OT: Digi Photography...

[Kevan]

Okay, I'll contribute something here. Ever since you guys recommended me towards the Canon G9 my life has taken a turn. Maybe it's a blessing what with how winter has dashed so many weekends of riding, but I think I've fallen in love. That incredible little camera and now wrestling with post production software in the form of Photo Shop Elements 6, I've found a new thrill. It's like learning how to change a flat tire all over again, except it's software. No sooner did I start using it when I realized that the camera is only half of the process. The software just lets you go nutz. It completes the camera.

If you're looking for a distraction, something different than cycling, think about this...you won't be disappointed. I'm now involved in photgraphy challenges on a camera forum, submitting a photo related to a different theme every week. It's forcing me to think outside of the box. It's forcing me to get good at photography. I take the camera everywhere and take pictures of almost anything, anytime. Later, back at the laboratory, I play with the RAW files and do magic I never thought possible.

I recommend, if you don't have one, get a teenage son who seems to understand anything PC-related as if it t'were the simple act of breathing. He has made this whole thing a lot easier to understand.

Any of you into it big time? Never happy, I'm now rethinking a dSLR.

[stormyClouds]

i am interested in seeing some of your work.

[CarbonCycles]

d-photography is an obsession (almost as bad as bikes)...you find yourself pining for the latest and greatest bodies and lenses. Good stuff (if you don't go broke)

[Ginger]

Ah, the joys of the darkroom without the fumes.

Now you're starting to understand all those geeks spending hours in the dark developing pictures

although you're missing that excitement of when you put the white sheet of paper into a pool of liquid and magic happens and an image appears where there was nothing.

And if you did everything right, it even looks like you wanted it to look when you tripped the shutter!


And...while you'll spend money on equipment...you'll miss that cost of film and chemicals for processing. Lucky you!


btw: which digi forum? That assignment thing sounds like fun.

[goldyjackson]

Hi there.

Really glad you've picked up photography. With digital, it certainly does make challenging yourself easier, and it sounds like you've found a way to push what you're doing with this other forum. I teach b/w and digital photography at the high school level (in addition to history, which is, admittedly, more "important").

I can't recommend enough shelling out the money for an actual slr. You have_so_much more control over the image, i.e. what actually gets on your sensor. Even though you can "fix" so much stuff in photoshop, you are always better off getting the info on the sensor that you want there. It's exactly like a negative in that way. There's so much you can do with a negative in printing, but if the info isn't on there, you're out of luck.

If you'd buy used stuff, try keh.com

Absolutely trustworthy. Even for digital.

Good luck.

[Kevan]

Please...I really don't want one of those honkin'-big SLR's. Yes I do! No, I don't....

Ginger, high school I had the opportunity to sniff the fumes (who didn't?). Actually, I'm getting a lot more out of this than way back when. With film you had to guard each snap because of the expense. Now, you can be a snappin' fool. In color too!

I'm visiting Canon's Digi forum: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

[Ginger]

Please...I really don't want one of those honkin'-big SLR's. Yes I do! No, I don't....

Ginger, high school I had the opportunity to sniff the fumes (who didn't?). Actually, I'm getting a lot more out of this than way back when. With film you had to guard each snap because of the expense. Now, you can be a snappin' fool. In color too!

I'm visiting Canon's Digi forum: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

Cool. No. You don't. :)
But you do.

I suggest and this might or might not be available...rent a pro setup and see what you think.

(I didn't touch B&W til college, but I went through enough film that I started rolling my own. ...that stuff is cheaper when you buy it by the foot.
Whacked my head, lost the math and can't compose a shot worth fooey anymore. Ah well. But the digicam brought me back to snapping...which isn't the same as shooting...but it makes me happy.)

[goldyjackson]

Please...I really don't want one of those honkin'-big SLR's. Yes I do! No, I don't....

Ginger, high school I had the opportunity to sniff the fumes (who didn't?). Actually, I'm getting a lot more out of this than way back when. With film you had to guard each snap because of the expense. Now, you can be a snappin' fool. In color too!

I'm visiting Canon's Digi forum: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

The good thing about the old way of doing it was that you_were_still conscious of the expense. Therefore, you needed to be more thoughtful about what went onto the negative. Don't get me wrong, one of the best things about digi is the ability to take hundreds of photos, but it's also a drawback, as I see it. Ultimately, you are expressing yourself by putting something preconceived onto a piece of paper (or a screen). Ansel Adams talked about "previsualization" of an image before you release the shutter. This concept still applies to digital photography, I would argue. Just because images are free, that doesn't mean you should just keep pressing the shutter. An slr shutter is just more accurate and controllable than a point and shoot, no matter the many advantages of size the smaller camera has.

The way I think about it, it's a little bit like bike components, in that once you get to a certain level (105 or veloce), they have most of the advantages of the most expensive stuff. Lower than that you are compromising something... To my mind, you need to be at the slr level if you really want the control over the image you get. Cannon vs nikon, blahhh, blahh, blahhh. They are all great cameras. And you can get_great_images from a point and shoot. It's just about consistency and control, for me.

One thing you could try is renting a "big ole" slr for a weekend. See if you like it.

All of the above is, of course, imho, atmo, whatever...

[rePhil]

Kevan,

Interesting perspective you have there.Mine is a bit different. I am on the other end. Not a hobby, it was a way to feed my family. The equipment I had was purchased for one reason, to capture a shot. Back in my day I would look at photos I liked and tried to figure out how they did it. What lens, time of day etc.
These days the computer / photoshop has changed everything. Even camera stores as we knew them.I know a few lab/ counter folks put out of work by technology.

For me it was an adventure that has a happy ending. Recently an old friend from California was killed in a helicopter just a few miles from my house doing what I / we both loved, Shooting boats.

Sorry for the thread drift,but thanks for bringing back some memories. I needed that today.

Happy shooting!

[stevep]

i wanted to get a g-9 but i want a wider angle lens...
why is it only 35mm equivalent.
bummed me out.

[Larry D]

After nearly 40 years of using film, I finally made the leap of faith to digital. Yes, it does offer alot of advantages, no chemicals to bother with disposing of, no fumes to breath, no mess to clean up, cheaper media, no flumbing in the dark to open a film canisiter and loading a developing reel, no worries about temperature of your solutions, and you can have a snack while editing your images (something you would never consider doing in a darkroom), but .. as film improved you did not have to get rid of your camera to upgrade to better film, now when the sensors improve to upgrade it is much more expensive.

Anyway..it is amazing what you can correct and how easy it is to correct exposure, color balance, saturation etc. with the software. Digital black and white photography has a lot to offer and the new pigment based inks designed for black and white rival a traditional darkroom print. Ginger has a valid point with that magical moment in the drkroom when the image magically appears on that white sheet of paper. It is a myth that digital saves time over convential darkroom work. The more pictures you snap, the more time it takes to sort through them. The time spent before pressing the shutter button in composition and exposure saves much more time post production.

Since making the leap I have been very happy with the world of digital and especially digital black and white.

Kean, Go out and enjoy it like your cycling.

[Kevan]

No argument from me. I do try to exhibit some discrimination, but not to the extent that I don't pull the car over to the shoulder during my commute, to run back to the scene in question and try to get the best shot I can out of the subject. I actually had to start teaching myself to stop the car and well, smell the flowers, if you get my meaning. Who is to argue with Ansel? I try to do my best in making sure all 4 corners of my photo tell a story. I've got much to learn.

The G9 is a terrific little box, but I know it isn't a SLR. The shutter lag is sometimes frustrating, there's plenty of noise 800 iso and above, but inside those constraints it does damn good. I dunno...maybe Sigma's DP1 for another pocket stuffer, huh? When the price drops. Or maybe Canon will issue a G10 to blow our minds.

Heck, I'm still trying to understand what the heck I'm talking about.

[Kevan]

LOL. The time!!! Dang I can chew up an evening playing with just one photo. If people wonder where I've been when not here, it's been playing with layers.

The best part...the best thing every...is the connection I've gained with my son, doing this. We have a blast teasing one another with who knows which trick to use on which photo.

He's got me beat. The smarta$$. He's the one who wants the dSLR.

[Ginger]

Well...that's two votes for renting. :)

I snap with my digicam, but I still use my film slr. At the level I care to afford, digipics have tons to be desired. Film endures. There's a comfort to having equipment and knowing: With this X film, this lens, this body, this light, produces this result, and being able to reproduce that result, and to suss out how film pics were created...and play with reproducing those results...

The thing that bothers me most about my little digicam is the inconsistency of the metering. BAAAH


I salute all of you who went pro/are pro. It's a tough business.

[Larry D]

Kevan,

The bonding with your son is a great thing. My father started me in photography over 40 years ago and he spent many a night teaching me darkroom techniques and lots of time out shooting and at camera club meetings.

Fortunately I have been able to inspire my two son's with this same passion and also for cycling, which has given me lots of great times with them.

Enjoy your new found passion and the times with your son, they are invaluable.

[Kevan]

has pros and pro-wannabes contributing, and the talent that collects there from around the globe is nothing short of inspiring. Course, the romantic scenes of someplace exotic skew your perspective for talent, but I look at these photos for how far I've gotten and how far I still need to go.

I suppose eventually a SLR will come into the stable, but right now I'm satisfied. If I rented one now and got blown away by it, it would only serve to ruin my current perspective. I need to learn how to make this camera dance before I move on. Also, so many SLR owners have bought the G9 too and are growing to really like it for what it is. They recognize the short comings, but they appreciate the convenience and the ability to move amongst the crowd without drawing attention to themselves like a big camera does.

[Len J]

has pros and pro-wannabes contributing, and the talent that collects there from around the globe is nothing short of inspiring. Course, the romantic scenes of someplace exotic skew your perspective for talent, but I look at these photos for how far I've gotten and how far I still need to go.

I suppose eventually a SLR will come into the stable, but right now I'm satisfied. If I rented one now and got blown away by it, it would only serve to ruin my current perspective. I need to learn how to make this camera dance before I move on. Also, so many SLR owners have bought the G9 too and are growing to really like it for what it is. They recognize the short comings, but they appreciate the convenience and the ability to move amongst the crowd without drawing attention to themselves like a big camera does.

For me the move to digital Photography involved 3 large learning curves, simotaneously:

1.) Learning photographic skills. Exposure, white Balance, composition, use of light, flash, etc.
2.) Learning the camera. It's a damn computer with a lens on it. Almost too many options.
3.) Learning post processing. A hugh hurdle in and of itself.

I've been shooting for about 2 years total, & I am just beginning to feel somewhat proficient in the basics.

Len

[goldyjackson]

^^^^

Great image.

Here's one. Believe it or not, this isn't manipulated. Just funky white balances when taken at night...

[Kevan]

enjoy...

[Kevan]

enjoy...

[e-RICHIE]

hey kevan, goldy, and lenmo -
i am once again wasting time at dpreview dot com looking
for my first new appliance in 10 years. what are you three
shooting with atmo?

[Len J]

hey kevan, goldy, and lenmo -
i am once again wasting time at dpreview dot com looking
for my first new appliance in 10 years. what are you three
shooting with atmo?

Nikon D200.
Several different lenses
18-200 VR for travel and light weight all around
12-24 f/4 for Wide angle
17-55 f/2.8 for walk around city lens/better quality
70-200 f/2.8 + 1.7TC for wildlife/better quality
50 f/1.4 for indoor & low light

Pluses........
awesome pics at anything below ISO 600
incridibly flexible settings...it can do anything
robust
6fps
great colors
uploadable custom curves

Minuses.....
JPEG engine is not great. Shoot Raw & PP = awesome
above 600 iso = higher noise....not a great low light camera unless really fast lens's

D300 seems to fix all the minuses

Len

[Kevan]

http://www.dcviews.com/press/images/Canon-G9.jpg

[maunahaole]

Richie -


What exactly are your wants and needs in a digicam? The d200 and the G9 are both excellent cameras, but they are different....I think there's a bunch of knowledge here on cameras and you can get some excellent guidance on narrowing the field down to a few. A lot depends on fit...how it works in your hands and your mental connection to the menu structure, etc...a lot depends on how much effort that you want to invest in getting shots too. A lot depends on how much gear you want to carry around, too.

[Len J]

Richie -


What exactly are your wants and needs in a digicam? The d200 and the G9 are both excellent cameras, but they are different....I think there's a bunch of knowledge here on cameras and you can get some excellent guidance on narrowing the field down to a few. A lot depends on fit...how it works in your hands and your mental connection to the menu structure, etc...a lot depends on how much effort that you want to invest in getting shots too. A lot depends on how much gear you want to carry around, too.

+1,000,000

and are you a gear junky.
what are you going to use it for?

Len

[stevep]

most basic of questions.
i shot a lot of slides, etc in film for years. the digital thing is very very cool.

what focal lengths for digital are equivalent to these film lengths?
24mm
28mm
35mm
85mm
105mm

is there a linear formula or something else?

[e-RICHIE]

Richie -


What exactly are your wants and needs in a digicam? The d200 and the G9 are both excellent cameras, but they are different....I think there's a bunch of knowledge here on cameras and you can get some excellent guidance on narrowing the field down to a few. A lot depends on fit...how it works in your hands and your mental connection to the menu structure, etc...a lot depends on how much effort that you want to invest in getting shots too. A lot depends on how much gear you want to carry around, too.
i wanna be able to do nice stills of my messy bench,
show some extreme close ups of my messy work, and
take the occasional portrait pics of my beloved flux with
his beloved team mates this autumn. no need for the big
machinery. the G9 looks super. lenmo's nikon is too much
camera and money for me atmo. i am afraid to get a lighter
and more flimsy ultra compact simply because they come
out with new models monthly. that G9 looks like a real unit
rather than a camera that you'd stuff in your makeup case.

options lead to insanity atmo.

[Len J]

most basic of questions.
i shot a lot of slides, etc in film for years. the digital thing is very very cool.

what focal lengths for digital are equivalent to these film lengths?
24mm
28mm
35mm
85mm
105mm

is there a linear formula or something else?

depends on the camera......
for a full frame DSLR........a 24 MM lense is still a 24 mm lense in terms of how the image out of the camera will look.

For a Nikon DX DSLR (All except the D3) to get an equivilant field of view of a 24 MM on FF you would need a 16 MM on DX (it has a 1.5 crop sensor) For a 35MM you would need a 24 (approx) on DX, for a 105, a 70 mm....etc,etc.

I think that most of the non-FF Canons have a 1.6 crop sensor (except for the 1DMKiii which has a 1.3)

As to Point & shoot cameras...they are all different.

Len

[maunahaole]

As a follow up to the answer to stevep - except also for the olympus dslr which has a crop factor of 2.0x

As a follow up to Richie - you are well on your way to finding what you want. I would next tell you to look for the following things on finding what will work for you: 1. A hot shoe for a flash - pref that the flash will ttl (through the lens) meter - something you wont need right now, but you may want for low light (i.e. action shots during cross season); 2. Close focus ability - to get those nice detail shots of lugwork.; 3. Get the lens that has the best wide angle performance. You can always crop out, you cant add in. The high pixel counts of the newer cameras will keep the image quality high, even with a moderate crop. Too much emphasis is placed on optical zoom, I think that the ability to shoot wider gives you more flexibility.

Go to the camera store or wherever they have what you are interested in and pick it up and mess with it.

[thwart]

Hey, if you can't rent, just buy a used Digital Rebel (Canon 300D) on eBay. If you find it too huge or inconvenient (or whatever) you could sell it without losing much $. If the SLR bug bites, give it to your son and go out and buy the latest and greatest.

Great camera... at least with the right glass.

[fixednwinter]

The thing that bothers me most about my little digicam is the inconsistency of the metering. BAAAH

I salute all of you who went pro/are pro. It's a tough business.

Regarding the little digicam - yup, it's the metering that drives me nuts too. While I do have a "manual" setting, the ability to over-ride these automated wonder-cams is fairly limited.

Pro - I've been in the business since '90. As with anything, if you can find the path, doors open in a good progression. I started out as an assistant, paying my dues, then did a stint as a documentary photographer for the UN for a year or so, and got into the beginning of the digital photography wave in advertising photography (94 onwards). The advertising side of photography is lucrative.

With digital, if you get serious about your photography, my advice is - go DSLR, buy the best lenses you can possibly afford, and get digital bodies one or two below the top tier (as a comparison, I'm recommending 105/Centaur/Rival or Ultegra/Chorus/Force, instead of Dura-Ace/Record/Red). Advances in optics are a lot slower than improvements in the chip, so the value is there to invest in the glass as it will stay relevant longer.

Besides, the camera itself is secondary to the glass. Short of a really rotten body and chip, the most important factor is the lens.

Do I miss film? yeah, I do. I really miss shooting with manual, rangefinder Leica's, separate light meters (I never used the light meters on my M6 or MP), and Tri-X, over exposed by 1/3rd of a stop, and developed in D76.

On the other hand, some of my best shots have come from my cheap digicam. And that's because I have a handy screen on the digital, it tellls me whether my shot is good or not immediately, and that instant feedback is impossible with film.

That instant view also allows me to be ruthless in terms of editing. Before I even get home from a day of shooting, I've deleted dozens or even hundreds of shots. Not possible with film. Again, it's more of an art director's mentality, in knowing what you like and don't like, and having the guts to delete the bad shots fast.

[fixednwinter]

depends on the camera......
for a full frame DSLR........a 24 MM lense is still a 24 mm lense in terms of how the image out of the camera will look.


Correct, no conversion required for a full-frame. We use Canon 1Ds MkII and III's in my studio, it's virtually full frame. Although the majority of shooting we do with Phase backs on 'Blads - but that's a completely different range of gear.

At the extreme telephoto range, there's actually an advantage in having lenses on non-full-frame chips, in the sense that the conversion factor actually gives you an effectively longer focal length.

[Peter P.]

Richard, these guys are more into cameras and photography than I am, but I just recently purchased my first digital camera. I went the Consumer Reports route, reading the articles at the library, and if you go back no more than a year, you'll find they did a comprehensive review of all three types of digital cameras; the pocket sized, standard compacts, and the SLRs.

I wound up buying a Canon A720 IS, which looks awfully similar to that G9 so I'll bet many, if not most of the features are the same. It's a lower pixel camera and it doesn't have the shoe for the flash, but it meets my needs very well. It was $230 or so.

From what you described, you are interested in close up quality. Here's a photo I took to show you what the camera is capable of in Macro mode. It was hand held at 1/13 of a second so any blur is probably induced by me. I'd say the detail is great, given my amateur status and my hastily assembled photo. It's a pile of Hershey's Kisses Dark Chocolate wrappers.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3246/2348967576_86a3ba1029.jpg?v=0

[e-RICHIE]

Richard, these guys are more into cameras and photography than I am, <cut>

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_g9%2Ccanon_a720is&show=all

i'm all over this atmo.
thanks -

[fixednwinter]

Anything macro and a still life shot - it's the tripod that makes the difference. Get the camera rock solid and even a cheap camera can deliver great shots.

Once the camera is solid and assuming you have manual control, this allows you to:

1. Stop the lens which means your depth of field increases (amount of image from front to back can be sharper)
2. Stopping the lens down means you need more light. Unless you have a flash system that you can increase the power output quite a bit, the other way of "obtaining" more light is keeping the lens open for a long exposure. Which means, a tripod...

When it comes to close-up still shots, a tripod is a win-win situation.

[maunahaole]

and with a light weight camera an inexpensive mini tripod or a beanbag can be all that you need to do the trick, too.

[goldyjackson]

i wanna be able to do nice stills of my messy bench,
show some extreme close ups of my messy work, and
take the occasional portrait pics of my beloved flux with
his beloved team mates this autumn. no need for the big
machinery. the G9 looks super. lenmo's nikon is too much
camera and money for me atmo. i am afraid to get a lighter
and more flimsy ultra compact simply because they come
out with new models monthly. that G9 looks like a real unit
rather than a camera that you'd stuff in your makeup case.

options lead to insanity atmo.

I have a D200 for digital, and a few film cameras I still use, my favorite being a bronica 6x6 without a meter. Talk about slowing the process down!

At the risk of repeating what other people have recommended, I really think for anything involving action, spending the cash on a dslr is totally worth it. You can get a D200 for around a grand in perfect condition now. Get_any_good nikon lens and you're good to go. When you press the shutter, the picture happens. With the G9, that's not the case. You can get amazing manual focus lenses for dirt cheap right now. The glass is the important thing. My favorite lens for the D200 is a 24mm mf. Great lens that you could get for $150 or so. You could get a macro lens, one designed for the close-up work you mention, for a couple hundred. Yeah, there's a difference money wise between $450 and $1200, but the D200 has a metal body, and though the technology will keep improving, you should definitely be able to use it for years and years. But this is all just my opinion, of course!! I'm just an impostor compared to some of the experienced people who've responded!!!

[e-RICHIE]

I have a D200 for digital, and a few film cameras I still use, my favorite being a bronica 6x6 without a meter. Talk about slowing the process down!

At the risk of repeating what other people have recommended, I really think for anything involving action, spending the cash on a dslr is totally worth it. You can get a D200 for around a grand in perfect condition now. Get_any_good nikon lens and you're good to go. When you press the shutter, the picture happens. With the G9, that's not the case. You can get amazing manual focus lenses for dirt cheap right now. The glass is the important thing. My favorite lens for the D200 is a 24mm mf. Great lens that you could get for $150 or so. You could get a macro lens, one designed for the close-up work you mention, for a couple hundred. Yeah, there's a difference money wise between $450 and $1200, but the D200 has a metal body, and though the technology will keep improving, you should definitely be able to use it for years and years. But this is all just my opinion, of course!! I'm just an impostor compared to some of the experienced people who've responded!!!
thanks gj-issmo.
for the record, i don't do any action shots; there are plenty
of shooters at the events and i normally buy or mine their
images every monday morning atmo. separately, it looks
to me that the $$ difference between lenmo's and kevan's
cameras is a wide one. add to this special use lenses, and
that nikon is way, way out of my fantasy budget. trust me -
if i were rich (er), it'd all be a no brainer. i think that a limit
of 5 bills would have to be placed on my folly, and i'd hope
that this G9 thingy (or the one like Peter P mentioned) would
shut me up for a while. ps i already have a canon slr that
i bought pre digi, and i wish i still used it a little if not at
allmo atmo.

thanks for helping.

[maunahaole]

Richie -

Don't forget that there are also a lot of lightly used nice P&S cams on ebay, craigslist, etc. For what it sounds like what you want, that might be an appropriate avenue to explore, 6mp still takes really nice pics on a nice cam...

It's good that you know about dprview, archived reviews can be your friend (not the penguin).

[Kevan]

for the post production software. Photoshop Elements 6 went for about 70 bucks, I bought a seriously big (500 gig) external hard drive to store photos and music for something like $150 and I had to ramp up my RAM on the PC to a gig. Who knew?! But I have to say it was all worth it.

[avalonracing]

Richie -

Don't forget that there are also a lot of lightly used nice P&S cams on ebay, craigslist, etc.


And don't forget that there are also a lot of heavily used crummy POS cams on ebay, craigslist, etc :rolleyes:

[Ginger]

If you have to buy used, and while I don't mind used film cameras, I'm a touch leery of the lower end of the electronic spectrum (under $1000 new) rather than hitting up the bay or the list, check out some fairly reputable camera shops who have been in the used gear world since before digital was a blip on the screen. They rate the gear and list any conditions it may have.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com
or say
http://www.keh.com/onlinestore/home.aspx


When you get the camera, get the fastest storage card you can afford. (They're probably all cheap now...I haven't looked lately) While camera speed is much better than it was, you can slow down time between photos with a cheap, slow storage media.
And if you aren't good about downloading your photos? Don't get the biggest storage card you can get because if it goes bad (and they do) you loose everything on the card...better to have a couple smaller ones. If they go bad, you loose less.


and I just have to say that I miss my hasselblad...all manual thing of beauty separate meter and that medium format negative. *sigh* I bet my ex never takes it out of the case...

[paulh]

i

options lead to insanity atmo.


The tyranny of choice!!

[Len J]

thanks gj-issmo.
for the record, i don't do any action shots; there are plenty
of shooters at the events and i normally buy or mine their
images every monday morning atmo. separately, it looks
to me that the $$ difference between lenmo's and kevan's
cameras is a wide one. add to this special use lenses, and
that nikon is way, way out of my fantasy budget. trust me -
if i were rich (er), it'd all be a no brainer. i think that a limit
of 5 bills would have to be placed on my folly, and i'd hope
that this G9 thingy (or the one like Peter P mentioned) would
shut me up for a while. ps i already have a canon slr that
i bought pre digi, and i wish i still used it a little if not at
allmo atmo.

thanks for helping.

Sounds perfect for what you want.

Mine has become a real hobby, hence the investment.

Len

[fixednwinter]

for the post production software. Photoshop Elements 6 went for about 70 bucks, I bought a seriously big (500 gig) external hard drive to store photos and music for something like $150 and I had to ramp up my RAM on the PC to a gig. Who knew?! But I have to say it was all worth it.

This is excellent advice. And also a good choice on going with the Elements version of Photoshop - unless you're doing prepress, design or heavy duty graphics, the full version of Photoshop usually isn't required.

If you print at home: To save on printing ink and paper, calibrate or at least manually adjust your monitor (transmitted RGB) to your printer (CMYK). You can go fancy with calibration tools, but for home use, it's not necessary. Do a few test prints that you're happy with of your typical subject matter and compare that to what you are seeing on screen. You can then adjust your brightness and contrast accordingly to aproximate the print. It will always be just a ballpark match, as RGB and CMYK colour spaces are very different animals.

My prepress guys and gals would never do this in our photo/graphics environment at work, but it's an acceptable workaround at home when you're doing a few family or hobby pics.

[pjm]

Looking for a nice P&S? This is mine, and I'll do much better on the price...
http://www.photogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?dgtlcamr&1204907062&class&3&4&

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/A640/A640A.HTM

PM if interested.

[BarryBrown]

If you happen to have some good quality Minolta AF lenses, the Sony is a really nice camera. The ergonomics are great, and the photos are amazing.