originart

How does it feel now that they've created that 24x36 sensor and it's a great low noise workhorse? I guess "ever" isn't as long for some of us as it is for others?

Another GREAT reason to hold opinions or rumors inside or stated as such and label fact as fact! I'm sure some poor Nikon user shed a tear when they read that the first time.

My hope is that the follow-up to the D3 will include the "x" and bump us up to higher MP to compete with Canon's medium-format like resolution on the 1Ds MKIII but for now LOVE the speed of the D3 and super manageable high ISO capabilities. They have improved SO much with the D3 it'll be hard to follow-up with something super ground breaking (in my opinion).

Lightroom is a nice answer for quickly built thumbnails and fast processing of D3 and D300 files. Updated CS3 Camera Raw or Lightroom products handle these newer NEF files easily.

On the Mac OS, the updated system or newest 10.5 sees them in the finder easily and even supports iPhoto but sadly iView users can NOT see the new NEF without updating to OS 10.5 (HUGE bummer) so I've relied heavily on Lightroom in the meantime. Comparatively speaking, Lightroom is the most natural and efficient product I've used (and there have been plenty).

Good luck and enjoy this great camera!

dt

It should be noted that Bella Pictures is really an at-will company where you take as many events as you want whether it's 2/wk, 2/yr, or never again. For people desiring a long-term business building situation, it may not be the best but for full-time newspaper photographers that want to pick-up some money for an extra day's work, it's a pretty good fit. <br><br>

Personally, I would liken it to someone working at Kinko's to pick-up graphic design skills or the olive garden while they're in culinary school. There are certain people that will work at Kinko's forever because they just don't have it in them to successfully market themselves or manage their own business and are just too comfortable letting a steady schedule and consistent pay check arrive.

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I'm sure some people would hate the assignment process (especially if they've never done real news work before) while others don't like being told what to do but it's a great place for people to gain experience in a world where we're all expecting to have the best toys (equipment that doesn't come cheap as you all know).

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I still shoot about 10% of my income for Bella to fill-in gaps where I need an "easy" job for a weekend because it's honestly not a 10 hour wedding, it's a 40+ hour commitment creating albums and follow-up with couples, etc. A Bella assignment boils down to: view an available job and respond, if you're selected contact the bride a few weeks before the event, show-up and put your best foot forward following a few specific guidelines, copy the files and send them in, retain a back-up for a few months, receive the check very fast. It's not my preferred way to work since I like the interaction and building process of planning a wedding but it's a more reliable paycheck then even some fortune 500 companies I work for (commercial shooting).

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The day rates tossed around are a small sampling of reality. There are photographers making dramatically more but they've worked consistently for a while and produce tack-sharp consistency out of the camera every time. I can't speak for $900 photographers but I can say that people who have shot many events make <b>dramatically</b> more then $300 or $375.

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Thanks to the chief of photography I've gotten some of the best mentoring the industry has available but he's also caused some starry-eyed sales people to build false expectations (I've sat in on the sales process before). Because of the motivation of the higher-ups I won a PDN top knot in 2007.

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Long story short, we all know what we're willing to do -- right? I know my limits and know what I'm getting out of Bella Pictures and they know what they're getting out of me. If at any time I decide I don't make enough money, I stop responding to their assignment offers. In the meantime, I've built some GREAT connections and gotten a world of experience along the way. Despite some weird sales situations, it's worked to my favor (I've had some patience just as with any previous job).

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My 2 cents.

<br><br>Attached is a photo taken on a bella assignment.<div></div>