Just about a week ago, I came across few of my friends discussing about the bloggers meet up organised by Nikon India in Bangalore and that they would be showcasing some of their products also the at the venue. After speaking to few of my friends over on twitter and on call, i made sure i got officially ended up at Skyee Bar, UB City which hosted the #ThroughTheLens Bloggers meet organised by Nikon India. Being right on top of the skyline and getting a birds eye view of the city on a rainy saturday afternoon, Nikon India couldn’t have opted anything other than this beautiful venue for the meet up.
In a time when most of the newbies/pros alike are just a click away from getting all the information about the newest camera in town to the hottest post processing style that is making way to that secret technique which some specific photos use to get that magical image – i found it very impressive and interesting for Nikon India to come out and organise an event in which they will bridge the gap between the Nikon gear and their respective users by educating them whats inside that blackbox and what are the capabilities and limitations of each of the menu options that one get to see when you turn the dial on the back.
The event started off with a welcoming of the bloggers by the customary registration at the front desk where we were greeted with a nice little nikon goodie and brochures having info about tall the Nikon imaging gears available in market. We walked in to a room filled with people with perplexed looks wondering what to expect and what to go back home carrying in the mind, but the folks from Nikon and also the Skyee staff had a different plan on their hands by making sure each of the participant gets a personalised welcome be it with a shootout on the twitter or even the personal handshake by photogs covering the event till an extent that the Skyee staff load us with beverages and snacks ( which def one of the highlight to 😉 ).
The show was hosted by Bangalore’s very own ( or probably Chennai’s donated ) talent Praveen Kumar ( @Funny_Leonne ) who made sure that every participant was active and attentive using his humour and witty jokes. The fun intro made way to one of India’s legendary and the remarkable Magnum photographer Mr Raghu Rai who had come down to grace the occasion and interact and mingle around with the participants and get the doubts wiped off their minds. A brief talk by the master about his past and how he for a short while he moved away from the Nikon system and eventually felt it was like an unmanageable girlfriend and that made him comeback to his Nikon roots. He then followed it up with a small and quick Q&A session where he addressed some of the key things like whats lacking in current age and whats preventing us from having more Magnum photographers from India etc. One has to admit that “experience speaks volumes” and that Mr Raghu Rai is one person who comes backed up with not only a brilliance of telling story in a visual medium in form of photos but also his way of understanding how the market changes and how things are getting evolved ( faster ).
 
A quick touch up by Praveen again to ensure that the participants are not all lost with the conversations that happened, the Nikon folks took over the console with their showcase of how things evolved from Nikon how it was then to what it is now. The folks showed us everything from whats inside a Nikon DSLR system including the Autofocus system (that helps the sports & aviation photographers in nailing the shot), to the Image sensor and the magnitude of detailing it offers and def not forgetting the Exceed processor or the menu features which some of them seldom try to go digging into. This made way for discussing some specific Trending topics in photography fraternity which are part of Nikon DSLR system including but not limited to D-Lighting ( I know Canon users are raising their hands telling we have Highlight priority ), in Camera HDR imaging, Panorama shooting, “Timelapse feature” ( ok now the Canon users are digging their bag to show the Intervalometer which they got from Amazon which takes more than 999 images that Nikon is limited to taking ), Continuous lighting system, etc. A very simple and explanatory showcasing of what each of those feature is and the comparison/resultant image to accompany it with is what made the participants convinced about what they have missed seeing or using in their Nikon DSLRs or what they can expect when they head out to pick one up as their next tool. There was even a small talk on the HD video feature that most of our newer DSLR cameras come equipped with and what separates Nikon from the other players in the market. Once again the examples that accompanied them made sure the people were not lost and submerged in technical jargons. They guys not only had things to talk and images/visuals to show but also the cameras, lens and scopes to be played around with from the 17th floor of the UB City to ensure that we get a first hand feel of what it feels like to use a top quality equipment.
It all ended up after a 3+ hrs discussion with few of us bumping into known names and faces and discussing about photography, blogging and beyond. Personally being someone who spends more time in a day in front of computer reading about photography gears, gadgets, techniques etc I felt this particular initiative by Nikon india in bringing together people on a common platform was a fantastic initiative. I feel every equipment manufacturer should take this a pointer in getting close to their customers and not just forget them after giving them the invoice and seeing them back only at service centre when entered with a warranty in hand.
Fantastic job Nikon !!!
A post I had written about along with few images shot with using Nikon V1 – Weekend with Nikon V1
Ethics Statement : Lets not get started with discussing on why a Canon user for close to a decade is writing about Nikon meet up ! To accept and confess i have used and shot using Nikon system for both personal and for my commercial work and this has nothing to do with my brand affection with Canon/Nikon/Fuji/etc Its just that am clear about using the right camera for the right job.Â