Agreed, but around here winter nights are also much colder then summer nights! In case you think I've turned into a "winter wimp" after all these years and all these winters, let me assure you that you are correct!

Have you tried a different lens on the camera? Your camera issue could be a lens issue.

I tried that years ago. Shot a half roll of Ektachrome with the lens cap on. No lens flare of any kind!

As I understand it you are looking for lens recommendations. We will be going to Hawaii in Nov for 10 days. (Haven't been there since '69. Wonder if it's changed?). In fact, my carryon is always my backpack with as much gear in it as I can fit. My 70D has a cropped sensor so some of my choices may differ sightly from yours, which I believe is a full frame. Anyway: 24mm f1.4 for indoor and landscapes. Either my 17-40 or 24-70 for walking around and my 70-300 for those long shots that are bound to appear. If I have room I may also take my 35mm and my 60mm macro, but they are not priorities. We will be on Oahu visiting, among other things, the ships and indoor military displays of Pearl Harbor so my needs may be somewhat different then yours. Spent a week in Bora Bora in 2012. Incredibly beautiful. If you have a circular polarizing filter be sure to take it. Or buy one. A good quality one. Can make a tremendous difference in your photos since you will be constantly near the water and the reflections it produces.

You want circular, not linear for reasons already noted by others. I just posted 2 photos on the thread "CPL filters dazed and confused". They illustrate what a circular polarizing filter can do. Primarily when you are shooting in a highly reflective situation. Water, snow, metalwork, etc. They aren't necessary for every shot but there are times when they are very handy.

We used to use them all the time on the farm when I was a kid! As I recall, there were some that were quite good for wheat also. Now I believe they mainly use them for those circle things in England that they are always showing on TV.

Seriously, one of the most noticable differences between full frame and cropped is the effect on the lens. A cropped will always have a focal length conversion factor. My Canon 70D has a factor (or ratio, if you like) of 1.6, meaning that you take the stated focal length of whatever lens you have and multiply by that factor. My 70-300mm lens is actually 112-480mm on my 70D but would be 70-300mm on a fullframe. Depending on what and where you are shooting that can be an advantage or hinderance. As far as I know, all of the real top-dollar professional DSLRs are fullframe.
Let me restate this a bit: A 70-300mm, or anyother lens is still a 70-300 or whatever it may be, but the effect on your photo is quite different. I have a 35mm prime that I use indoors a lot but it produces a considerably narrower shot on my clipped sensor then it would on a full frame. Because of that, one of my next lens purchases will be a 24mm.

I assume you are referring to a circular polarizing filter. They can produce excellent results if used properly, but not all of your shots will benefit. Such as the one you attached. You get the most benefit when your lens is 90 degrees to the sun. The least when pointing at the sun. So, at noon you can get full effect shooting in any direction, but in early morning or late afternoon you pretty much need to be shooting to the east or west. The 2 photos I attached were shot moments apart. The 1st with a filter, the 2nd without. The color rendition of the 1st is far more accurate then the 2nd. I use Hoya HD2 series CP filters. Their optical qualities are outstanding and their light transmission is among the best, something that can be an issue with cheaper ones. They are expensive and I certainly won't try to tell that there aren't cheaper ones that won't do the job as well. I merely prefer Hoya for all my filters. I hope I understood your question and gave you some useful info.

With CP filter


Without CP filter

The contrast provided by B&W can make some photos really standout. Especially if done by someone who knows what they are doing. I suggest you select a group of your own photos, ones that you think might qualify, and convert them to B&W. Compare them to the originals and I wouldn't be surprised if you find at least one that impresses you.

Was there a difference in the lenses of the 2 cameras? Was one a 1.4 vs a 2.8, for example? That could certainly change your shutter speed. Did you check the meta data of the different photos to see what you were actually shooting at?

Absolutely beautiful! You have just given me something else to try this summer.

The problem is not directly caused by the focal length. It has to do with the viewing angle of the lens. All lenses have specific viewing angles. Check your lens spec. The wider the angle the more easily the lens is affected by anything around its perimiter. On a zoom lens the viewing angle lessens as you increase the focal length, thus eliminating the problem as the focal length increases. An ultra-wide angle lens will require an entirely different hood then a standard lens of the same focal length. The same is true for filters and lens protector. Thin frame filters and protectors are usually a necessity on wide angle lenses.

Well, in a way then, we share the same name! Beats my interpretation by a long shot. Back in high school I thought Virgo stood for virgin! Well, actually it did, come to think of it!

Glad to be of help. No one knows everything about pretty nearly any computer program, much less something as complicated as the photoshop family. Years ago I took a basic Photoshop course. The instructor, who seemed quite competent, was showing us how to use layers. She had us switching layers by clicking on something in the menu or someplace at the top of the page. I discovered that if I clicked on an element in a layer other then the layer I was working on that it would take me to that layer. I asked her why we couldn't switch layers in that manner. She wasn't aware of that feature. So, as I stated, nobody knows it all. Especially me. That's the only thing I remember from the class!

Glad to be of help!

I see we share the same month and day of birth.

Page 594. I have the book on my Nook. It states that you have to create an Adobe ID OR sign in (and be online), or Elements will stop working in 7 days. Apparently, as long as you have already established an Adobe ID the program will recognize that fact even if you are not online. I don't know how you can be online and sign in without an ID, so my guess would be that the only actual requirement is that you have an ID. The only statement in the book that I could find requiring you to be online was during installation.