Iron_Dreamer

Gene, it was a several-second exposure on a tripod, just using the soft evening shade as lighting, with a Sigma 150mm macro lens. The Oak is one of the many lining Yosemite creek as it winds from the bottom of Yosemite Falls to join the Merced River.

Spent one day last week in Yosemite, mostly for my sister's birthday, but I had the chance to get a few nice spring shots in along the way: River of Oak Dreamy Dogwood Half Dome, Spring Glow

Yikes. And not that long after Brandon McCarthy last year, whose agent is a client of ours, and was quite shaken by that incident. Not that two is a huge trend, but it seems like there must be some sort of solution to at least slightly decrease the risk of these incidents. At least the big leaguers don't use aluminum bats!

Wishing you a most enjoyable and relaxing birthday Shelly!

Have a great birthday, KG!

I wouldn't worry too much about exposure bracketing with the D800. At base ISO, the files have so much dynamic range that there's really no need for it. If you'd bracket just to try to get the "right" exposure, you'd probably waste less shots and memory card space, and learn more, by just taking one shot at a time, and adjusting exposure based on what you see in the histograms.

That's quite the shocking video there...gosh...I hope they can manage to help everyone possible who were unfortunate enough to be hit with this.

Happy birthday, Jeffy!

While I'm here, here are a couple of shots from my trip to the desert last weekend:

Didn't realize you went with a D800. Yes, the files are huge! It is a very demanding camera in terms of shot discipline, hand-holding, focus accuracy, and even tripod technique. Just about any shortcut you take, or weakness your technique exhibits will be noticeable at 100% on screen. Be ready! That doesn't sound typical for a refurb body to me, based on the experience of folks I know who have bought them. I'd tend to go with just returning it and trying another one as well. The AF issue is hit-and-miss, and I don't think you can really go solely by serial number range.

The biggest practical difference will be size/weight. I'd recommend just going by B&H or the like and seeing which you'll be comfortable with. Being that you can get a 70-200/4 and an 85/1.8 for less than the cost of the 70-200/2.8, unless you REALLY need the zoom to be wider aperture, I'd vote against the f/2.8. The F/4 lens has more effective VR, is more flare resistant, way less focus breathing, better close-up abaility, and has sharper corners on FX (not that relevant to you). Another possibility, if you don't mind the weight of the f/2.8 and want to save a few bucks, is to get the earlier version of the 70-200/2.8, which has soft, dark corners on FX, but is brilliant on DX. This lens is easy to find used in the $1400 range, so $1000 off the new version, and none of the focus-breathing nonsense.

Yeah, I prefer the ergonomics and the sensors (at this point). I envy Canon for L-lens build quality, proper tilt-shift lenses (with adjustable axes), and service quality (at this point).

Exactly. Nikon -> Customer = At this point, I'm just hoping my gear keeps working right. I have no desire whatsoever to deal with Nikon service at this point. Being that their attitude to their customers continues to get worse and worse, I'd have an uphill climb to convince myself to spend any more money with them. I just wish someone in Japan would start associating the widespread complaints about their QC and customer service with all the sales its' likely costing them, and figure out that this isn't the path to higher profitability.

Shill!

FoxFi would be on top of my list, though I haven't used it with ATT.

Happy Birthday, Dan!

Very nice, Grahame and G-Mum! Bring us back something from Tesco, y'hear!

Still in the process of raising bike funds, but I'm definitely psyched to have one again.

Yeah, that price was SHOCKING!

I'd tend to agree with that, unless you need the higher frame rate of the D7100, especially in crop mode, or the higher pixel density for long lenses, or want the sharpest files with the least work (due to no AA-filter) but don't mind a little moire. The D600 will definitely be somewhat superior in most aspects of image quality, but the bigger, heavier, more expensive FX lenses will also come into play. If you're a high ISO junkie, the D600 is a no-brainer. I'm still wondering if they put out a higher-end DX camera. I think they should. Something with D800-level build quality, and 8-10FPS with a nice large buffer. I'm sure some wildlife guys would go bonkers for say 12FPS on an effective 2x crop (from full-frame). Or have the officially ceded that market to Canon?

I can't imagine that helped! Happy belated Steve!

Happy birthday, King Colin of Castro!

That was my impression, not that I really know what to look for Thanks for the advice thus far, if any of you know a good site/guide to get me learning up on these matters I'm all ears.

As much as I'd love to be able to spend more, I'm really tight right now. $1k is out of the question. Sub-$500 would be preferred, which is why I was thinking second-hand, or is that even a good idea in this arena?

Hey guys and gals, what are your suggestions for me on an inexpensive but decent road bike for twiddling around the streets of LA? It's been a long time since I had a bike, but you all have certainly riled up the desire, combined with living in the city for a while without a car. Best bet on where to find something second-hand that'll take care of me for a while? Thanks....b1ke n00b!