Is the D7200 better than the D7000?

This shot was taken with the D7200 from inside my car. I had to pull over quickly and I didn't have time to think about the settings. I just shot these wild turkeys as they were making their way into the woods, with the settings I had used earlier. These looks really sharp and the colours pop! I like it. I no longer have the D7000 to compare.

Nikon ADL vs. HDR + ADL

I took a stroll around harbourfront with my Nikon D7200 this afternoon.  It was a good opportunity to try HDR again and see how it fares outside.  You can be the judge of how things look.

Active D-Lighting (ADL) pictures are on the left and ADL + HDR pictures are on the right.

Covered sidewalk:  I like the details that HDR brings out.

Tiny tugboat:  There was virtually no difference here.

Larger tugboat:  I prefer the non-HDR version with more vibrant and sharper colours.

I'm not sure when to use HDR yet.  I'll eventually learn to recognize what makes a good candidate for HDR.

First Photos from the D7200

Winter in Toronto this year has been like a snow globe.  It's been beautiful.  It's been calm sometimes and stormy at other times when someone shakes it up.  We've just got another dump of snow last night.  It was the weirdest of storms.  I've never ever heard thunder in the middle of winter and wouldn't believe anyone if they told they saw thunder, but last night would prove otherwise.  It was incredible to hear thunder while the sky was cover in white snow.  In my head, I was imagining of rain up above and they quickly crystallize into snow as they tumble toward the streets of Toronto.  It was amazing!

I was thinking of doing some jogging today but it looks like I'll stay inside.  I also thought I'd go out to take some wintery scenes but my first would instead come from my bedroom, through double-layer glass.  

It'd be cool to take a picture of a TTC streetcar as it drives over a bridge.  The streetcar is red so it would be contrasted against the white background. The streetcars come around probably every 10 minutes this morning.

I had Vietnamese pho at a restaurant on Thursday.  They served it with basil leaves.  I took a snippet of it home and it's sitting in a glass jar on my window sill overlooking the city down below.  In a couple of weeks, it'll grow roots and will go into a pot ready for spring time.

The colours are drabby.  It's a bit of a gloomy day.  The sun wants to show itself but it's cloudy.  Pictures are sharp though.
 

HDR vs. D-Lighting vs. Normal

Images from the Nikon D7200 shot with three different modes:

1) HDR on high

2) D-Lighting on high

3) Normal without HDR or D-Lighting

There isn't much of a difference between Normal and D-Lighting in this case.  The photo in normal mode is as close to what I see with the naked eyes.  The HDR photo brings out more details of the dark areas but it doesn't look natural, does it?  I would use it outdoor when I'm encountering high contrast scenes.  If I had the D7200 when I was in Arizona, I could imagine many of my shots could have turned out way better.  My phone camera was able to do auto-HDR so some photos from it turned out better than my DSLR's.

Nikon D7200 Shutter Life Expectancy

From https://www.olegkikin.com/shutterlife/nikon_d7200.htm:

My D7200 has low shutter count so I'm expecting to be able to use it for 10 years or so.

Removing Smoke Smell from Camera Body

Recently, I purchased a second-hand Nikon D7200.  My D7000 is doing quite a job and pictures are great except for the lack of HDR.  While the D7000 supports Active D-Lighting, there are times I want to push the limit of its dynamic range capabilities.  In fact, my phone's HDR could do a better job with image details than my D7000 in high-contrast situations!  The D7200 supports HDR so I decided to go for it.  I didn't want to invest $1200+ in a new camera body as I've done with the D80 and D7000 when they first came out.  This time around, I decided to purchase a used one with a low shutter count.  I thought I bought an excellent camera, and it is, except that it reeks of cigarette smell!

When I tested the camera, I was outside standing in the cold.  My nose couldn't pick up the smell when I held the camera up to my face.  It wasn't until I brought it home that I immediately realized how bad it was.  My bad.

So, what to do?  I have an ozone making machine but I fear it could damage the plastic and rubber parts of the camera.  I've read about vinegar, activated charcoal and baking soda.  I also happened to have eTSP (phosphate-free) so I decided to use a cotton swab with diluted vinegar and then eTSP to do two first rounds of cleaning.  I applied the vinegar on all surfaces and use a damp microfiber cloth to remove any residues of the vinegar.  I did the same with eTSP.  The cigarette smell was still noticeable.  I then tried baking soda as it was also readily available.

The camera is now sitting in a cardboard box with a layer of baking soda.  The camera body sits on top of rails I made so it doesn't touch the baking soda.  I would then close the box and tie a plastic bag over the box. 

It's been 6 days.  Most of the smell is now gone!  The cardboard box itself was absorbing some of the smell but baking soda must also have absorbed a good chunk of it.

It's working but the camera still smells a little and I doubt leaving the camera body in the box with baking soda like that would remove the smell completely.  The source of the smell is still embedded in the rubber parts of the body and there is no air movement to draw the source out so I think I will have to use a bit of elbow grease to remove it.  I'm thinking to create a paste of baking soda with a bit of water and use a toothbrush or coton swab to scrub the rubber parts.

If that doesn't work, I might get activated charcoal from Amazon here:  https://amzn.to/3Y6WZiq

That's for the next post.

UPDATE:  The paste of baking soda didn't really help to remove the smell.  I ended up using some toothpaste and a toothbrush to rub over the rubber parts.  It doesn't actually remove the smell but it hides most of it with the toothpaste smell! :-)

UPDATE:  It's been almost another week, now sitting outside of the baking soda box.  The rubber parts still smell of the cigarette tar.  Folks, please don't keep your cameras in a smoke filled room if you ever plan to sell it later.  Maybe keep it in a plastic bag.

UPDATE - March 4, 2023:  It looks like the smell is really sticking hard to the rubber parts.  I picked up the camera after three weeks and my hand stinks of tar!  I don't really want to take it outside during the winter now, or the tar will transfer over to my gloves!  It's going to take a long time for this smoke smell to disappear.

UPDATE - March 4, 2023:  Well, I took the camera out for a walk around town.  I used a sling to carry it so it's always slung around my hip.  I used it every now and then.  I think the bit of wind and the handling of the camera outside helped to remove more of the smell.  Now, it still smells of tar but there is also the freshness of winter air!