tim_eastman

<p>I am looking to buy a new computer and need some feedback. It will be a PC. CS5 and my CAD program KeyCreator will be the most demanding uses. I am inclined to go with an Intel Core 7 because it is only slightly more than a Core 5. I want a GeForce video card. What will I get for under $ 1000.00 that meets these requirements? Probably a 500 Gig hard drive for OS and a 1TB hard drive for data. Any feedback would be welcome.</p>

<p>If you are inclined, sunrise from the wildlife loop can be wonderful. I agree with CCW. It used to be that you could drive out early but it would still be worth the walk. There are wood duck boxes and if you are lucky you might see one.</p>

<p>Have you been to this altitude before or anything close? I suspect you will have porters carrying much of your gear, but I think you might consider what you will feel up to bringing along when you try for the top. After filling your pack with proper warm clothing, water etc. you will find room is scarce for too much camera gear, so you may have to dial down your expectations unless your fitness regimen yields a miracle. Even then, if you have not felt like crap at high altitude there is a good chance you will. If you have a chance to rest at a high camp for a day I think your summit day will be more enjoyable. Pack as light as possible and try not to ruin your trip by planning the ultimate photo experience. If you pack a ton of gear you may feel obliged to use it and in the process miss the forest for the trees! An audio recorder would bring back some of the sounds! Have fun. I hope you make it; something you have been dreaming of since age 6 means a lot!</p>

<p>Stick to your guns. There will always be people who want to slash their wrists, but they will either need to raise their prices or won't be around for long. The way I have always looked at it is that if I am going to break even or lose money there are a lot more fun things to do. In my business, although I have never been brave enough to try it, price point is something that some people will brag about, as in bragging to their friends how much they paid. On one hand my product is exquisite and would certainly be worthy of bragging about, but I don't have the cajones to adopt that pricing model.</p>

<p>William:<br>

I have copies of National Geographic dating back to the late thirties. I have always read National Geographic and treasure older issues almost as much for their ad content as for subject content. The ads are a great snapshot of life in America. The same would be true of Life magazine, but National Geographics tend to stay around much longer. There is something about reading a physical magazine that is lost sitting in front of the computer. Maybe a Kindle would be better? You are on to a good idea though.</p>

<p>My CAD program gives me the option of a classic interface so I don't need to re-learn the way I have done things for years. Is there an option in CS5 to customize the interface to resemble CS2? I have used my father's CS5 and it really is a PITA, but there are some new capabilities that would be nice.</p>

<p>To clarify, what will it cost me to upgrade from CS2 to CS5 if and when the pricing change goes into effect? I have put it off because I had other priorities for $ 190.00, but my hand may be forced.</p>

<p>Duane:<br>

High Dynamic Resolution in my mind means exactly that, using multiple exposures to expand dynamic range beyond what is possible in one image. What comes out of HDR often goes well beyond expanding dynamic range, for better or worse.<br>

Was there such a profusion of altered photographs before HDR came on the scene? I guess if there was a forum for displaying pictures that looked like they had been through Photoshop filters that would qualify. So much of what I see is people taking the controls in HDR programs and using them to achieve effects that do not have any appeal to me. It is possible to use HDR to very nice effect, but I personally don't like garish images.<br>

In the age of digital manipulation it is hard to be a purist, but I see a demarcation line between photographs that convey what we can see and images that are more art than photograph.</p>

<p>There needs to be a clarification of what HDR is and is not. It seems to encompass all manner of " art " montages that fall pretty far from a photograph. To me it is acceptable to use HDR to simply expand the dynamic range to convey what the eye could see. So much of what I see called HDR is an artistic interpretation that mostly does not appeal. Of course Ansel Adams did not shirk from advanced darkroom techniques, but it is hard to argue that his images were not appealing. Slippery slope!</p>

<p>If your intention is to get the crumbling and neglected " infrastructure " repaired, good luck. In my city and probably every city and town across the country, these things are low on the priority list. In days past we had enough revenue to keep things in working order; with shrinking or disappearing tax bases I would not hold my breath. </p>

<p>On long exposures my understanding was that it was an educated guess. The same remains true with digital, but if anyone could narrow the guesswork it would be interesting. I certainly don't mind experimenting with various exposure times with digital, it is fun to see the results and get instant feedback.</p>

<p>I have an old Jan Sport daypack with side pockets and side slots for strapping on skis. I also have a beautiful Mountainsmith Borealis, but the simplicity of the Jan Sport is preferable. One leg of my tripod slides into the ski slot and I am set. I put my camera stuff into a Crumpler Full Bucket, which fits nicely in the bottom of my pack, a nice padded home for my gear. I agree that the positioning of the tripod on the back of a pack is awkward.<br>

Look for packs with ski slots or straps designed to strap on skis. Many packs have sleeves for water bottles and compression straps, but the compression straps need to be released to gain access to the main compartments.</p>

<p>You may be happier trying to find a used D300 or D300S. The auto focus is in a different league than the D7000.</p>

<p>For a great read about the race for the South Pole, Roland Huntford wrote a book using the expedition diaries of Scott and Amundsen to tell the story. Sadly, it was another example of British masochism, sending men off to die honorable, horrific deaths in the polar regions for the glory of Britain. The most tragic of all the pictures is upon arrival at the Pole, after enduring unimaginable conditions, to see Amundsen had beaten them.</p>

<p>Is Michael a Mac user?! If Roy uses NX2 on a daily basis he has the right to criticize it. I believe the " poor unfortunates who've bought Macs " are unfortunate because NX2 may not work as well on Macs as on PC's and Nikon has tried to address bugs peculiar to Macs! Roy's comments are completely within the bounds of discussing Nikon products and I saw no derision at all.</p>

<p>I read about this recently in Outside magazine. They have a rather draconian policy concerning poaching; poachers are shot without warning. The recent score has dead poachers outnumbering dead rhinos. The poaching is driven by Chinese demand. The nature of this preserve, unfortunately, for the locals, means that a great deal of land from which they used to be able to derive a living, has been put off limits, thus increasing the likelihood of poaching.</p>

<p>Nodal Ninja</p>

<p>Do we have a better memory of the images we did not take than of those we do? I sometimes wonder this as I am obsessively trying to document my trips, with today's endless supply of memory. I think it is a different experience when one has a camera. I sometimes leave it at home so I will have a different experience, not better, just different.</p>

<p>I'm glad to hear that others ditch the supplied Nikon straps to make their cameras more inconspicuous. I have had my OpTech strap since '92 and have wondered if anyone has experienced a failure of an OpTech strap. As it gets older and my cameras get more expensive I hate the thought of one plummeting to the ground.</p>

<p>Could it be that your pano head does not allow enough fore / aft movement to find it? I had it worked out on my NN3 for 35mm & 50mm</p>

<p>Shun:<br>

It does not get much simpler than AF-S & using the center focus point. There is no confusion about what I am focusing on. The D300 was not confused. Your impressive array of cameras underscores what I am getting at; lower QC will lead to it being a matter of luck if we get good bodies. Like you, others have good copies of the D7000. I do not. It is interesting that your reply "...there is no shortage of people who simply do not understand how the D7000's AF is supposed to work..." is also the line the Nikon guy at my LCS used. There is also the possibility that among experienced photographers that there are bad copies. Nikon may want to rethink its strategy of possibly alienating experienced customers with such a blanket reply.</p>

<p>Actually, the point of this post was not whether I know how to use my camera, or whether I know how to focus correctly! The point was to see if any other D7000 owners had returned defective copies and had been satisfied with the replacement body. There is no shortage of people who have bought this camera who have returned it because of focusing issues. Focus fine tune might work well with fixed length lenses, but I doubt it can correct for an 18-200 lens. I have used Nikons for 30 years with no problems. What worries me is that my previous experiences were because of rigid QC, and that I might need to count on luck now. Perhaps we are seeing the creeping impact of American QC standards that has been such a disaster for Japanese auto manufacturers. I hope not for Nikon's sake.</p>

<p>My three month old D7000 went to Nikon to have a focus issue dealt with, and unfortunately came back with the problem not fixed. My local camera shop will swap the D7000 for another new one and hopefully it will focus properly, and my faith in Nikon will be restored. I am crossing my fingers that I got a bad copy. I sold my D300 and have been impressed by the image quality of the D7000, but I am prepared to go back to a D300 if the D7000 cannot fulfill one basic requirement.<br /> I would be interested in hearing from other D7000 owners who have had focusing problems. FWIW, I compared the D7000 and a D300 using the same 18-200 and same settings, both on a tripod and there is no question the D7000 fails to focus properly. D7000 top, D300 bottom</p>

<p><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc5/TimothyW1960/Focus.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Oloneo</p>

<p>I would be interested in seeing how many here have had a problem losing images on a card. Leaving aside the utility of a laptop as a tool for travel, you can always buy more 16gb cards and not need to back up images. I have never lost an image on a card, but I may just be luck. Like packing too many clothes for a long trip, you may want to lighten your load and leave the portable HD. Do be aware that laptops have been known to be " quarantined " by Customs, as they deem the contents to be another item they can search. Hopefully this excess has been curbed! Also, depending on where you are traveling, an inconspicuous camera bag may draw less attention.</p>