photography Archives - DealDash Blog

Cameras For Summer Adventures

Summer is coming, is it time for a new camera? Let’s see what DealDash has on offer.

DealDash has so many different types of cameras up for auction at any given time, from inexpensive kid’s cameras all the way up to high grade digital cameras good enough to fancy yourself a professional photographer when you use them. DealDash also has cameras meant for active lifestyles, and cameras meant to be enjoyed by the whole family. Here are a few of my favorites that DealDash often has up for bid:

Best for Kids: Fuji Instax 8 – I actually have one of these for myself! The Instax is one of my favorite things to take to parties, over to the relatives house, or to keep handy when we go out in the summer. It’s just like an old school Polaroid in that it spits out instant pictures, except it’s got a fun new body design, multiple levels of flash for different types of light, and comes in fun colors.

Best for Families: Coleman 2V9WP Duo2 Dual Screen – I picked this one as best for families because it’s a very affordable price, it comes in fun colors, it’s waterproof, it has dual screens, and 20 MP resolution. This is a cute but rugged camera you don’t have to be afraid to hand it over to your 6 year old to take a picture.

Best for Active Lifestyles: GoPro Hero – GoPro Hero has become the gold standard in practically indestructible sports cameras. The GoPro Hero camera mounts easily to your body, gear or vehicle, making it easy to record video with up to 1080p resolution during your favorite activities. Dropped from a high distance? No problem! Want to film surfing selfies? No problem! GoPro!

Best for Serious Hobbyists: Nikon D3200 – This Nikon is actually my dream camera! I have never had the nerve to bid on one on DealDash because I haven’t worked up the nerve to be willing to “Go all the way”. Maybe someday. This is an awesome camera that also shoots videos in 1080p. Perfect for making YouTube videos. You can actually even edit your pictures right within the cameras interface and share them wirelessly. And as an extra awesome bonus, it also comes in red!!!

If you have gotten your camera and you’re wondering what you should take a picture of next, how about some of your DealDash winnings? You can have fun using your camera and even score some free bids while you’re at it! Here’s how:

After you have taken your photo of you and your big (or little!) win head on over to the DealDash Facebook page which is here, and “Like” it. Then you can post your picture to get free bids. Here are the instructions from DealDash describing how to get free bids from Facebook:

1. Select an item you have won on DealDash to feature in the photo.

2. Take a high quality photo clearly showing yourself and the item you won.

3. Post photo to DealDash’s Facebook page and add a description which should include the following information: the item name, retail price, how much you paid for the item and a personal comment about the win as well. For example: “I got this $688 Garmin GPS on @DealDash. I paid just $6.08 and used 62 bids! Thanks DealDash, I will never get lost again!”

4. In the end of the caption, please include the following sentence and the link (See the picture below):
See how much you can save at: www.dealdash.com/join.php?utm_source=customer%20testimonials&utm_medium=pictures&utm_campaign=facebook

I hope this got you thinking about what kind of camera you might like to bid on for this summer! If you’re interested in reading even more tips and tricks on how to win, check out the “Tactics & Tips” section on DealDash. Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

How to Take Great Pics to Score FREE Bids

If you’ve been paying attention to the blogs lately you know how to get FREE bids from posting your wins on social media. If you need a little help making your pics look great, read on.

Taking a photo of yourself and your DealDash winnings is really simple – you’re basically just taking a selfie of yourself and an item. There are a few tricks to have you and your item looking at your best, and the number one important thing to consider when you’re taking your pic is lighting. There is nothing worse than having a huge shadow cast over your face, it can amplify your worst features and make you look like you have huge bags under your eyes. The best two times to take your pictures is during either sunrise or sunset, when the light is low and the most beautiful. If you’re inside you should try and take your picture close to the window, because having natural light is best. If it’s possible try to take your DealDash win outside and take a picture out in the sunlight, it will make you look great and will show off your wins to their best advantage.

1. Select an item you have won on DealDash to feature in the photo.

2. Take a high quality photo clearly showing yourself and the item you won.

You can see all of these instructions and guidelines on the DealDash Facebook page here.

Other than great lighting, here are a few other tips to help you take great photos of yourself and your DealDash wins:

Smile! Don’t looks so serious. One of my favorite tricks to get a natural smile is to think of someone or something that I really love, like my daughter…Or a huge DealDash win!!
Try and keep your background simple. You’re trying to highlight your DealDash win, so keep your background as plain as possible if you can.
Make sure that you’re holding or posing with your win in the most flattering way. If it’s a small item hold it up close to your face, and if it’s a larger item such as a bike try to get someone else to take the picture for you so you can either sit on the bike or crouch down so you and the bike are on the same level.
Make sure that your pics are CLEAR! There’s nothing worse than a blurry out of focus dark picture where you can barely even tell what the item is that you are trying to display.
If all else fails, get a selfie stick!

I hope this helped some of you selfie-challenged DealDashers! If you’re interested in reading even more tips and tricks on how to win, check out the “Tactics & Tips” section on DealDash. Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

Nikon, the Grandfather of Modern Photography

Nikon has been a cornerstone brand of the photography industry for decades. Isn’t it time you picked one up?

Nikon has been around for YEARS. It was actually originally founded in 1917 under the name Japan Optical Industries Co., Ltd, but they changed their name to Nikon in 1988 after the huge successes that they had with their cameras. And talk about success! For nearly 30 years, Nikon’s F-series SLRs were the most widely used small-format cameras among professional photographers as well as by the U.S. space program. Nikon popularized many features in professional SLR photography, such as the modular camera system with interchangeable lenses, viewfinders, motor drives, and data backs; integrated light metering and lens indexing; electronic strobe flashguns instead of expendable flashbulbs; electronic shutter control; evaluative multi-zone “matrix” metering; and built-in motorized film advance. Basically, when you think of any film-based SLR camera, Nikon was there first, offering the features that we all care about.

Let’s talk about the different Nikons that are available. My personal dream camera is the Nikon D3300 DSLR camera. Being kind of a girly-girl, I absolutely adore the fact that this camera comes in a beautiful red color. But besides the colors, it comes with an awesome AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens. This lens is capable of capturing things with ease, right down to the tiniest detail, it captures high-resolution images up to 6000 x 4000 pixels. That’s way more pixels than you will ever need, no matter how many birthdays, graduations, or vacations you might be attending and be “VolunTold” to take pictures of with your awesome Nikon camera. This particular camera also has a 3″ LCD screen, records in HD video, and has Optical Image Stabilization to reduce the effects of camera shake and vibration to minimize blurring in your shots.

After you have gotten your Nikon camera, be it the D3300, the D3200, or whichever model you are interested in, the next step you might want to take is to get some different lenses for your new camera. The lens that your Nikon comes with will be a great all-purpose lens, but if you need something more specialized, here are a few choices available from DealDash:

* Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 Lens

* Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Zoom Lens

* Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Telephoto Zoom Lens

* Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED Standard Zoom Lens

If you are interested in a Nikon camera or any of it’s many accessories such as an external flash, head on over to DealDash. You can find Nikon cameras in different models, book your Bid Buddy, and sit back and enjoy the watching and bidding in the auction. However, also remember, if you have bid up the auction to the point of retail price you should go ahead and hit the “Buy It Now” (BIN) button, because when you BIN the item for the retail price you get every single one of your bids back, immediately. You can then use the bids all over again to try and win another auction. Good luck and Happy Bidding, everyone!