Systems engineer Tan Yan Sheng was planning to buy a new Nikon camera for his girlfriend, but he can now save the money for other gear instead.

The 28-year-old was the lucky winner of a brand-new Nikon D5200 DSLR camera kit worth $1,319 sponsored by the Japanese camera maker.

The contest was organised by The Straits Times and drew close to 3,800 entries. Participants had to submit their name and contact details from Sept 17 to Oct 6 by email. The winner was picked by a lucky draw.

Both Mr Tan and his partner are photography enthusiasts, though he was quick to add that they did not know each other through photography.

He took part in the contest because his girlfriend had been looking to upgrade from her Nikon D5100 DSLR camera.

"She was quite keen on the D5200, so I was going to buy it for her," he told The Straits Times.

"I couldn't believe it when I got a call on Tuesday saying I won it!"