I'm here and I know how to do this :) Results will be approximate of course, but close enough for our needs as plant growers. You need a piece of white paper or card. You need to set your camera to point-metering mode so that it is only measuring the light at the centre of the view. You also need to use a shooting mode that shows you the ISO speed, F-stop and exposure, or allows you to fix some settings and shows you the rest. So, put the paper/card at the spot to be measured and point your camera at it with the metering spot on the card. You will probably need to press the button down halfway to get the camera to measure. Read off the ISO speed (I), the F-stop (F), and the exposure in seconds (E). Focus doesn't matter. Telephoto, zoom, or macro modes don't make any difference, but may reduce the availabe settings the camera can pick. Just make sure the metering spot is completely filled with the white card. The light intensity in foot-candles is given by: 6*F^2/(I*E) As an example, if the speed is ISO 50, the F-stop F/2.8, and the exposure 1/500 sec, then the intensity in foot-candles is: 6 * 2.8 * 2.8 / (50 * 1/500) = 470 foot-candles Try it and feel free to come back with any questions or comments.

Thanks! Maybe others can help me with the names of the other two? I was told by the vendor of plant #1 that this 'ornamental' plant is called 'money tree' and it bears edible red berries. For plant #2, the vendor (a different one) told me the plant is also called 'money tree' and that it bears variable colored fruits (also an ornamental plant). Now this is confusing... How can two different plants be called by the same name? Anyway, let me try to post the photos again: 1) 2) 3) (Umbrella plant... Thanks eloise!)

When I first bought this camera I was a little apprehensive about its lack of image stabilization, but I'm happy to report that it has not been an issue at all. Just make sure to use a fast shutter speed and practice holding the camera steady. I always hold my breath and concentrate on keeping still. After a while it becomes second nature. The ni-mhs should have their rating printed right on them. If yours are 1500, I would definitely step up to at the very least 2000---1500s will definitely work, but just not as long. Don't pay attention to the advertising fluff on the packaging; just look for the numeric ratings. Interesting you mentioned hummingirds. That's the main reason I bought this camera. We have lots of them because our house is decorated with many flowers. I just haven't had the chance to try and capture these birds through the lens yet. It takes some planning and luck because it's not easy getting close to these guys. A tripod and the lowest ASA 64/fastest shutter speed combination are important.

Its a Win XP thingy. This feature showed up on my computer after I upgraded from Win98 SE to Windows XP. The information is stored in the header of the photo file and can be displayed by WinXP so long as the original file format remains. Often, processing a photo file(adjusting colors for example) and then rewiting the file eliminates the header information unless the editing software is designed to retain the header. So you may have photo files that will display the header and some that may not. This is one of the reasons you should NEVER write a file to a memory card that is used by your camera. It contains special formatting peculiar to your particular camera. Writing to the card with something other than the camera itself may upset the card format.