hugophoto

<p>It sounds like you have not yet calibrated your monitor. What Mark said about zooming at 100% and about your lab doing their "lab corrections" are also very important to pay attention to, but nothing will look like it is supposed to until your monitor is calbrated. Colorvision makes some of the most popular colorometers that are easily found at places like B&H as well as other local retail outlets.</p>

<p>Also remember that your photo editing program can display the picture differently depending on what color profiles you are using. For example... I use a Canon camera and Canon's Digital Photo Pro for processing my raw files. There is an option in the preferences for you to select the correct monitor profile so that the program knows exactly how to display the pictures. </p>

<p>One last thing. When you send your prints to the photo lab you'll want to make sure you have the correct color profile attached. Your lab should tell you what profile is the best to use.</p>

<p>If everything is calibrated (all your programs, your monitor, and the assigned color profiles in your files) then what you see on your monitor will be exactly what you see in a printed picture.</p>

<p>That is of course a decision you have to make for yourself. However, what happens if you do accidentally drop it? Or what if your shutter fails? I bought my first 30d right after it became available at $1500. It only took me a month before I dropped it and wrecked it along with my 24-70L lens which also cost me over a $1000. Luckily it was covered. As a rule, on expesive items such as this, I will buy the plan if it is from a reputable dealer.</p>

<p>You also have to remember that this plan is not an insurance plan and it covers more than just defects. After working in the electronics service industry, I have had experience with a lot of different extended warranty plans from a variety of providers and Best Buy has one of the best if not number 1 plan. Their premium plan covers annual maintainence where they will not only clean your sensor but the clean the whole thing and go through it with a fine tooth comb. They replace any parts that are showing wear, they regrease any moving parts if they need it.... It's almost like getting back a new camera. Cleanings alone at any reputable camera shop will be $80 at the minimum and they only clean the sensor. And even though this camera has a dust reduction system, it is just that... a dust reduction system. It does not remove the dust from the camera just vibrates the sensor so hopefully it falls off.</p>

<p>Also, all of the work is done by one company. Other retailers send their equipment out to 3rd party service centers who may not all have the same level of commitment to the original consumer as the store who sold the product. </p>

<p>Again, service contracts are not insurance plans, even if they cover accidental damage, they do not cover <em>anything</em> that can happen to it. For example, a total loss or a theft is not covered. For this reason, I still recommend some sort of insurance plan from another provider.</p>

<p>dpreview recently had a great article that made referance to this.</p>

<p>Part 1<br>

<a href="http://blog.dpreview.com/editorial/2009/09/sense-and-sensitivity.html">http://blog.dpreview.com/editorial/2009/09/sense-and-sensitivity.html</a></p>

<p>Part 1<br>

<a href="http://blog.dpreview.com/editorial/2009/09/moving-the-goalposts.html">http://blog.dpreview.com/editorial/2009/09/moving-the-goalposts.html</a></p>

<p>Duncan,</p>

<p>While I don't have any specific experience with either lens, I can say that in my experience L series lenses are usually much better in terms of sharpness (maybe it's just me but colors seem to reproduce better with my L's as well). Since you are going to be shooting mostly landscapes, high sharpness would be the feature I would be most concerned about.</p>

<p>The IS is a nice feature to have for general work, however, in my opinion, the effects of the feature on such a wide lens will not be that noticable. Landscapes often require either such a slow shutter speed that a tripod will be necessary anyway, or a higher shutter speed where IS is not needed. The 2.8 would be nice for those higher shutter speeds or lower ISO's, however again... landscape shots traditionally require higher F-stops to allow for a wider depth of field.</p>

<p>Now you may still want to consider the 17-55 f2.8 IS if you plan to use it in a variety of other situations as well. It is a versitle lens that is geared more towards landscapes but meant to be used as general purpose. On the other hand, I would go for the 17-40 f4L if you are looking for a great lens for specifically landscapes.</p>

<p>I hope this was helpful... :)</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/9882924-lg.jpg" alt="" width="428" height="642" /><br>

This was fun...</p>

<ul>

<li>Crop and tilt picture</li>

<li>Diffuse glow to bring out highlights in dress and face</li>

<li>Solid color black layer with mask to block out uninteresting elements</li>

<li>Curves layer to balance face and dress</li>

<li>Saturation and color warming</li>

<li>Sharpen</li>

<li>Soften artifacts in face and dress</li>

</ul>

Unfortunately, if the pictures are all as bad as the sample, those pictures are forever lost. No recovery software can repair a bad picture, only recover files that we may not be able to see.

The problem most likely occured during the tranfer to your Hyperdrive, and as Chas suggested the problem may not necessarily be with the card (although there is a very good chance that it is). I would be interested to know when you first noticed the bad pictures. Did you not look at them until you got home? Or did they look ok on the LCD of the camera. My suggestions is to get a new card and take multiple trial shots... like several hundred. and always remember to format your card before you use it in the camera. Although it is not as common in newer cards, many card errors are caused by not formatting it before use.

I certainly feel your pain and hope the client is understanding. Gook luck!!

As ryan said, it is all about the usage. First, you need to calculate all your expenses. Once this is done, calculate your usage fees based on circulation numbers, number of issues the photo will be used in, time used, where it is located in publication, etc. Add the two together and this is the final price you should quote the customer. Unless this is a client you know and trust very well, make sure you have something in writing stating their usage needs. Only then, give them a written estimate along with a contract listing all the rights you are willing to grant them (how long the rights are granted, exclusive vs non-exclusive, etc...). When this contract is sent back to you, make sure the terms you originally agreed on are listed in the contract.

Another great book that has helped me tremendously is "Best Business Practices for Photographers" by John Harrington. I highly recommend it.

I hope this was helpful.