I thought you knew about it. I guess your deal got even better. Sweet lens, even better price.
Nice!
Can't wait to see what that lens is capable of outdoors.

I just started shooting in RAW format for better post processing of the photos. Damn it's sweet. I didnt realize how much more control you have over everything.
I highly recommend it, if you arent already.

I use Raw for anything really important (paying jobs, for example) or anything that I have my doubts about, exposure-wise. For example, indoors I use my old Vivitar flash mounted on the hotshoe (via a Wien SafeSync). Since it is not a TTL or ETTL flash, I have to manually dial in shutter/aperture/ISO close to what I think I'll need.

Later, in RAW, if I missed the exposure by a stop or two, I can adjust it and fix the problem. It's nice for correcting white balance issues, too.

Since we're sharing photos, here's one of my favorites from an outdoor portrait session that I had a blast doing. This was the first portrait session I did just after I got the DRebel, so it again was done with the venerable kit lens. 1/50th, f/5.6, ISO-100 @ 55mm.

I just got the Tamron also based on all the positive reviews I read. It's as good as everyone said, and oyu can't beat the price compared to the Canon L. I thought about the Canon but in the end was able to get the Tamron, the Canon 70-200 f/4 and the Tokina 12-24 for not a whole lot more than what the Canon alone cost.

Exactly... Sure it's an "L" lens, but shit... I can get 3 quality lenses (like the ones you listed) for the price of one... You've made the right choice Brian... I would have done the same...

So fellas... What RAW program are you guys using? I'm using Photoshop CS2 for all my post-processing... On the camera side, I set the configurations to record both the JPG and RAW image of each shot I take... Sure it takes alot of space, but with two 8GB CF cards I'm sure I can manage 500+ exposures per CF, no?! I doubt I'll ever do that many in one event... Never say never, though... Hehhehehhee...

Anyhoo, I left work early today to take the Tamron out for a quick spin... I'll post pics after I post-process them... Stay tuned!!

- Air B

I'm using Pixmantec Rawshooter Essentials . It is currently free, but that may change soon as Adobe has purchased Pixmantec's assets. The web page indicates that when Adobe Lightroom is released soon, Rawshooter will no longer be available.

At the very least, hurry and grab a copy for future use.

I am demo-ing Adobe Lightroom Beta. I really like it so far and makes my workflow faster. Go download it and check it out before it expires (I think in Jan 2007)

I've been using the canon 1 series programs. The ones that require a serial number.
It's called Canon Digital Photo Professional.
It seems to do the trick for quick Raw changes, for major work I'll use Photoshop CS2.

Excellent lens, I got one a few months ago, needed a good fast lens for pictures of my daugther's volleyball games. Lighting in the gyms leaves much to be desired for taking pictures.

I use Capture 1, great program. Both Mac and Windows versions, and the Windows version is almost as good as the Mac. Been using it since I got my 10D a few years ago. I've been playing with Aperture, just not familar with it yet, so haven't really formed an opinion on it yet.

Why take JPEG and RAW, what are you going to use the JPEG for? That's one thing I like about the 30D over the 10D is it allows you to eliminate the JPEG, this allows me to get about 500 shots on a 4GB card. Good enough to get through a soccer game, or a weekend campout with the scout troop.

RR... The 400D cannot record in RAW only format... The only options are "small", "medium", "large", and "large" + "raw" for image compression... Unless anyone knows how to have RAW only recording on the 400D, I guess this is the only option...

- Air B

Well my XTI was delivered this morning and $1000 of camera sits outside my house with no signature - Dumbass Fedex. Hopefully she is still there when the wife gets home shortly.

You gotta love that. UPS, FedEx and DHL all do that at my house. Nothing like a box sitting on your porch that screams "steal me".

That sucks about the delivery to your house. I hope it was still there.
All of the big ticket items get sent to my office. I dont trust anything being left at my house. Too easy to walk off with.
At least if the box is destroyed or banged up, you can refuse delivery when they hand it to you.
Can't exactly do that if it's been sitting at your house for half the day.

Wife got home and the box was on the doorstep, not even hidden behind the trash can or out of sight. So much for the requirements all over Beachcamera.com's site saying that all deliveries must be signed for! lol. She advises everything is in good shape, the battery is on charge - so we should have a few sample shots hopefully this evening.

Sweet, let us know your impression of the XTi. I've been wanting a DSLR for a while but I'm a noob and can't decide on what would be a good starter camera.

I dunno if its been mentioned in this thread yet - but Nikon announced a new entry level DSLR recently....

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0611/06111603nikond40handsonpreview.asp

Not bad specs for a $600 camera with kit lens. Looks like a contender. Will be interesting to see if Canon volleys back.

Hmmm... That D40 sure looks pretty good for and entry level dSLR... And the price is just about right for all those features... And then some!!!

- Air B

Hey Rinky... Glad to hear that your package is fine!! Be sure to post some sample shots when you get a chance... I gotta do the same with the sample shots I took with the Tamron!! Be back soon!!!

- Air B

Yeah - for that price - I might be able to overlook that my 50mm f1.8D will only be able to work as a manual focus.


I'm sure removing the focusing motor was a cost saving move, but this camera will surely grab Nikon more of the market share with entry level users. If those new users are happy - they will likely upgrade to a Nikon D??? in the future.

The mini SB-400 looks interesting too. I think it's compatible with the Nikon CLS system and if the price is right - I might pick one up. (only if its cheaper than the SB-600 at $190)

Nikon and Canon have been sending volleys back and forth for years now. With each volley the bar gets set higher and the price for consumers get lower.

People like us benefit from these pretty evenly matched competition.

Yup. Canon had the ball in their court when I was purchasing. At the time, the lowest price Nikon DSLR was a D70 at about $1,200 w/kit lens. The DRebel was about $900. In my case, Canon won that serve.

Hard to say which camera I'd have if I had waited about 3 months later when the D50 came out.

Took a few pics last night with the new camera, need to get a good UV filter for the Kit lens, I already had a nice Hoya UV filter for the 50mm lens.

Any of you guys use CF Microdrives for storage, or do those suckers use to much battery power compared to solid state CF Memory? Just wondered because there are alot of 6Gb Seagate CFII Microdrives available on Ebay for like $50, which seems like a pretty good deal

I know the UV filter issue is similar to the round vs. square headlight issue here. Personally, I don't bother putting them on my lenses, but you're welcome to your own opinion. On the other hand, I rarely shoot in conditions in which a protective filter might benefit (blowing sand, surf, etc.).

I use only solid-state flash memory myself. Yeah, I was looking at the Seagate microdrives today at Fry's. 6G's were around $70. I'm just leary of something that tiny being fragile for some reason. Battery drain wouldn't be as much an issue with me since I use a battery grip. Still, I'm just afraid of failure ruining a whole day's (or worse yet, a whole vacation's) pictures for me.

Rinky... To re-iterate what Xorand states; Unless you're really in harsh elements that will blow debris and such on your lens (like the beach or a windy day in Chicago), you normally would not need a UV filter... A "flower-shaped" hood lens will be sufficient enough to block out unwanted stray light coming into your camera

Now, if you are going to get one for "protective" purposes, stick with the top manufacturers like Hoya (Pro Line Series), B+W, and Heliopan... Don't you EVER buy the ones made by Quantaray (ie. Buy 3 get 1 free at Ritz Camera Stores)... Quantaray uses cheap plastics/glass with the results of losing about 15-20% of image quality... If you're gonna buy one, ante up the $$$ and get one from the manufacturers I mentioned above...

As for microdrives, IMHO, I wouldn't take that route... To many moving parts in there which increases "wear-and-tear" on it... On top of which, they don't write as fast (when shooting in "burst" mode) as a highspeed CF card... Just stick with the CF cards... I purchased two Transcend 8GB 120x CF cards from Fry's @ $139/each... If you don't have a Fry's store near you, go online and search for "Transcend"... It should be there... If you're gonna go in the 2GB/4GB capacity range, check your local electronic stores... They usually have weekly sales on them... That storage range is creeping up to the "standard" size capacity range for most of todays high megapixel digital cameras (SLR's and P&S)...

- Air B

No, the photographer makes the shot.