anthony_cicero

Steve, that his number is blocked doesn't mean too much. It's not out of the ordinary for someone, especially when beginning their dealings with strangers through the internet, to feel they need to protect themselves from the unknown. Hence, the blocked number. If I were going to attribute the blocked number to anything, it would be that. Some people just blocked their number regardless. As long as you have some way of contacting them by phone, it's not a big deal. Do a user information request through ebay to see what comes up.

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What's most important is that they are willing to accomodate, to meet you halfway. Many new users don't immediately sign up for Paypal, but eventually do. If it were $50, no big deal, but I think 99% of people will have to respect that the $1,000 involved in this transaction is no chump change. As long as you make it clear that that you <B>want</B> to pay, but that you're just a little worried and are looking for some assurance through <I>action</i> (words mean nothing).

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I would not send a $1,000 check to a stranger like this, that's asking for trouble. You made a mistake by bidding, your zeal has brought you to this point, and since you are in contract, the best thing you can do is make a heartfelt effeort to follow through <i>in a safe way</i>. Better safe than sorry. It's true.

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Worse than being too cautious: if you do get scammed, when you go about trying to retrieve your money, the knowledge that you had an inkling that something was strange about all this and you didn't protect yourself...so your common sense kicked in now. Better late than never.

There's nothing wrong with just joining, everyone has to do it sometime. Try calling him and speaking to him, express your concerns, let him know you want to complete the transaction and you are willing to pay now, and let him know that you are ready to pay either by paypal (if he signs up for it. if he balks at the fees, say you will pay the 3%), or you will use an escrow service (be sure to research this and have the information on hand). Basically, don't give him any legitimate reason to say no.

If he is genuine, he will find some way to accomodate you.

If he is a scammer he will move on to the next chump.

Dan, great advice. It makes a lot of sense...

Craig, it just needs to be negotiated. At this point I'm going to want to "give them" license to use the photos in certain situations.

Is there any strong reason I would want to do the work for hire? Besides the client wanting to own the copyrights.

or will it belong to the comnpany by default? I am somewhat involved in

planning the shoot parameters, but they're finding the models. I will have the

models sign a model release. I will have a contract with the company regarding

the agreed upon usage rights.

But I still want to know who owns the copyright when the shutter is released in

a situation like this.

When you are imprinting your name, c in a circle plus year to indicate

copyright/ensure credit, it is necessary to put your full name or is it ok to

place an initial for a first name? Do you lose anything by not spelling out

each and every letter of each word in your name?

1) For a young artist's promotional matericals: flyers or postcards, should I

imprint a credit with a c in a circle and my name + year on the photo? Chances

are, I will never see the finished product.

2) For a young artist's website, should I imprint a credit with a c in a circle

and my name + year on the photo?

3) Are there any uses where it's inappropriate to have a photo credit or notice

similar to above sitting on the photo?

so, from Ian's link...

"I once tried an interesting little experiment ? with identical 50mm lenses on both, I held a Pentax ME Super (high magnification) to one eye and a Pentax ZX-5n (low magnification) to the other. The ZX-5n's viewfinder image fit inside the ME Super's with lots of room to spare."

Seems like magnification the only measurable factor (we have to rely on reputation or impressions from experience with product for brightness). It looks like EVERY F2 prism is the same: "The eye-level and Photomic finders offer image magnification of 0.8X with a normal lens of 50mm focal length set at infinity."

The FM2/FE2s seem to win at .86x!

Nice link Ian. Actually, what I'm looking for is a HUGE viewfinder image, like the canon a1 presents. It seems to encompass your vision, and it's all clear and focused, and it's really bright. Of course I want it to be easy to focus manually.

Paul, the DE-2 is what would be found on the regular old F3 (non-HP), correct?

Looks like the FE2 has the same .86x magnification as the FM2.

Any other factors I should consider?

Wow, FM2 gives .86x magnification. I guess that pushes the F3 out of contention, and seems to beat the Canon a1.

Can any of the F2 finders beat the FM2's .86x?

Jose, I was just going to ask you about the difference in the viewfinders, thanks for that.

So, which Nikon, then, is post competitive with the Canon A1 in terms of viewfinders?

Yes, the D200 and D80 do have more focus points and they have different patterns, thanks for that. But I still see a problem in choosing the focus point beforehand. Furthermore, I personally don't find it conducive to creative impulses to try to change focus points on the fly as it fancies me with each shot, while still managing placement of that point and managing AF performance.

...and don't select closest point focus, or you'll likely find yourself with a beautifully sharp nose and oof eyes.