cjparson

<p>Imho, With your stated abilities, you should take your camera and lenses into your fav camera store, ask a knowledgeable sales person to show a couple of sturdy, lightweight, right height for you, (don't want to spend your days with a sore neck from bending over looking into the view finder) and a big one for me, functionality. You might not need that top of the line tripod now. You can get a very capable unit for under a buck fifty.<br>

Just make sure it feels good and solid to you, ease of operation especially with the mounting system. Nothing says cheap insurance better that a good positive lock on the mounting hardware also.<br>

Since I went digital in 2004, I kinda got away from the manual side of taking a picture. Tend to lose control real easy with all those dials and buttons. Don't get me wrong, these new camera's metering systems kick some butt. I just love the shots taken at night, 100 ISO, f11 or smaller depending on the vision I have, set the timer, kick the shutter in the guts, countdown and decibal click.<br>

Does it get any better than that ? There is a reason Ansel Adams and his peers had a f64 club.<br>

Have a great trip, shoot at night by yourself, no one to talk you out of your vision.</p>

<p>This is a fascinating subject. In my humble opinion, Photography is about capturing a moment, realizing a vision or expressing yourself. They all have different ways of showing themselves. One mans trash is another mans goldmine. It's still a very subjective field as far as one persons likes or dislikes of another's representation of a vision that the one pushing the button is seeing/feeling. Many are capable of getting the "shot", Most are not able conveying or presenting a picture that speaks for itself. That said, One photo can make a photograher.<br>

Keep shooting</p>

<p>Charmain,<br>

I'm a professional Tradesman and when i have to buy or am in need of a tool, I don't think about price. I think about the best tool for the job/reliability/ease of use. These are the three major factors I consider. That said, I can say that I own both computer platforms and they both serve their purpose. Reading your letter tells me what your needs will be. That is the number one factor. Cost should be the next and then the ease of use should be a close third.<br>

I have mac's that still run(and that's on the web, using photoshop etc.) that date back to 1999. My current mac that i use daily is the last of the dual processor power pc's, 2005 vintage with 4gb of ram. I also have a pc that runs just fine, networked to the mac and still on win98.<br>

My experience with both platforms sealed the deal for me. I have had zero problems with my macs dating back to the way early 80's with my first Apple IIe.<br>

You pay extra for your mind being at ease, but it's worth every penny. I don't worry about bad hardware, crappy operating system(unless you know how to get into the pc's OS with confidence) or virus's. These are very important when writing that check. I should say that my pc still runs(1999 model) and has had no major hardware issues other than a cd/dvd going bad and needing replacement. But I always fall back to that elegant Mac OS and never worrying about that "Blue Screen" thing I do while running the old toaster, I mean pc. Also I don't need to call my old pc buddy at $75 an hour to "clean" up my computer so I can go back to work. You will never be able to wipe the hard drive clean and re-install the OS as easy as you can on the mac vs the pc. I'm not saying the mac never has issues, but a simple restart usually clears up all issues I have with the mac.<br>

Don't make money the issue when you are in the market for a tool which will improve your end result. Yes the mac's cost you more up front, but factor in the cost of "fred" coming over every so often to clean up, get your pc working again, getting it back online etc and that extra cost dissapears. You don't need the fastest computer either. With a good graphics card and max ram, photoshop will cruise along just fine.<br>

Think long term and you will make the right decision. You don't need to buy the latest, fastest box in town to work your photo's. Would you buy a substandard lens to save some money? You usually get what you pay for(unless it's our government).<br>

If what you are looking for is no worry, work my photo's and print them up/send them out, get the mac. You won't be disappointed.<br>

With all that said, You still have to be able to capture that instance in time to make all the money you spend on the tool you choose to express yourself worthwhile or you my brother are in the wrong business.<br>

Best Wishes<br>

cp</p>

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