shep

All this cross over between DSLR and video is interesting, but not as interesting to me as the talk of HDR sensors in the future. I'm not sure how well it would work in video, but for still shots it will be a different world when mfgs start coming out with cameras that can capture 10 or 12 EV's with one shot. The print side of HDR will lag behind (or maybe never get there) with these new technologies, but for output to screen or projection, it should be amazing and fun too!

Funny how we, as intelligent beings, are all trying to figure out how to meet the energy needs of 6.5 billion now and 9 billion by 2050! Help me here, am I the only one out here who thinks this is completely nutty thinking? What ever happened to the idea that famine, war, and disease would be the best solution to all of this energy, pollution mess? There wouldn't be a shortage of "anything" if there were, say 1.5 billion people in the world again. (Here's hoping) With any luck, "the Universe" will, as it has done so in the far, distant past, take care of "problem" of balance in the grand scheme of things. Just ask the dinosaurs or the millions of other species that have come and gone on this planet alone. Few things stuck with me from my university years, except this one statement from a biology prof., "species go away because they are unable to adapt to the changes in their environment". We're watching it happen now with say Polar Bears and most other mammals on the planet (insert hint here- it's the mammals that are disappearing the fastest). No, it's not gruesome, fatalist thinking, it's just the way things REALLY work. Every time we, as humans, think we can get a handle on mother nature and reign in it's power, something blows up in our face. We are not masters of our domain- and yet here we go running around like ants on a stirred up ant hill, following our scientists who think they know what's going on. The joke, is on us, once again.

I hope you got a model release from the WS.

This is an interesting read and argument on the current oil market... http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/06/news/econo...sion=2008060610

Here in Australia this morning, if you need to buy diesel at the Rabbit Flat Roadhouse in the Northern Territory you'll pay $3.00 a liter.....that's US $10.50 a gallon!! I think the bigger worry is airlines cutting flights and parking planes. Qantas just announced cutting routes to the US and Japan to Cairns that amounts to around 1,500 people a day- and that spells potential disaster for dive operators already dealing with fuel costs, and a slowing world economy. The same thing is happening elsewhere and it will become tougher to get "there from here" in the future- adding to the cost of holiday travel. Hold on to your shorts- we're in for a long ride. In the past when a slow- down happened in the US things around the world slowed down too- that's not the case now with China and India keeping up the demand for fuel and other resources. We may be looking back on these days in the next 5 years as "the good old days."

I think I know that blow up doll.

WISH LIST...it'd probably never happen (hey L&M R&D, why not?) but it'd sure be nice to have a filter that does to "cyan" what the Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter does for neutral density... http://www.singh-ray.com/varind.html You could just kinda dial in what would work depending on the condition. shep

Roger, The FX7 and V1 have ND filters built in.

I don't know if you intend on using your D300 for underwater macro, but if you do and you buy a 60mm or 105mm- they will have aperture rings and could potentially have the same problem I had. It may be worth, before the return period runs out, to go to a camera shop and put a AF "D" lens on the camera, just to make sure. cheers, shep

Drew makes an excellent point. I have the V1 when I actually was thinking about the FX1- the decision for me was made by the airlines. The luggage rule changes going on the in the US at the moment are incremental, just like they have been for us down in Australia and Asia. I just flew with Virgin Atlantic to Hong Kong. They weighed our carry- on, 6 kilo limit and we were allowed only 20 kilos per person- here's the "ripper"- Every kilo over 20 kilos is $20US A KILO!!!! That's a one way charge so a return trip is $40 a kilo- and that adds up fast. So this isn't a luggage cost thread so much as part of the decision making process for a camera/ housing also needs to include size and weight limits- and not just what they are now, but what they will be in the near future. The free ride in the US on carriers is about to end and get worse than you might imagine. Qantas, BA, and 99% of all other Asian carriers, including Singapore Air are going to these high over- limit rates- the US will follow within a short time..... Our last trip to Indonesia, even with going "lighter" cost us in excess luggage fees of $400, each way, for luggage- BTW, that was Singapore Airlines- it's at their discretion and it seems to vary from agent to agent and just how booked up the flight is. You should be happy with the V1!

No, the V1 does not use LCD touch screen to change functions. I have the V1 and have been using it for just a few months, but I very much like the camera. As for the FX7, I can't comment, but hopefully ronscuba will chime in- he uses an FX7 and does a great job with it. We're here in Hong Kong at the moment and there's FX7's everywhere in the shops. There are no shortages of FX7's or V1's for that matter. I previously owned a TRV950 and have really enjoyed the "upgrade" to my V1. shep

Amazon is giving me a credit on me credit card as they are out of D300's at the moment. There are other suppliers on Amazon that have the D300, but I bought the D300 from Amazon itself. As for buying a Canon, I have a boat load of Nikon lenses which prompted me to stick with Nikon as Canon made everyone who bought Digital to get new glass and dump all their old glass- that wasn't cool. The issue with the camera is not a firmware problem, at least as far as I've been able to tell online- it has something to do with "live view" believe it or not! Anyway, if there is going to be a firmware fix I believe Nikon would have already done it- this problem is months and months old. Again, Amazon has a 30 day return policy and it's been 6 months for me, but because I buy a lot from them I believe they are doing right by me and going beyond their policy to make it right- now that's response! cheers, shep

Good info Drew.....I'll look into them tomorrow. It sounds like Weibetech is a good way to go- thanks for some direction. I like the looks of the GTech FW800, but you have mentioned they are "pretty slow" compared to the eSata, right? shep

Update.... Amazon wrote to me today and they've done some looking into the situation and they are making an exception for me- they are letting me ship back the camera body that was purchased 6 months ago and they are giving me a full refund! Hats off to Amazon! shep

Must....resist....urge....to....buy.....MBP.....nope, couldn't do it! I'm typing this reply on my new 17" MBP, 2.6GHz, 4gb RAM, 200MB 7200RPM, LCD HD screen, with hard case (got it Loftus-it is "tough). In HK I saved over $300 off the retail price if I bought in the US- go figure, i guess that's what "pushed me over the edge" to get a machine now and not wait until Jan or longer... So, I have a recommendation on the eSATA express card- what eSATA drives out there have a compact case to hold 2TB's for RAID? Drew recommended a company that had FW800 RAID- I'll take a look and see if they have the eSATA too. Anyone else? thanks for all your help, you who post! And Wagsy...you know that the Qantas gorillas are not happy with pay and lack of help- I personally think they are man handling stuff much worse than ever....Qantas used to be pretty gentle- that's out the window! They are fixing two of the three pieces they trashed last week! oh well. shep