Dennis Peek

I'd consider a combo drive for flexibility. The external drive cases will probably outlast your computer. Figure 3 years on the HDs (more if your lucky) - I've replaced 4 HDs (3-4 years old) in the past two months in my office. Data recovery is slow and costs a lot so we are replacing drives before they fail now.

FireWire may not be around on as many machines in the future and USB2 is a dog compared to FireWire for large file transfer (photos).

I routinely move between Mac and PCs. My personal machine is a G5 iMac with both FireWire 400 and USB 2. My laptop and most work machines are Dells with USB 2 only, no FireWire, plus older Macs with USB 1 only but FW400. I use three external hard drives with independent cases capable of both FireWire 400 and USB 2. The HDs are Maxtor or Hitachi ATA up to 300 GB. Putting these drives in an external case is very easy and they work well.

Check out:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEFW911UPL/

I use the DAT Optic Model EFU-3. These cases are aluminum and run very cool. See:

Reseller -

http://www.shop4tech.com/user.htm?go=view_item&id=1322&cata=3&s_cata=184

http://www.caloptic.com/ (bare case or with hard drives)

Manufacturer - http://www.datoptic.com/cgi-bin/web.cgi?product=EFU3&detail=yes

Overseas:

http://www.ukstop.com/

I have tried cheaper non-descrpt bargain cases and had problems. I have three of these EFU-3 3.5" combo cases working and two of the 5.25" DVD external cases (http://www.shop4tech.com/item1321.html) working great with burners.

On my PC, I use MacDrive software (www.mediafour.com/)so that I can easily access the Mac-fromatted drives from Windows (XP Pro).

I understand where you are coming from but I am concerned about misinformation or

speculation as to what Nikon may or may not mean or may or may not have tested. You

MAY safely use the cord in Europe with an adapter plug and never have a problem. Or not.

Power cords can be very serious business - Microsoft recalled 14 million on XBox's last

year, Dell recalled about a million for laptops in 2004. The cords were causing fires (low

risk but let your XBox go up in smoke and risk becomes relative).

Actually the plugs on the cord and the assembly is the limit (the L5P or US end and the

LS-7C or charger end). The SPT-2 cord used is actually rated for 300 V in the US. But the

assembly is only tested for the 125 VAC as stamped.

We have beat this horse to death. Readers should be wary and follow manufacturer's

recommendations and look for the proper rating labels on all electrical appliances (UL,

CSA, PSE, VDE, and others in various countries). I'm planning on picking up a 250V cordset

for my MH-18a when I hit Amsterdam in April. T'aint worth the risk.

Everyone - enjoy your new D-200 - isn't it a great camera!

There are a lot of newbies or inexperienced folks out there that read these forums and

take what they read as fact. I responded to this discussion last week, and feel compelled to

do so again. I believe that unknowledgable individuals responding with anecdotal stories

on their experiences as cold hard fact can be seriously misleading and downright

dangerous.

I am responding as a licensed professional engineer (FL PE 30069 plus several other

states) with 35 years of experience and former engineering manager of a General Cable

Company wire and cable plant. Cable and product safety testing were a way of life.

The fact that a 125V cord works on 250V is irrelevant. It may work on 1000 volts! But it

has not been tested to be safely operated in a consumer environment at 250V.

We routinely test 240V system to 500 V and 480V systems to 1000 volts but we are

testing for insulation leakage and failure, not routine use.The difference in insulation

thickness may only be a few hundredths of an inch difference but it can be life-death

difference.

People, for a few bucks, play it safe - do not do anything stupid. Buy a 250V cord. Your

children and grandchildren may appreciate that (or you ex-wife may not!).

Happy (and safe) shooting!

This response is coming from an electrical engineer. Nikon's position has nothing to do with

plug ratings or amperage. It is the inuslation level. The cord itself is not rated for 220 volts -

the insulation rating of the cord on my MH-18a is 125 VAC.

This isssue is about safety - you may get away with using the cord on 220 V but I'm sure

Nikon does not want the liability if there is an accident and you are shocked or electrocuted.

Do you feel safe using an electrical extension cord at nearly twice the rated voltage? I don't

recommend it.

I have the 70-300/4-5.6 ED and the 28-200/3.5-5.6 D AF my wife bought originally as a

travel lens for her N70. I just purchased a D200 and find the 28-200 gives results equal to or

better than my 70-300 and much better than my 24-120/ f3.5-5.6 D AF. I have not tried the

55-200.

Good news! I contacted the corporate office of Lexar and recieved excellent response. The

initial intent of the rebate program was apparently 3 per household but the phrase "per

person" kind of changes that. Lexar normally limits their rebates to one per household and

this was their first time doing three. They were very helpful and agreed to honor my rebate

requests. I am very impressed with their responsiveness. If all continues as stated and I

receive my rebates, I would certainly recommend them. Also, if anyone has a problem like

this, contact Lexar directly - they will route you to the responsible party.

This subject has come up before but I believe other photographers deserve to know of the

latest deceptive behavior by Lexar. I am very sour on Lexar and may avoid their products

in the future.

Today, 1/31/06, is the last day for purchasing Lexar Media 80x 1, 2, or 4 GB CF cards with

$30, $40, or $50 rebates, respectively. This deal seems attactive on the surface but be

wary. The rebate offer, #H44830, clearly states

"Limit three (3) rebates per product category per person per household. Claims must be

postmarked within 30 days from purchase date."

Authorized dealers for this are many - B&H, Adorama, etc.

In early January, my wife purchased 3 1GB cards from B&H. A few days later, I also

purchased 3 1GB cards. Yes, my wife and I both shoot digitally. We have just converted

from film and this was a good chance to stock up on cards. We completed the forms and

carefully sent in all the required paperwork. On first check on the Lexar Rebate website

last week, it appeared that these claims were denied. I called them on 1/30 and was

advised that the rebate limit was one per household. The representative was insistent.

After talking to a supervisor, she advised that the limit was three per household, but not

per person. I requested a higher supervisor and have not been contacted yet.

The supervisor was adamant that their "per person" limit did not apply and it really was

only per household! I was dumbfounded. I know the games on details these rebate houses

play, but to deny their own language is incredulous! If Lexar does not honor their own

rebates, then their business practices can only be seen as misleading at best, dishonest at

worst.

I'll post an update to this saga if any changes occur. Any one else experiencing this with

Lexar?

I was shooting with my D200 yesterday and experienced the same thing. Did the lens

thing - unmount, remount, change. Still had some problems. AF intermittent.

Found I was hitting the M S C focus selector switch on the left side of the lens accidentally

when mounting the lens. The switch would stop between S and C and would not focus. I

am more caerful now.

I started using the 20 mm f2.8D AF on an F100. Works great on the D200 as well even

though equivalent of a 30mm. My lens of choice for both the F100 and D200 is the

17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S. It is tack sharp and I love it. Only complaint - not wide enough

for me on the D200.

Check out Nikon's imaging website from Japan - it's interactive and has examples.

http://nikonimaging.com/global/technology/speedlight/index.htm

It may offer as much info as the DVD.

Keep checking online. I did not preorder. Checked B&H website last Sunday at 4:40 PM and

they were "In Stock". Placed the order and received it Wednesday! Luck, I guess.

Very pleased. Got to shoot my new grandson in the hospital last night with available light and

a Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8. I'm having a great Christmas with two wonderful presents :)

Check the prices closely. The "psdec" price for an Epson P-4000 is $699.95. Their regualr

price is $659.95. At the same time, you save about $40 on an Epson R1800.

Years ago, B&H used to publish their monthly specials list. I remember downloading it as a

PDF. Is this a replacement for that?

iView Media Pro 3.0.1 - same license will run WIndows and Mac version, but only one at a

time. I switch between Mac 10.4.3 at home and WIndows 2000 at work.

There is a portable document format (like PDF) called CSF (content secure format) from

Informative Graphics. CSF is a neutral 2D format that replicates the source file and can

include images, graphics, and layouts. Infograph has a free Brava! Reader that you can

distribute so others can view the data. Check out http://www.infograph.com/. This

format is not Mac specific.

There is an Adobe format .csf that apparently stands for "color settings file" used on Mac

and Windows Adobe products (Photoshop and Acrobat) but it is a preferences or settings

file and cannot be opened directly.

I switched from a G4 to an iMac G5 20", rev. B (Tiger 10.4.2). No problem with NikonScan and

a LS5000.

I am going through the same process - 5-year old Apple 17" CRT and a Dual 500 Gigabit

Ethernet G4. I am assuming that since the 20" iMac G5 is SWOP certified, it is at least on

par with the 20" Cinema Display even if it is not the same LCD. The question is really is it

adequate for your needs. I, too, use PhotoShop but my editing is on the light side.

Regardless, I believe the iMac G5 20" will be a vast improvement over my 500DP G4!

I'm headed to my local Apple Store this AM to look and I'll let you know what I think.

After the death of my LS-2000, I purchased a Super Coolscan 5000. I mainly use it with

Provia 100F and 400F and Ektachrome E200. To a lesser degree, I use it with Portra. I have

not seen any "blue" shift or too dark scanning. I mostly use NikonScan but also VueScan is

good. Most important is to establish your color workflow. I print with an Epson 1280 and

Epson inks.

Calderon Erick -

There will probably always be newer, faster machines to run Photoshop. Of course a 4 1/2

year old G4 does not run as fast as a new G5. Same with Intel machines almost five years

apart. But I have gotten 4 1/2 years of serviceable life out of a Mac G4 that meets "my"

needs. I have not seen that kind of performance life out of the Wintel platform. Many Mac

users keep their machines much longer than the typical Wintel user because they are

capable of performinguseful work.

In a business, you have to balance total cost, not just which is faster.

I remember that Apple had previously committed to support hardware/software for five

years. They have readily done that with OS X - my current Mac is a Dual Processor 500

GHZ G4 from December 2000 and runs fine under 10.3.9 (I'm waiting to jump to Tiger).

Apple has supported this machine with software upgrades as they said they would.

Photoshop CS runs fine - can't see the $150 to go to CS2. The DP500 may be a little slow

compared to the newest DP G5's but is quite usable.

However, no Wintel machines in the office (about 35 Dells, Compaq's, HP's) from that era

(late 2000) can reasonable run current versions of CS, AutoCAD, or similar "intense"

programs. We have concluded that the cost to upgrade these machines is not worth it

because the labor cost is so high for such a marginal increase in performance. Three years

is about the limit for these machines, unless they are relegated to word processing only.

For those that think the Intel Pentium M chip is so great, I'll be happy to trade my 2 1/2

year old (January 2003) Dell Latitude C-640 laptop with a 1.8 GHZ Pentium M chip and

768

MB RAM. It is a dog. The OS (W 2000 Pro) requires well over 220 MB Ram and if I turn on

Outlook or CS, it grinds to a halt. My DP 500 G4 runs circles around it in CS.

For the long haul, I'll stay with Apple. This move may also push IBM to develop better

processors. Although not much of an economic blow, the loss of Apple is a PR blow to IBM.

I am running PhotoShop CS on a 3 1/2 year old PowerMac Dual Processor 500 mhz with 2

GB RAM. It runs fine. Also does fine with 1 GB RAM. Also have a dual 450 at the office that

is four years old. These machines are available used for about $600 - $700. Both run

current system software OS 10.3.4. They can run SCSI with a card but Firewire is built-in

and much better. I have a $12.00 USB 2.0 PCI card with 4 ports to run the Nikon scanner.

I use a Nikon LS5000 scanner (USB 2.0), and external Pioneer DVR-107 burner (Firewire).

The original DVD-RAM internal drive works fine even if a little slow. I upgraded with a

Sonnet Tempo ATA-133 card and 160 GB and 200 GB hard drives. You need a new ATA

card to see these larger drives and to maximize performance. A pair of 60 or 80 GB drives

on the original ATA bus would also work for you and they are relatively cheap. I also

upgraded the video card.

You can easily get started with one of the older basic dual processor models and get 2 or

3 years out of it. OS X takes full advantage of the dual processors. The Apple hardware

tends to be much better quality than your average PC and lasts longer. Apple has

committed to supporting their machines for 5 years.

BTW, In an office of 30 PC's, no machines at this age will function with newer software.

Only the newest will run apps like PS CS. We retire (scrap) PCs after 3 years unless they are

dedicated to word processing only.

Check out the Free models under the Liquid line at http://www.bretford.com. The midi

sized single level models were marketed under Digital Hub Workspace

(www.digitalhubworkspace.com) at one point last year. You should be able to pick the

Free models up at 50% off list price by contacting a rep directly and ordering through a

local dealer.

These desks are kidney shaped so they wrap around you and put everything within reach.

I have one of the single level midi models and love it. The desktop height is adjustable

from 24 to 42" by a handcrank so you can move from sitting to standing if you desire. The

CPU mounts off the floor and shelves hold printers and flatbed scanners. Although a little

pricey, I have thoroughly loved this desk,

Yes. I have been using my older SF200 on a new LS5000 for several weeks. Good source

of info is the Nikon Europe tech support website. Select England and search. More info

than the US website. They have a table of scanner adapter compatability.

http://www.europe-nikon.com/support/

Not so much on brands but on type or technology. Following is an excerpt from an earlier

post.

Kodak was a prime supplier of archival media - primarily gold - until they got out of the

business. I understand they licensed their technology from Mitsui. Check the following

links for Kodak info on archival media:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/publications/tib4300.jhtml

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib4300.shtml

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/storage/pcd/techInfo/

permanence9.jhtml?id=0.1.18.18.17.6.16&lc=en

Or simply do a search on Kodak.com for archival CD. And check out the Mitsui website for

more info. The NIST reference above is also excellent in discussing the materials used.

Personal experience - I use Kodak and Mitsui gold. Failure rate - insignificant.

The cheap stuff and store brands are unrelaible - failure rates as high as 1 in 3 on Imation

for example. Any media will degrade over time - for archival purposes, you want one that

is stable for a relatively long period. I question any media that fails on intial burns

repeatedly.