Entering this macro forum makes me feel as I did the first time I ventured into a Catholic church -- I really was not sure I should enter such a Holy of Holy's. I got that feeling after reading the myriad of explanations and instructions about what, exactly, constitutes a macro photograph. The forum title itself, "True Macro-Phtography", made me think twice before risking being booted out of UHH if I should err in entering a photo that, heaven forbid, was not in fact a "true" macro. As you can see, I decided to chance it. One thing I have noticed is that nearly all of the macros here seem to be of bugs of one type or another. My offering bravely strays from that subject matter. It is part of a dime. The date and letter "D" are quite small, but larger than the letters "JS" which are smaller still. My "macro setup" was quite simple -- a piece of cardboard to hold the dime, an umbrella light and a model M-250 Raynox macroscopic lens attached to the end of the Leica lens on my Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 bridge camera.

Yes, we are pretty nice folks, but try not to forget your camera.

I have a friend who owns two Canon SLRs and a half dozen top drawer lenses. The first time he went abroad he took one body, four lenses and a tripod. He took a similar trip the following year. He took only a bridge camera bought for the trip, said he enjoyed the trip much more, and got wonderful pictures.

Machi -- The lady has finalized the deal.

Hi Machia -- I received a response from one person prior to yours. She said she "would buy the camera." I accepted about 10:00 p.m. last night, but have not heard back from her yet this morning, but of course she probably had retired before I sent my reply and is not up yet this morning. Please give me a couple of hours to see if this is finalized. If it is not, I will get back to you. Hope this is satisfactory. Thank you!

Well sure, I'll pay the shipping. I've always done the payment method this way: I ship via the Postal Service, COD. You may not have done that before, but I always used it when dealing through Fred Miranda and other transactions. If you're not familiar with it, I'll explain: COD means Collect on Delivery. You pay the post office what I designate, in this case $175, when you pick up the package. Then the PO sends your payment on to me. So, I will need your mailing address. Send it via email to westley123@comcast.net. And, Thank You!

Thanks for the info. I have a RaynoxMacrscopic M-250 lens, but no garden full of bugs! The only capture I've made so far is one hand-held in daylight. I'd show it to you, but I don't see how to attach a picture to this reply. But take my word, I've a way to go!

Bridge camera with f:2.8 Leica lens, 24mm through 600mm. Includes everything that came with new camera, plus 4 GB SanDisk UltraII SDHC card, set of three close-up lenses, polarizer lens, extra battery and bag. All in excellent condition. $175.

Really good stuff -- especially the last one. What did you use to capture these images?

Thanks Kissel. That is good to know.

My Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 came with a "Panasonic Lumix battery pack" and a second battery with these markings: "Polaroid PLBTPABLC12. Is this second battery an OK battery? I have used it only once and it seemed to have the same duration as the Lumix -- but for how long?

What a fun thing to do. I've often thought of doing what you did -- not drive to Tifton, Georgia, but hit the backroads and stop to take a picture whenever I saw something unusual or interesting. Tom Ca

I shot more than 500 weddings over a 14-year period. At the formals shooting, I would announce to the gathered shooters to please allow me to get my shots of each pose first, and then I would get out of their way. That always -- and I mean always -- worked fine for everybody. I figured I gave a little, and gained a lot. But, admittedly, this was before the iphones invasion.

I you decide on the FZ200, please get in touch with me by PM.

Looks almost exactly like a "barn theatre" in North Carolina.