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I know what I want for xmas now.

I quite like that shot. Nice composition and light. Some technical critique might include exposure / contrast / sharpness. I would prefer maybe 1/2 of a stop less exposure, greater contrast, and more clarity / local contrast / sharpness. Something like this. keep in mind that I wasn't there, so...

Motherboard suggestions?

Hmm... but then wouldn't an E8500 make it to 3.5 GHz without anything but an FSB adjustment just as easily?

Looking at upgrading from my Dell Dimension E521. It has been a faithful workhorse for me, but I am doing a lot of photo editing, and I am getting tired of waiting for the A64x2 5000+ to complete photo editing and rendering tasks. I've already upgraded my storage subsystem twice (Raptor as my...

Here is a shot of some tulips that used the crossfire lighting technique Gilbo described:

Hmm... I was going to say wide angle lenses emphasize perspective, but I like your reference to lighting balance across multiple dimensions. I hadn't thought about that until you mentioned it.

The built-in sensor cleaners are all relatively ineffective except for Olympus' SSWF. I don't know if Nikon's recent version is any better with the airflow system, but historically, no manufacturer has really had excellent results with it. It's turned out to be more of a marketing gimmick than a...

Rats. Just realized that the SD card I got from B&H a couple weeks ago is a Kingston Class 6 :(, placing quite low in the camera --> card test. Wish I knew about this test before I ordered it.

And speaking of Fuji and Olympus, let's bring up the Four-Thirds consortium with Panasonic, Leica, Kodak, and Sigma counting amongst their members. How embarrassing that between the 6 of them, they are struggling to compete in the market. Both Kodak and Leica were on the verge of bankruptcy...

Say what you want about SD, but it's light years ahead of the pitiful xD crap that Olympus and Fuji keep trying to annoy us with. At least Fuji has somewhat backed away from xD, but Olympus put it right back into their latest dSLRs. Thakfully, they're not completely stupid. At least they have a...

I would say it depends... - Higher magnification usually results in the ability to capture more "detail", as the details you're trying to capture become larger relative to the resolving power limits of your system. - However, it is also harder to capture a sharper image as the focal length...

For me, I like using a 50 mm for panoramas. I think it strikes a good balance between having a wider lens like a 35 mm that requires you take less shots to cover the same view vs a longer lens like an 85 or 135 mm to extract maximum detail. When you go wider than 35 mm, you have to start...

The specs make a lot of sense to me. The big deal about the D700 is that it brings the fabulous FX sensor of the D3 to a more affordable price range. FX for everyone! Well, not quite, but it's like the 5D bringing FF IQ to the segment that wanted maximum IQ without all the other pro...

I don't think SDHC cards are limited in capacity compared to CF cards anymore. SD has made a quantum leap in capacity since they started being used in camcorders as a storage medium for video. They're at 32 GB now and doubling every year. Speed is a different issue, as there are some fast cards...

Huh? Lots of people complain about how the Rebel series' grip is too small. The OM bodies' "grip" is way too small as well. Hardly ergonomic. It's not like it saves space either because the lens protrudes much further than the body, making any nice-sized grip a positive in terms of ergonomics...

Sorry, I'm not sure what your dilemma is specifically... what sentence were you replying to? I'm not sure how long it actually took... I went to bed and when I woke up, it was done. Maybe waking the computer up made it seem like it just finished when in fact it was done much earlier? Anyways...

LOL... I thought i was nuts doing a 98 image pano that resulted in a 146 megapixel, 1.1 GB output file (I think I mentioned that a while back, no?). It took forever to render my pano too, so I just started it and went to bed. I think it just finished when i woke up in the morning, making your...

Looks like flare, motion blur, slight focus error, and general lens softness of the 75-300 at 300 mm wide open.

The lens is a Canon 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS. Not a killer lens, but a good overall compromise of reach, range, size, and IQ. Back in the day when it was launched, it probably was a killer lens. These days, even still, a new one is not cheap, at over $1,400. Let's not forget that this person is...

Ah, yes. Contax and their T and G series... Beautiful design, fantastic Zeiss lenses. I lusted after a G2 system for a while before I decided to get a Nikon F70 (N70 in the US) due to limited funds. Come to think of it, I always had a thing for Contax... even had a Contax T series film camera...

Yes, good point. It's quite disappointing, although there is some hope with the Sigma DP1 and the zoom version of it coming out... eventually. Everybody's watching Sigma like a hawk and will take notice if their P&S turn out to be successful. Unfortunately, the DP1 hasn't exactly been a...

How about the 100/2? It's one of Canon's better "regular" primes when it comes to portraits.

It's because DOF varies inversely with focal length. Tannin will tell you that this is not true, and you can search for his posts on the subject explaining why. But for practical purposes, if you want shallow DOF, use a long focal length, larger aperture, and shoot close to your subject. Works...

Now, now, LM. Let's not be too picky when we need all the advancements we can get when it comes to getting cleaner signals out of tiny sensors in compact P&S digicams. If we can improve 2/3 of a stop every year or two, we may actually have a decently performing P&S sensor in 3-5 years.

I have some other hypotheses about why people are noticing softer images with newer cameras and why some people say that their new cameras barely compare to their old cameras in terms of sharpness and noise, let alone deliver the expected improvement. Especially with the compact P&S digicams...

DD, FYI just in case... more potential focus problems with new Canons (450D): http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1031&message=28011892

Also should mention that I'm going down this route (sticking with Olympus and purchasing the E-3) after doing a trial run with a bunch of different equipment combos shooting a hockey tournament a couple weeks ago. That gave me some valuable insights on what works and what doesn't when it comes...

Nah, it's like Gilbo said. It's a pro oriented camera designed to take abuse in the field and be able to shoot in any weather condition. It's got an industrial strength magnesium alloy chassis, full gasketing, and whatever else they needed to use to accomplish that. I actually didn't need the...

I've heard lots of stories like that on the Olympus boards. Someone posted that at another show, they had the E-3 sitting in a clear plastic container full of water, fully submerged, and popped the same question whenever someone came by to take a look. Other people recount stories about...

And with that, I should probably mention that I just bought an E-3. I found a great deal on an almost new demo model at a local shop, bargained with the guy, and the rest is history. After testing it out last night, I have to say that I finally have an Olympus body that is not frustrating...

It's kinda spooky how dd and Tannin say that, because up until the last month or so, i have always loved wide angle photography. The Olympus 11-22 (15-30 on APS-C) was my favourite lens and the lens I used for 90% of my shots on vacation. Now, I also find myself wanting to frame tighter and...

I am comforted to know that in the 4 years since the E-1 was launched, Olympus managed to catch up to the previous generation of bodies from Nikon and Canon. It follows that in 2011, Olympus will come out with a body to rival the D300 ;) That's kinda sad, but the D300 is a damn good body, and I...

This is a very important factor, double D. ... or 5D II as you mentioned in your latest post. Sounds like you do have a plan in place. Not that I should be surprised, as you have proven to be able to jump into new things and learn very quickly. Congratulations, dd! I totally understand about...

Very well said, Gilbo. I hear you. I always wondered why Nikon completely missed the boat on this one and has not shown any signs of addressing this in the future. You mentioned the 16-85/VR. It is an excellent lens optically and gives consumers a sorely needed option to have 16 mm on the wide...

IMO, one should have a long-term vision / plan for their camera equipment purchases. What camera / lens will you need / want in the future? Do the current offerings get you significantly closer to your ideal / desires? As an example, an important long-term vision for me includes: - IS...

... or, should you find a new 350D for a bargain price, I would recommend that as well.

Can't say I am an authority on Canons, but I am not a big fan of the Rebel series (350-450D). My friend has a 400D (Rebel XTi) and he consistently seems to have more problems with exposure and metering than I do. The grip is way too small, and you will notice it when you have a heavier lens...

dd, perhaps you should consider selling all your Canon gear and get a Fuji S5 Pro at a great price these days. They're clearing out the S5 Pro these days for ridiculously low prices. That camera used to cost $2,000. Now it's selling for $1,000 as rumours have been swirling about Fuji's exit from...

T (as Christopher Moltisanti likes to say on the Sopranos), well-reasoned rationale as always. Being also an Olympus user these days, I always hear people waxing about their E-1's and how they miss that glorious Kodak sensor and how 5 MP is just fine, thank you very much. I acquired a used E-1...

Why would you spend that much money fixing an obsolete body? Just buy another one of Tony's hand-me-downs ;)

uda, Forgot if this was discussed already, but have you tried image stacking as a way to increase DOF without bothering with T/S lenses? I've tried it with decent results to increase resolution and reduce noise, but haven't tried it for the purpose of increasing DOF.

Yeah, camera bags tend to be a dead giveaway if you know what to look for. And like udaman said / implied, you are probably going to look like a tourist no matter what. Being a local is not something you can just pick up through intensive language courses and adopting the local fashion. It...

RE: condoms, I'm not so sure that promoting a barrier method of contraception that the male has to use is an effective form of birth control in these countries. The men usually don't want to use it, and the women usually aren't able to force them to. I think a long-acting contraceptive that the...

I think India needs to step up their efforts here. China long ago implemented a one child policy. While controversial and causing problems of its own, it has arguably been effective. While China's population growth has been controlled as a result, India's is still a bit of a runaway train, on...

You mean lighting wise, LM?

LM, I forgot about EXIF Tool, a command line program that you can use to easily strip EXIF and all such metadata from any given file or directory by issuing a command like: exiftool -all= *.jpg http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

udaman, I fixed the boxer shot from the XSi for you:

If you save at maximum quality, doesn't it more or less leave your image alone?

The corner performance of the Canon is better in both sharpness and CA. The Sigma has interesting distortion characteristics. By interesting, I mean that average distortion is actually pretty low for an ultra wide, but its characteristics are complex. Basically, each quadrant of the image is...