Cattleya, Hi there. Yeah, I haven't been on the C+S forum in a long time! Thanks for the compliment :) Speaking of which, your pics are gorgeous!! No such thing as irrelevant - speaking for myself, I love to see pics...and you have trees/plants in all your pics...so that's pretty relevant to me! By the way, when you see your fingerprints in a picture, you KNOW you can take a good pic! Congrats. Blackwyld, Got 2 questions for ya. First, what is the difference b/w SLR and a regular digital camera? I know that SLR is much better (and I can probably look up what SLR means and why it's better..but I thought I'd just ask you). Too bad I just bought a new camera before I saw your gorgeous pics! But it would be much too expensive for me right now anyway, which X-mas coming up. Second, what setting do you use to take those gorgeous flower pics? I like the in-focus flower pic and out-of-focus background. Thanks :) On a side note - it's funny that when I look back at my full jade plant pics, part of me actually likes the dark green foliage (in comparison to the light foliage it has changed into since being in the sun). I wish I could keep that dark green foliage with the added red tinge - oh well, not gonna complain! Gabi

Well, I have to wait for my PODS to arrive here on Dec.1st and then find my Sony cord to connect camera to computer. Why I lost touch with that and not in my computer bag, I haven't a clue. I took all these lovely pictures of my three original hosta still all pretty and nice in the garden bed covered with leaves, and duhhhhhh, there they sit untouchable in the Sony camera. The new Nikon P500 arrives on Nov 29th, I think Tuesday, and after I charge the battery, I'll be reshooting the same garden shots. As direct a comparison as I can make, provided we don't have a terrific freeze before then. I got a monopod and a tilting ball head. Incidentally, I decided on the Nikon because of my hands. I must have broken my left hand while loading the PODS to move, and it is quite painful and will not do things as it should. Not knowing if I will regain an adequate degree of use for a heavy camera, I opted to go with one having a fairly long zoom lens w/o so much weight. Being left-handed I've always been more ambidexterous than many folks who are right-handed, but some things you just MUST have both hands working right. Like pruning with hand clippers.

We have a Nikon D40X, which has been discontinued in favor of the D60. You know you can't beat a DSLR. Not only is the picture quality amazing at the fastest iso settings, there is absolutely no delay when you take a picture. As a matter of fact, if sports are important to you, 3 frames a second in continuous mode is what you'll want. It delivers. It's also nice to be able to change lenses. I look at it as upgradeable. There is a drawback, size. Because of the size and weight of the camera we actually just bought a compact to supplement. We use the compact for everyday type events and the Nikon for the bigger ones (as long as I'm the one carrying it around). Okay, why'd I tell you all that when your looking for a compact? Because our compact is an Olympus Stylus 1010 and the picture quality rivals the Nikon. Both are 10 megapixel cameras (actually the Olympus is 10.1). Of course we can do much more with the Nikon but the Olympus is much more convenient when traveling or just taking everyday shots. The Olympus cost us $400 with extended warranty, 2x 2gig xD memory chips, and bag. You can get a Nikon D60 for about $650 is you look hard enough. And D40X for a little less than that. Either one is under 4 digits. If you haven't already, take a look at the Olympus. Klaa2

Well, you can cut a hole in a large ziplock bag for the lens to protrude through, but be careful because it may make holding your camera slippery. I almost always keep the strap around my neck just in case, a pain, but a good habit. When you're done shooting, you need a little lens cleaning kit from a Camera store with tissues, solution, blower/brush, and cloth. I don't use the cloth because it might get gritty and scratch the lens, and I've had it too long. First I blow the lens without touching it and then very gently brush it. Then I put a couple of drops of solution on the special tissue and starting at the center, work in circles until you reach the edges. If it is still a little streaky, you can carefully do it again. When done, polish with a clean, fresh, dry tissue. Never apply fluid directly to the lens or get it near the edges and don't make your tissue too soggy. You don't want moisture to get inside the sealing. I'd send you to where I read up on this, had been doing this right along anyway, but I got reprimanded for mentioning another forum regarding something else, although others recommend the camera forum all the time here. Amazing what a fingerprint will do to a lens. I found out the hard way not to try to rub a smear off that way.