I have used a Flashpoint grip from Adorama on my Canon 50Dfor many years without any problems at all. Cost was under $70.00 and the comparable grip from Canon was over $250.00. I'd go for the less expensive from a good retailer like Adorama or B&H

Rob:
I would recommend PSE even though you think its more than you need and takes some time to learn. You'll grow into it.
If you take a lot of photos, Lightroom 4 is great for basic editing and organizing. Photoshop is great, but has a steep learning curve.

A bit off topic, but love the cat in your picture.

I save photos to a dedicated, external hard drive and back them up to separate external drive (you can do this automatically in LR 3 & 4 with each import). I have an HP "Simple Save" drive running in tandem with my C drive that auto backs up all of my data. Not too expensive and the external drives can be easily kept in a safe place.

Granted thing have gotten a little tense since 9/11 and Mr. Bush's war on civil rights, but let common sense prevail. If in doubt, ask someone in authority;don't skulk around; and carrying the photographer's card can help, but don't brandish it. If things begin to go south, better to walk away.

Just one minor point; if you wear glasses when shooting (as I do) and change to sun glasses when out of doors, don't wear polarized sun glasses and attempt to use a polarizing filter. Your view thru the view finder will look dark and mottled with blue and green blotches. Take off the sun glasses, then shoot.

I agree, personally I think one ought to be able to look at a portrait and recognize it as a person, not a pastel drawing of a person. Too much post processing is just that...too much.

I use it and it works as advertised. Just a quick shot at the beginning of the shoot and you're done. When importing to Lightroom a single click sets the white balance and then you can easily tweak colors.

I have used them on several occassions and have been well satisfied each time. Good quality, quick service, and they will let you know if your file is outside of the parameters needed for a good poster. You might check out Shutterbug or Pop Photo as they often advertise and have a first time user's discount.

Have been using this lens for several years and I love it. VC works very well,but still use a tripod whenever you can.
86mm CP is correct.

I would agree with Hey Joe, but my favorite longer lens is my Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 with Image Stabilization. I saw one at Adorma Camera, used for about $800.00.

I might suggest Scott Kelby's Triology "The Digital Photography Book, Vols. 1,2,& 3" I loved them, learned a lot and a great "how to do it" approach. They are available on Amazon or through KelbyTraining.com. You might also want to check out your local county's continuing education. Here in Chesterfield County, VA there is a very good course called "Digital Photography" well suited to both beginners and intermediate users. Just keep taking pictures of your dogs and you'll get the hang of it.

You've got that right. I've had to turn off the auto update feature and just remind myself to up date every week or so. Even then I'm still leary.

I use an older PC with an AMD Quad Core Processor, 12GB RAM, and a 1TB 7200RPM HD. I use an Nvidia Gforce card with 1GB video ram, all running under Windows 7. In addition I use a 32GB USB Drive in "redi-boost" which is easily activated in Windows. All of this allows me to run PS CS5 and Lightroom 4 with no real problem and the system is quite stable. I have used Corel in the past and its a great program for the cost, but I had access to a student so I got CS5 at a reasonable price. I'd love to have a Mac, but my PC has been doing the job fine for quite a while. Where I'd splurge would be for a high quality monitor and calibration system. Good Luck.

Thanks, drive thru NJ everysummer en route to Boston.