Becoming a DSLR aficianodo..

[W1GUH]

My foray into digital photography has been pretty much pocket-sized cameras for the convenience and for the fact that they take great pics (especially the Canon G series..the "Liecas" of range finder digital cams? I think so.) and can go where a DSLR can't, at least conveniently.

But since his passing I can't put the DSLR I bough from Albi down. All the pix I posted lately are done with it & today I took it over to Best Buy to get a gadget bag over it. Took shot after shot of the neighborhood on the way over and back. Also, soon's I got it I got the 55-250 IS lens for it. Can't to THAT with a pocket camera!

I'm getting hooked. Probably take a stroll around the city on Christmas day going crazy with it.

R.I.P, dear friend.

[KG4CGC]

I like using a tripod for night shots. Experiment in the manual mode. Once you get the hang of it, the results are both beautiful and eerie. The bulb of your shutter and a watch are your friends.

[kf0rt]

Cool stuff, Paul. Be sure to share the ones you like!

[W1GUH]

I like using a tripod for night shots. Experiment in the manual mode. Once you get the hang of it, the results are both beautiful and eerie. The bulb of your shutter and a watch are your friends.

[W1GUH]

Cool stuff, Paul. Be sure to share the ones you like!

Sure Will!

[N8YX]

I'm going to be in the market for a D-series Canon or a Nikon some time in the next year or so. Had a lot of fun with a Pentax K1000 over the years, and now it's time to go digital.

[kf0rt]

You'll enjoy it, Fred. Long Pentax background here, too. Never had a K1000, but Spotmatics, K2's, ME's...

[K7SGJ]

It's too bad all of our old Pentax lens, of which we have a metric shitload, won't fit any of our DSLRs.

BTW I am thinking about getting my kid a camera axe for his Bday coming up. (I will borrow it often, of course) Do I need anything other than the axe kit? I seem to remember something about another board or additional something or another. Anything else you might recommend to enhance its use? Also, how many flash units do you use? Thanx

[kf0rt]

Sold off most of the Pentax stuff, but still have a few exotic lenses and my old 645 stuff. I'm thinking the days of film here are long gone.

As for the Camera Axe... The little kit (which is what I have) is basically an Arduino "shield." You still need the Arduino Uno controller which you can get here: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9950

I've found that a little wall-wart power supply is handy too:
http://www.amazon.com/12v-Power-Adap...5085610&sr=8-3

Much beyond that, it's all sensors and stuff. The water drop stuff is done with the valve "sensor." All in the store here:
http://www.dreamingrobots.com/store/...ain_page=index

You'll also need cables for whatever camera you use, flash cables, etc. (Yeah, it can get a little expensive.)

I've got the flash board (drives 4 strobes). Use three to light the water and one for the background, but still playing. It's pretty tricky getting a sharp picture because the water is moving fast. One of the keys to this is using manual strobes in low-power mode -- less power = shorter flash duration. The Yongnuo YN-560's seem to be really popular for this: http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-YN-560.../dp/B004GZLFHM -- they'll go down to 1/128 power. Kind of a HongKong knock-off of the Vivitar 285, but with a zoom head and better control (and a great price).

[K7SGJ]

Thanks for the info. I'll check it all out.