Niki

@Frederic you mentioned you have the iPhone 12 (as do i) - its a superb camera and the videos with HDR are a dream (for novices like me anyhow). Do you (and the others on this thread) feel the option of the Apple Pro Raw will bring a significant benefit vs the 25MB per pic tax? PS i am in awe of the purists that started this thread ( @Ale Vallecchi @Frederic @sertac) and the pro's and enthusiats (too many to name/remember), film has such a charm! i like other on this thread am an hobbyist/enthusiast photographers, with myself cancelling an upgrade to a full frame due to the lock down (didn't feel i would get much use of it back in Feb/March last year) and the savings was redirected to my new hobby with me buying my offroad car instead! NOW this thread popped up and i have the itch to start again. With the quality of modern phones, i went back to old habits of 'pointing and shooting' (trigger happy) however which a recent drive, reading the earlier comments here and seeing some of the stunning shots - i started to go back to the basics and focus on composition and framing! it is amazing how much of difference it made to think like a film photographer and consider each shot before triggering! Thank you all for bringing back this care! my kit (very old and ready for an upgrade): Sony RX100 2012 model (bought with the birth of my son and to get better pics with a pocket friendly (size not price sadly) Nikon 3300 kit lenses 18-55 + 55-200 50mm Prime Lens I received advice to quickly buy a prime lens (affordable also) and use your feet to zoom, frame and focus on the composition. The lens was a 1.8 so decent speed allowed for my first true bokeh experience and i loved it... best lens to learn on and was what got me hooked. what made me pause this hobby: a combination of covid lock downs AND the realization that the 'art' in photography was far more critical for a stunning shot than always the tech (my wife just always had a better eye for an angle, composition, etc...) i accepted that i am not a natural photographer BUT after this thread have decided i want back in and to at the least, keep learning. i LOVE astro so am keen to learn there... i am terrible at sports/motion photography so keen to learn there and i love landscapes more than portraits so want to continue my journey learning. @Thomas Varghese - your comment earlier hit a real nerve (in a positive sense). too often i took photos and was keen to see others reaction, often sad when they critiqued or didn't share the joy i had... your point about the pictures are for myself/personal has me snapping out of this need for 'validation/assurance/etc'- THANK YOU. i do plan to spend on a dedicated camera and upgrade the Nikon however am not in a rush ( @Gaurav saved me a small fortune by having me delay the upgrade to suspension and i am fighting myself not to throw that at a camera and lenses...) i look forward to the photography themed drives in the near future and please do keep these discussions/forums active - i would love to hear more from the 'film' photographers and the pro's on their tips for composition ... i tried to apply the rule of thirds, foreground interest, lines to follow and filling the frame in my last drive - keen to hear some pro tips! The care per each picture is something that doesn't come natural so am trying to create it as a habit.

You are in luck @Nitin Mohan ... every Marshal plus many more have such great experience and there is a very loyal and knowledgeable pajero swb community here. check out on the forum the used car buying guide ... great info there. @Gaurav @Frederic @Wrangeld expert pajero swb owners and will have so much more to offer than me! As a complete novice the advice of the senior members here is priceless and my limited experience was/findings; buying used Offroad cars during the Offroad season is really tough! Tough to find a price that’s sensible and even harder to find cars that have been cared for or that I can buy with basic knowledge. Maybe add here or start a new thread in the pajero forum woth the link to the car for advice etc ... final piece of experience ... buying from dubizzle I found they priced the cars competitively as they were keen for cars to sell ... so they actually refused to market cars that were over priced (they would refund you as a seller).. so pricing wise I suspect you are good... mechanical ... let’s get the experienced folks above giving you advice and support.

@Nitin Mohan I went through the process of having my car advertised through their premium service and had the inspection etc - however didn’t go through with the sale for separate reasons. I would sell via them (great consumer reach and a good service via email/call) however, I would not buy via their service (I found their inspections very light and not specialized for a vehicle... generic at best) if you have the time and are clear on the car brand you want, maybe consider finding a trusted independent garage that specializes in that brand and ask if they offer a pre purchase inspection. For Land Rover I knew of a few and they did offer this. falling back on a dubizzle inspection is still 100% better than no inspection (if you are like me and have zero mechanical knowledge) so if you have found a car you like, don’t want to loose more time and keen for some added confidence prior to purchase do go for it. Car switch if they offer an inspection I would 2nd and say are a better/more comprehensive service. good luck and keep us posted with your experience FYI.. I was exploring buying a used Jeep and also paid 100aed for a vehicle report to ensure it was true gcc spec and accident history. I have attached the report I paid for so you can see the detail they provide and if useful for you then do go ahead and use that firm. Many provide a similar service and report ... I just went with these guys based a few reviews and their site/content. PrintVehicleReport 2.pdf

@Rahimdad what a great first experience under your lead! So much learnt and experienced and I truly appreciated the difference the climate made for us all on this drive! A tough start but it gave us some stunning sunrise pics and clean air. Have posted some on our gallery. @Aus Alzubaidi check out some early morning silhouette shots where the lens flare made it look like 2 suns rising (you look like luke skywalker in Star Wars ). @Shaaz Sha have to call you out volunteering to CF in what was one of the trickiest drives I have experienced... amazing performance and you were always first out with the shovel every time!! @Ashy it was a really tough start but after that I kept hearing @Rahimdad call out ‘brilliant’ to you and rightly so! Thank you also @N@ved for keeping us going at the back! @Ranjan Das I promised I got some ‘glamour’ shots of your lovely cars and tires (hope that’s enough to give you the memories to go and get some lighter shoes as Rahim advised I will post later this evening the video of the magic winch and @Rahimdad doing the Superman special and flying the Pajero out of a tricky bowl! @Rahimdad thank you for never loosing patience and keeping everyone’s spirits high during the many stops and recoveries! Look forward to seeing you all on the dunes soon!