ryoung

It never ceases to amaze me the irony evoked by those who call upon the tenets of free

speech in order to lambaste someone who has spoken freely. Several other members have

responded in good form, countering her opinion with appropriate comments of their own.

Regina has posted an opinion about the direction of photo.net and for that opinion, she is

subjected to sarcasm and ridicule by several other members. She is a talented

photographer and the community will be lessened by her departure.

For me, the nude has long been a subject worthy of artistic interpretation. Everyone knows

that there is a line between art and porn, and everyone draws that line differently. I will not

step out onto that slippery slope in this discussion, but I know where the line is for me,

and it is being crossed with much greater frequency in the last few months.

I also strongly agree with Regina that the lack of diversity in the top rated photos is a

problem. Nudes have their place, but not at the expense of so many other subjects. This

needs to be corrected.

Bryan Carnathan has an excellent review at the following URL:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Arca-Swiss-Monoball-Z1-Ballhead-

Review.aspx

In fact I've seen this review plagerized a few other places online. I just ordered this head

albeit with a Wimberly qucik-release and camera plate.

Okay, some quasi-scientific postings. Both tripod mounted, mirror lock-up, wired shutter

release, ISO 100 and IS off (just for kicks). As you can see the one at f/8 is much sharper, not

just sharper as I would expect. Your thoughts? Thanks...

I have not ruled out user error either! ;-)

In searching deeper into my photos of this lens and my previously owned f/4 L, I notice the softness after a certain point, e.g. August 14th. So I am left to wonder if the lens got bumped and an element is now out of alignment. Possible?

I will test further and post the results. Thanks much for your responses so far.

I finally acquired my "dream lens" in the 70-200 f/2.8 IS and after owning it for only four months I'm

questioning its sharpness. Certain times it comes out quite sharp, but other times not.

I'm shooting with a 20D and have done some evaluation on a test pattern while mounted on a tripod,

mixed focal lengths and apertures. It is appreciable softer than my 24-105 or (of course) my 100mm 2.8

macro; both at the same apertures (f/4 for the 24-105) and focal lengths (100mm).

How do I know if it needs calibrating? Thanks for advice.