineup .The replacement will be Nikon D8000 it will have a professional body design so as the Nikon D7000 and high resolution sensor around 24MP + and around 8fps ,

( images are concept images only )

Update overdue for Nikon D300s

The Nikon D300S is a 12.3 megapixel DX format digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) announced by Nikon on 30 July 2009. It replaces the D300 as Nikon's DX format flagship DSLR adding HD video recording (with autofocus). It has some similarities to the Nikon D700, with the same resolution, but has a smaller, higher-density sensor.

The Nikon D300S has been tested by a number of independent reviewers, receiving generally favorable reviews.Digital Photography Review concluded in its extensive review: "The D300S is not the standout product that its predecessor was and unless you find your clients are clamoring for video footage, we can't see much need for existing owners to upgrade. But that shouldn't take away from an absolutely excellent product – a gently polished and refined update of a product that we considered a benchmark when it was released

(source - wikipedia )

ans as a result of being one of the most favored cameras , Nikon might introduce a follow up for D300s

as D400 ,

Nikon D4x

Nikon's professional lineup is going neck to neck with canon's pro line up , and to take the edge Nikon will definitely introduce a new pro camera in 2013 , but yet no official confirmations have been made but it could be Nikon D4x ,and later on Nikon catch a trend of launching high MP sensors and as we saw on D800 released with super 36.3 MP sensor and they not seem to be stopping the slow and there is a rumor that bugging around in early 2013 that Nikon will introduce a 52MP sensor but yet all these rumors are just not official , and as the users what we have to concern is how will Nikon is going to keep up the low noise performances with this ultra high MP sensors .

Forest Lake

2013-01-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

Forest Lake

The whole village is so much depend on the lake and it's their main source of water for vegetation during the dry season .

they mostly grow rice and corn , corn is arguably the main food in the whole village , their affinity to corn is astonishing, they know thousand and one things to do with corn , and we enjoyed some of the finest home made corn meals too ,

( some pictures taken from my mobile )

Wild life

Forest

The whole lake is surrounded by a heavily grown forest which has some unique character-tics to it's own mainly it's more likely to be fall under both Riverine Dry Forests/Lowland Rain Forest in Sri Lanka , and can find small rock mountains stand along separately in the forest and one noticeable fact is that all those small rocky mountains looks so similar therefore travelling along in the forest could lead to possibility of losing track among the woods , and also there are some awesome caves under those rocky mountains which are naturally crafted on those huge rocks .

Places to go from Mahiyanganaya

Sansun mountains
Nagadeepa Lake
Nagadeepa Temple
Badulla
Lipton's seat
Diyaluma Falls
Dunhida Falls

Canon rumors

2013-01-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

Canon rumors in 2013 ??

Since canon introduce their EOS camera system. Breaking compatibility with the earlier FD mount, it was designed with no mechanical linkages between moving parts in the lens and in the camera. and since then they have been introducing various models with new advanced features , in about every year they preform 2-3 major releases and during the last quarter of 2012 they announced EOS 6D light weight and the smallest full frame camera and even in this year ( 2013 ) rumors are already spread about some major up coming releases,and yet the sources are not 100 accurate or trusted but as it for 6D rumors spread far away even way before they announcing it . so it's some what worthy to take a glimpse about this so cold rumors ,

EOS 7D mark ii

Canon Introduced 7D as a result of user experience research which have been carried out for some years , and it about what the user want from a DSLR camera , and it seems that the search is benefited

canon tremendously. and it's been a while since they first release the canon 7D , also the design still remain as same because there is no successor yet.

so their might be a huge life changing in the 7D range , and one important thing about the 7d is that it doesn't really fit on the canon pro level 1 digit range , but it is now considered as one of the best selling cams as all time for canon .

Murmurings of an upcoming Canon 7D Mark II, which we first wrote about back in October, are starting to heat up. It was suggested that the camera, which may mark the merger of the 60D’s and 7D’s lines, was to offer a high continuous shooting rate. More recent reports seem to back up that particular spec, as we as offer some more info on who Canon is targeting with the camera.

A couple of days ago, Canon Rumors published a list of basic specs of the camera, provided by a first-time (i.e. not necessarily reliable) source. The list includes a 24.2 megapixel APS-C sensor, dual DIGIC V processors, dual memory card slots, a new ergonomic design, a new type of battery, and 10.2 frame per second burst mode.

( source : Petapixel )

EOS 70D

The Canon EOS 60D is a digital single-lens reflex camera from Canon. It is the first Canon EOS camera which has an articulating LCD screen and succeeds the EOS 50D. It was publicly announced on August 26, 2010 with a suggested retail price of US$1099.00.

Apart from its screen, the main new features of the 60D in the two-digit Canon line include increased resolution and ISO range, and full-HD video capabilities and in-camera post-processing functions for the images. It uses the DIGIC 4 image processor.

(source : wikipedia )

The EOS 60D is definitely due to be replaced by an EOS 70D,