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Try to find a Kiron, Lester Dine, or Vivitar Series 1 105mm macro. They're the same lens. Goes 1:1 and can't be beat. But you'll have to use manual focus, which is no big deal for macro.

 

Second recommendation is the Tamron SP 90mm macro. The newer version goes 1:1. The older version goes 1:2. Pretty nice lens.

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Obviously, Einstein was a photographer.

Welcome, Dexter,

 

The SD800IS is a nice P&S camera, and the shake reduction helps.

 

You'd get lots of opinions on what to get for a digital. I'm sure either the Sony or the Rebel would suit your purpose. Most of the reviews say Sony has more noise at higher ISO than most. You can get a Nikon D40 for about the same price, I think.

 

You might want to look at the Pentax line as well - K100D or K10D. Quite a lot of bang for the proverbial buck. Visit a photo store with real sales people and handle a few. See what you like.

 

Cheers.

I bought the K10D and replaced the kit lens with a Sigma 18-200. I really like the setup. I have a few other lenses as well, but the Sigma makes a nice full-time lens.

If you download the firmware version 1.10 for the K10D, you can control the remote flash with the on-board flash. Instructions in the reader file.

 

I think the currect firmware version is 1.2, but I haven't installed that. I think the only thing that does is remove the user ability to fix the front-focus problem.

 

Cheers

I don't know if this is legal for the forum, but I have a kit lens I'm not using - replaced it with the Sigma 18-200. Used for about two weeks. Contact me off-line of you are interested.

 

Cheers.

I bought the FA 50/1.4 at my local pro shop for $219, so that's $194 after rebate. The popularity of the K10D is creating a shortage of the product. Pentax likes it so much they extended the rebate. The 10-17 and the 12-24 are out of stock just about everywhere.

 

Must be that bad economy - no-one has any money to spend.

 

Cheers

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If you want something small and quiet, and cheap, you could look at Konica Auto-S2 or S3. You didn't say you needed an SLR.

 

If you have more money, you could look at getting a Konica Hexar AF - perhaps the best little camera around. A Leica clone. And if you can get the original black, it has silent mode.

 

Cheers.

I have the FA 50/1.4. I have not had it for long, but I got it because of the two reasons you mention - it's fast and it's AF. It gets good reviews, too. It is, however, a little long for a normal lens on a K10D, being quivalent to about 75mm.

 

I have a Sigma 24mm f1.8 that is really a nice lens and would be considered in more or less the normal range (36mm) for the camera. It's a lot bigger than the 50mm, though.

 

Cheers.

I have a couple that perform very well. A Vivitar Series 1 105mm macro, which is actually a Kiron and one of the best macro lenses made, and a Tamron SP 90mm macro. The Kiron will go 1:1 and the Tamron will go 1:2. You can buy a newer version of the Tamron that will go 1:1.

I would agree with Godfrey about the Safe Sync. Forty bucks is better than ruining your camera. You'd be amazed at some of the trigger voltages old flashes put out. The old, small Sunpak vertical flashes like the 321, 411, etc, can crank out over 200 volts at the hot shoe. I measured all the flashes I have. Even the 444D comes in at about 11 volts.

 

The older flashes should work OK on Auto with the camera on M or X, I think. Now that I have the Safe Sync, I'm going to try a couple and see what kind of results I get.

The K10D doesn't have ttl metering. That is one of it's shortcomings. It has only P-TTL, which normally defaults to a shutterspeed based on the highest ISO setting you've allowed, and the aperture of the lens. At least, that's how it seems to work on mine. So in program mode, many times the shutter speed will be pretty slow.

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While it may be true that every photographer has to find his own path and follow it, you will only get positive response from others if they like it. So don't plan on being a pro if you only care about your own opinion - clients like their opinion instead.

 

It's always good to see what other people think of a photo, and comments are the way to discover that. Sometimes we post photos that we think are great, and others see distractions that we didn't notice. They may offer cropping or compositional options, or just say they don't like it. All of that is OK, and we need to be able to deal with it.

 

The ratings system is irritating because it just seems like nothing that has been done to help it (and there have been many changes to it since I've been around here) has worked. It is better than it used to be in the "revenge-rating" days. It's irritating because the answer that always seems to come from the site is that ratings shouldn't matter, and that you shouldn't pay any attention to them. At the same time, visibility on the site is determined solely by the one thing that we are told over and over again is not important - ratings.

 

But, for your own peace of mind, look for good comments and let the 3/3 folks have their fun. I think the ratings on the last photo I posted went all the way from 3/3 to 7/7. I didn't think it was a 3/3, but I sure wouldn't have given it a 7/7 either. Life goes on.

Just keep taking photos and look at those you like better than you like your own. Use them for education. Keep at it.

 

Cheers.

Yes, and he wants to use your photos in his video. Maybe the video has a few weak spots.

 

Cheers

I have the 10-17 and love it. At 10mm, it is a true fisheye, but at 17mm much less so, although there is still some distortion. However, if you have PS, the distortion is pretty easily removed from the 17mm shots.

 

I'm saving my pennies for the 12-24, but haven't gotten there yet. I'm with the others about the vignetting. I think they're talking about flash. I haven't seen any in actual usage.

 

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I had a really, really bad experience with Buydig. Won't go into all the details here, but they said an item was in stock, took my money, and I never heard from them. Order status showed "in process" for about a week. Took a while to get my money back after they admitted they were out of stock.

 

Lots of other people say they've had no trouble, though, and their ratings are pretty good. I buy from B&H or Adorama when I can, but their prices are usually not the lowest.

 

Cheers

Just this week, there was a guy on ebay who was switching from Pentax to another system. He put all his used equipment on ebay. He had some nice stuff, but without fail, it all went for just a few bucks less than you could buy the stuff new. He made out pretty well. I am always baffled by what people will pay on ebay, but if you've ever been to a real auction, its the same kind of deal. People just get caught up in the "you're not gonna beat me" routine.

 

Cheers.

I looked at the D80 before I bought the K10D. I bought the K10D.

Have your friend go to a camera store and try the lenses and see which one he likes. There are probably people who will argue for the Tamron and those who will argue for the Sigma.

 

I do not have either one of these lenses (I have a Pentax 100-300), but I did try both the Tamron and the Sigma 18-200 and chose the Sigma because it is more compact, focuses faster, and is shorter when fully extended.

 

Cheers.

Well, there are definitely some differences in the way Pnet displays photos compared to other web sites display of the samae photo. Sometimes its more prominent than at other times, I think depending on the color characteristics of the photo.

 

There is also still the compression problems, which can make a photo on the gallery front page and in the No Words forum look quite different than they look anywhere else.

 

Cheers.

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OK, you guys, I guess now we know where the trolls come from. They're us.