smuncy

<p>I can't speak to the Sigmas, but I've been extremely happy with my Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM macro for several years. It is great for macro shooting, but I use it for much more than that - in fact, from me it gets more use in NON-macro shooting. Sharp as a tack.</p>

<p>Aperture or Photoshop Elements. Unless you are willing to invest a lot of $$$ and a lot of time in learning Photoshop, you won't be happy with it. I have both Photoshop Elements and Aperture - but since upgrading to Aperture 3 I've never needed to open Elements.</p>

<p>I use the middle finger exactly for one reason you cited - it frees up the index finger to turn the dial. For me, using the middle finger now seems more natural than using the index finger and it feels odd when I do use the index finger. As we grow older, a radical change in lifestyle is sometimes just what we need to adopt a more youthful view of life. I say go for it and start using that middle finger! It could change your life.<br>

Also, I use my left eye to view through the viewfinder, and use Av 40% of the time, M 50% of the time and Tv 10%. I do not use P mode - ever. (following on previous threads.) ;-)</p>

<p>For your style of shooting, definitely the 5d2 is the way to go. The 17-40 is a great lens. You might also consider the 24-105mm in lieu of the 24-70 but either is a great lens. Another option if you don't need all the bells and whistles on the 5D2 is to pick up a used 5D (abt $1200-1500) which is still a great full-frame camera, leaving you more money to spend on lenses.</p>

<p>You cannot do that in Aperture, although Aperture allows you to use an external editor (such as Photoshop or Elements) to do it.</p>

<p>While I can't guarantee DNG converter will convert your files to DNG format, I'm pretty sure it will. For what it's worth, I routinely convert my CR2 files to DNG files using DNG converter, and then import the DNG files into Apple Aperture. I preserve the CR2 files for future use if I need them, so this gives me two versions of each file - CR2 and DNG. (Because DNG is a 'digital negative' file that is supported by a lot of products, using a DNG file offers more assurance that the format won't die out so soon.) See "Working with DNG Files" in the Aperture User Manual.</p>

<p>I owned a EF-S 10-22/mm and swapped it for the 17-40 when I got a 5D. I loved my 10-22 on my crop camera and I love the 17-40 on my 5D. If you stick with a crop camera, I don't think you can go wrong with the 10-22 - but if you plan on moving to full frame, the 17-40 is a more logical choice. I like to shoot landscapes, and (1) I would NEVER forget about the tripod in shooting landscapes (so IS is turned off), and (2) I'd never use 2.8 in shooting landscapes since I'm at or always above F/8 in shooting landscapes. I'd think that 2.8+IS certainly has its uses, but in my opinion not in landscapes.</p>

<p>Brad, can you post a link for an updater to 2.4? The Apple website lists Aperture 2.1.3 as the latest version.<br>

I'm using 2.1.3 and have not seen that problem, Marc.</p>

<p>I don't know if all are the same, but the iMac version at photodon.com says "The anti-glare films are not recommended for color critical applications as the antiglare tends to reduce contrast of the LCD image. This is most evident on screens that are covered with glass, where the film is not in direct contact with the LCD." I'm guessing that "color critical applications" applies to our interests.</p>

<p>On my 24-105 f/4L the focus ring WILL continue to turn beyond micro or infinity, but it definitely becomes more difficult to turn. There is sufficient difference beyond each that you can tell by touch when you have hit infinity or micro.</p>

<p>Most discussion here has focused on HARDWARE (I'm happy with my 24" iMac with 2GB memory and extra external drives), but for photography use I don't think nearly enough has been said about software. Photoshop works great on the Mac. Elements works great on the Mac. But I seldom use those because I depend so much on Apple APERTURE as my all-purpose image editing/cataloging software. It is an outstanding program, and IMHO justifies buying a Mac just to be able to run it. It works and works extremely well. Sometimes quality is worth a premium.<br>

I won't jump into the hardware argument except to this extent -- I've used both, and prefer to use Macs. We are an "all-Mac" shop at work, and its funny how new employees end up purchasing Macs over PCs as their personal home computers when they upgrade.... but that is another story. (BTW - we haven't had a computer virus at work in six years, knock on wood.)</p>

 

<p>Intel iMac 20" with 2GB memory; also MacBook Pro for travel. Love both.</p>

<p>I have both a Rebel XT and a 40D. I liked the XT when I got it, and still use it occasionally -but the 40D is IMHO a much, much better camera and easier to use. It looks like you have a decent lens set, so I wouldn't hesitate to get the 40D. I don't think you will be disappointed.</p>