vivek

John MacPherson opined:

Here in Scotland the process is: Fill the glass, drink half. Instant regret that half is missing. Drink remaining half to feel better. Feel better. Simple!

Now that is what I call true optimist!

-- V

And then there are Indian knockoffs of the Wimberley. Never used them, but some folks swear by them

-- V

Google RTFM dude! Else play with it for a while.

In most modes except Av, you have to hold the little Av button near top right of the screen and then turn the wheel!

-- V

The long term viability should be fine. Most of the cards have very few components, a flash memory chip and some capacitors.

If power was never applied while wet, the chances of a short are remote. Also, the dryer never gets hot enough to desolder anything these days with lead free solder being used.

The real risk is if it was not fully dry when used in the camera after the "washing"!

-- Vivek

John, Asher. excellent points.

To John Bellenis, you are forgetting the "vanity" part of human beings' personality!

Sometimes, need or skill notwithstanding, people get cameras that "look cool" on them! I for one have had the misfortune of being asked this question before; "Which camera will look cool on me?"

So my thought was: "you don't care about the quality of pictures it takes, but care about how you look with it?" Guess not. It was more a fashion accessory and less of photographing instrument.

I for one, have had years of experience in photography, still use a 1D and now the 40D. I don't think I will ever sell the 1D for the various points mentioned above. It is a great tool, especially now, for the money.

-- Vivek

John Bellenis, on Dec 02, 2007 opined:

For some reason we love equipment that not only exceeds our abilities, but has features we happily pay for, but will never use (how many Hummers and SUVs never see the dirt? How many Porsches never see a track? How many expensive cameras never produce prints above 8x10?)

Yakim

If you can, try the LR. It is really good. I used to use the DPP but gave up after LR. The download is free, but the cost is high (if you get hooked, which most likely you will). There are also free tutorials from Michael Tapes (Rawworkflow.com) which are excellent.

-- Vivek

Ross Murphyphoto.net patron, Dec 06, 2007; 11:46 a.m.

Yakim, have you tried Lightroom yet ?

And since no body mentioned it, thanks for getting a nice gift for your father; something that he has been pining for. It is a very nice gesture.

-- V

Robin Sibson, Nov 17, 2007; 02:17 p.m.

>>> Looked at another way, the 85/1.8 is pretty much everything the 50/1.4 ought to be.<<<

No kidding... my thoughts exactly. I am SOOO tempted to get the 50/1.2L, since the 50/1.4 is pretty bad (bad build quality with AF broken already, soft wide open etc.). I wish the 50/1.2 did not have focussing issues close to wide open. There are many threads on the topic.

-- V

The only "issue" with the ISO 3200 and f/1.8 suggestion is that the DOF will be much thinner, something that may or may not be desired depending on the situation.

-- V

Leopold

Is it just me or does this comparison show that the angle of view changes from I to II version of this lens? something is not correct with this comparison for vignetting above.

-- V

So have I. Sandisk failed me once, Transcend has never failed me yet.

-- V

Dan,

I am local too and I have never paid CA sales tax for internet purchases. I think that B&H etc. would not charge it anyway, even if it is shipped to a CA address.

<rant> Also, calling the SJ Camera employees "surly" is an understatement. For most part they treat you as if you have no idea what you are buying. I have been there once and I will never set my foot in there unless there is absolutely no other option! These folks are down right rude, and I am probably not using a word strong enough to describe their aversion to potential customers. </rant>

George,

Good luck with your purchase. Also pay a visit to "Fry's Electronics" in either Sunnyvale or Campbell (close to SJ Camera if you go there). This place is a huge electronics store and all of my out of town friends like it. Do NOT expect any service since you would probably know more about the camera than the min. wage sales person. Also do not buy their extended warranty.

Have a good time in the valley.

-- Vivek

Although I agree that the video should not have been removed, calling one of these vandals an "artist" is repugnant to say the least.

-- V

If high ISO performance is an issue, stick with the XT/i. The performance of the 1D compared to these 2 is pretty bad at high ISO.

-- V

Start with Ef-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 and 50mm f/1.8 lens combo and do a lot of reading on this site.

Good luck with your photography.

-- V

Usman

In M mode, moving the dial will ALWAYS change the shutter speed. If you want to change the aperture, hold down the Av button with the thumb and then turn the dial.

-- V

Bob

What you said is true, but it takes a lot less time to download to the computer if the card is fast!

-- V

Bob Atkins , Oct 03, 2007; 06:45 p.m.

The XT does not support UDMA.

Why do you need a faster card? Unless you are filling the buffer it won't make the camera operate any faster. The fastest an XT can write is just over 6MB/sec.

Going from a 10 MB/s to a 40 MB/s card might mean the buffer clears 10% faster, a difference most users would probably not really notice.

Very easy apparently.

-- V

OR if you are good at PS, just ask someone to shoot a picture of you, change the dimension to 2"x2" and then copy and paste to make a 4"x6" print. Just print it for 19c at any Walgreens and cut the 6 photos.

-- Vivek

I read this thread with a lot of interest because I personally think it is a fine line between pointing the newbie in the right direction and giving them a direct answer. There are many factors that go into making this decision including the contributor's mood.

Also, Dick, some of us _cannot_ share our photos since these are mostly of the family and there are other constraints that prevent public display of the very personal photos. I hope that you do not rely on this alone in deciding whether a person is "good photographer" or not. I am certainly sure that photos help immensely, but they, in my book, are not the only decision factor.

That being said, I have just one simple rule, avoid being rude / smug as far as possible.

-- Vivek

My only advice in addition to the excellent advice already given above by Leszek, William W and Simon is that the 28 - 200 lens you have is a super zoom and it "might" be better if you can get that replaced by a better quality zoom / prime. I say this with great trepidation because sometimes superzooms do help and I don't know what kind of photography you are leaning towards.

-- Vivek

Bueh wrote:

I take a lot of portraits (close and head-and-shoulder) with the EF 20mm f/2.8. It's fun and can result in stunning images if handled correctly.

Referring to the attached shot, I don't think it is a great portrait. The nose in this case seems to "pop" out. To each his own I guess, but I prefer 85/1.8 or 1.2L for tight head shots.

BTW, this is meant to be a critique and not a flame..

-- Vivek

Yep.. I think it might be cheaper to get it shipped from B&H since you will have to pay VAT anyway.

-- V