SOOC. Sharpened, cropped and converted to JPG.

Exactly. I didn't say we COULDN'T, I said we DIDN'T. Over-regulated, over-taxed, over-burdened. Heavy industry is simply not a thing we do anymore.

If the regular, pan & elevate head on your tripod comes off, then you can probably mount almost any B/H - look for some set screws or some other mechanism that allows you to remove the thing with the lever arms. Or it may unscrew.

Here are some shots that may help you. This is not your model tripod, but they are all very similar, since many companies make ballheads, gimbal mounts, etc to fit on many other companies legs.

Only when I'm not bitching about dealership labor rates, food additives, Italian cruise ships, and god knows what else...

I knew that. I just used some literary license, since I thought many people wouldn't know who Robert Iger is....

And if there's anyone here with foil on their head, it sure as hell isn't me.. :)

Two Lips ?

Define "fair share" - and who determines fair? You? or Roy Disney? Or the thousands of American employees they have? Or the thousands they employ overseas? Or me?

And even after you've defined it, how do you know WDC is NOT paying its fair share already?

And remember, if you boycott WDC, that means boycotting ABC, ESPN, and a host of other non-theme park related companies. Do you really want to put that many people out of work?

The only real hard and fast rule is to format the memory card in the camera when you need to. Formatting in-camera ensures that any camera-specific stuff gets taken care of that MIGHT not be done it you stick the card in your PC and format it there. You don't need to do it every time you take three shots and move them to the PC.

Formatting erases a thing called the FAT, or File Allocation Table, that's more or less a table of contents of the disk. It does NOT necessarily erase the space that files take up. It simply marks that space as 'usable'.

On a brand new disk, or large cap card, it may take a few minutes the very first time you do it. This is because the disk needs to be segmented out in to the blocks and tracks that are the low-level storage units.

When you DELETE a file, the file management system simply marks the space (e.g. the above mentioned blocks and tracks) in the FAT, as usable

If you use a lower-capacity card, or find you fill it a lot, then yes, format more often. Or be a man and buy a bigger card. But it's unnecessary to format the card when it's only 20% full.

Sample FAT, extremely simplified:

Block 1 - File001
Block 2 - File001 (e.g, another chunk of file1)
Block 3 - File001
.
.
.
Block 27 - File2
Block 27 - File2
Block 29 - File3
Block 30 - File3
etc etc etc

If the BLOCKS are smaller than the FILE, then obviously, each file would have to span one or more blocks. This is common, as blocks tend to be small, like 1K or maybe 2K in size. Every disk/camera/OS is different.

After you format, the FAT looks like this:

Block 1 - FREE
Block 2 - FREE
Block 3 - FREE
etc etc etc.

So what's your point? The US no longer has shipyards that build cruise ships.Pretty much all we make any more are subs and small G/M frigates. Plus, I'd venture to guess the skilled shipyard workers in Italy and Germany make damn near as much as their brethren in the US. If you want Walt to build his ships in the US, no one is stopping you from opening up a shipyard that meets their quality standards and underbidding the other yards.

You have a bit of a point, but ND filters allow you to do things with shutter speed that bracketing exposures generally does not. Plus, creating a good HDR image takes PP skill that many people don't have. (Points to Self).

It's an eyepiece for a telescope. Without the 'scope, it's relatively useless. It's possible the tripod you bought held a telescope at one time....

The Canon 28-135mm lens is perfectly capable of taking sharp, in-focus images. Go to Flickr and do a search on 'Canon 28-135mm' and look at some of the posted samples.

I would examine technique, especially if you have had the lens and camera to Canon and they pronounced them OK. Believe me, if there was any problem with either component, Canon would have found a reason to announce it and bill you appropriately.

Singh-Ray makes a very well reviewed Variable ND that sells for around $400. It may be the one Bridges is referring to.
Other mfg's make them for significantly less. You can find them on eBay and Amazon for $40-$100 or so. I got one a few months ago for the low end of that price scale, but have not played with it yet.

They are little more than TWO circular polarizers put together.

Buy an inexpensive one and play with it. Since the ND's primary purpose is to DECREASE the amount of light getting through, it is my personal opinion that a fairly decent CHEAP one is perfectly fine, so long as it it does not have huge optical defects.

You wanna chat about grandkids, or get camera advice?...lol :)

Welcome to the Hog.

In Re: Your 50D and "soft" pictures.

1) put your camera on a tripod or a good, solid, steady base. Like a concrete wall.
2) Turn on Mirror Lock up in the Menu (Custom Function 3, Option 6 - "ENABLE")
3) Turn ON autofocus on the lens.
4) If the lens has IS, turn it OFF
5) Point the thing at something about 20 feet away that is relatively bright and shiny, like maybe a car.
6) Take a picture using the 2-second delay.

This setup will eliminate camera shake as a cause of your blurry pictures. If the picture still has soft focus, then you have two options.

It's either the lens, or the camera.

1) switch lenses and try again.

Still soft? Its the camera.

2) Not soft? It's the lens.

If the first set are acceptably sharp and focused, it's YOU shaking the camera, even minimally, when you press the shutter button.

1) Calm down.

Zeiss is one of the oldest and most respected brands in all of photography. Why would you shy away from them? Even if they don't specifically MAKE the damn things, I have a feeling they don't allow just any old schmuck to make crap and put "Zeiss" on the box.