My birthday is approaching, and I've decided I want to get a CP for my gear bag! I have a Canon 7D with a few lenses. The main lens I want the CP for is my 24-105mm "L" lens, which requires a 77mm filter. All my other lenses are smaller so if I ever have a need to use the CP on them I could use step rings to adapt this filter for the smaller diameter lenses.

Trying to decide which brand/type of CP to get is confusing to say the least. Currently I "think" I'm looking at either the B+W Kaesemann CP with Multi-Resistant Coating, or the XS-Pro version for a bit more.

Other CPs I've looked at are those by Tiffen (relatively cheap) and Hoya. Would be interested in thoughts on the B+W (or the others), especially from anyone with first-hand experience with these filters.

Thanks

As I seem to get more forgetful with the passing of time I find I need to sometimes have a reference manual with me when I am not at home and my real books are not available. I have been considering a Kindle reader(which I already have in Black & gray) or an iPad. The disadvantage to the owned kindle is there is no color, only black letters on gray. Does it make sense to spend money on an iPad or should I consider some other type of e reader?

Thanks in advance for the interesting answers.

The recent post by lukan “What is your best/favorite local camera store?” got me thinking. Glad to hear there are some good bricks and mortar stores left.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-196290-1.html

If you still have a local camera store with knowledgeable salespeople and a decent inventory of at least Nikon and Canon gear, do you purchase your photo gear locally? Do you shop online? Or both?

If your local camera store had a certain lens/camera priced slightly higher than Adorama/Amazon/B&H, would you buy local or buy online?

If your local store had a certain lens/camera at the same price as Adorama/Amazon/B&H, but you had to pay sales tax, would you shop local or buy online to escape the tax?

[When I file my Wisconsin income tax, there is a line on the form asking if I bought anything online from out-of-state but paid no sales tax. If so, I am expected to be honest and list the total amount and pay Wisconsin Use Tax on it at same rate as WI sales tax, 5.6% for where I live. It is tempting to put down a smaller number or even $0.]

If your local camera store had a certain lens/camera priced slightly higher than Adorama/Amazon/B&H, would you buy local or buy online?

I assume most of us would buy online if the price difference was significant or if the item was not available locally.

This was not directed at you, it was for the "experts" out there.

Everything you wrote makes perfect sense. And you are correct in assuming that sensor crop is similar to post crop.

Contrary to what Amehta wrote, using a FF in DX mode doesn't change the amount of light, just the effective angle of view, and diminish the amount of cropping needed for the final image in some cases. Using the full sensor gives you little advantage if you will be cropping in post anyway, since in either case you will end up with fewer pixels. Cropping a sensor and cropping in post are similar. If you shoot a headshot where the image is 20 mm from chin to top of head on the sensor, you will have to shoot it in portrait orientation with the cropped sensor but would be able to shoot it in landscape orientation with the full sensor. The light would not change at all, and if you wanted a nice 8x10 of that headshot, you will use the same amount of image area, but you will obviously crop more with the full frame image. But the final shot will be identical, regardless of whether you cropped the sensor or not. With a given focal length and camera to sensor distance, the magnification of the image will not change, nor will the number of pixels required to create the final printed image.

And Peekayoh missed something as well. Using a tele extender enlarges the image on the sensor, so you have the same number of pixels and same amount of detail (assuming a good match between the lens and the extender) but a smaller angle of view, as opposed to cropping. which will degrade the image by discarding information as you pointed out for the cropping.

Steve, clearly your intuition and experience have not failed you. No matter what the "experts" say. Sorry experts - you missed the mark on this one.

Can I still be included in the list of those you like? :)

well if it was a still picture you missed out on nothing . as you have got everything that the light has brought to light the scene . but if it was moving
you have only missed those intervals in between each shot , which amounts to very little . a video camera takes 24 to 30 frames a second . and there's spaces between each frame that there is nothing . you would have to shoot a moving bullet with a strobe lite to see it . even your tv is going on and off , but it is so fast you don't see it . just wave your hand up and down in front of your tv and you will see it blinking on and off on your fingers .