Thinking about what a 5DX would likely cost, if I haven't died by then, the price might just be enough to kill me -- lol!

Okay, okay . . . had a 5D but the AF was definitely lacking. Been considering the II because of recent discounting but now what you guys are saying about AF on the II is pushing me instead towards the III. Or are you suggesting I wait and see what improvements a 5D IV might bring?

Either knox or knocks, it's where most good photographers call their alma mater.

YIKES! Sorry for your loss as well as your lesson, expensive indeed. But, if there's any consolation, we can all benefit from an occasional reminder about just how comfortable (i.e. negligent) we can get if we're not careful or if we get into some bad habits. Happened to me early on when I got lazy and wrapped a light jacket around a very nice Canon DLSR and stuck it in an overhead compartment. The compartment door opened as the plane began an ascent and, of course, out came the jacket and my camera. That lesson cost me a lens and wasn't a cheap lesson either. Thanks for sharing.

Remembering a visit to Notre Dame in Paris, the suggestion jumping at me here is to get high up inside the church ('gallery'). Just don't be intimidated because the choir or organ area seems unavailable to the general public. Getting permission might not be as difficult as it seems. Best advice is to find someone associated with the church and simply ask, could even be a vicar or custodian. A Notre Dame custodian, seeing my camera and vest, came up to us and asked if we wanted to see the gargoyles on the roof. Often, with obvious camera equipment dangling from shoulder straps, etc, they can see your less a destructive concern and more a focused photographer. Oh, and don't forget to check out and bell towers along the way. Same custodian as if we wanted to see inside the bell tower and reaching into his pocket for what must've been an original key (I swear) and ushered us thru the tiniest door ever built. It was a step back nearly 800 years in time. There are generally some hidden treasures up on the roof along with an opportunity to shoot the local town or village from a very special on-high vantage point.

If, as with many customers, you ONLY streamed or ONLY watched discs it was actually a price DECREASE. But the popular perception, as you describe, and for people who use BOTH systems was that of an overall price increase.

Commodore? Heck no! . . . an Apple guy thru and thru, I'm using my Apple-1. Is there an upgrade available? (he grins)

Wow . . . you guys with all your multi-numbered TVs, DVRs, BR Players, TiVos, etc, etc, etc. And here I am with one flatscreen (none in the bedroom, thank you), one BluRay player and no DVR.

Am I that far removed from the 21st Century? How have I lived this long? hehehe

Netflix never claimed to 'stop sending discs' and from what I understand won't as along as there's a market for discs. What they did was try to respond to what they saw as two separate customer groups, each seeming to be exclusive customers of one or the other delivery system. Specifically, if you only used discs or wi-fi you actually would pay less than Netflix originally charged. Unfortunately, too many people saw that as a price increase.

Netflix has two services that offer movies. First is their disc service where customers can often choose between DVD or Blu-Ray depending on if B-R is offered by the film distributor. Movie selections with both options will allow you to choose. The second service is streaming (which is where Netflix gets it's name) and, obviously, no disc is involved as movies are available over a wi-fi connection. At this point, only about 25,000 titles are available thru streaming. More than 125,000 selections, however, are listed for the more popular DVD/Blu-Ray service which is why they are still the more popular option. Yes, if you have a Blu-Ray machine and that format is an option provided by a movie distributor, B-R is a superior visual.

Santa's coming soon and, since I've been good, (s)he's asking what I want for Christmas. Having just bought a new Mac Pro with Retina Display this week, my sugar plum thoughts are turning to software. Even though I'm physically 'color deficient' (what they used to call 'color blind') and always managed my way using Photoshop, I haven't updated it in years. Now I'm wondering is Photoshop STILL the industry standard it used to be and is it the best bang for Santa's buck? I do a lot of travel and some days shoot 1500-2000 exposures. Organization has ALWAYS been an issue. Any suggestions as to what I should tell Santa?

A couple of really pretty shots . . . thanks for sharing.

Having had some external hardrive horrors myself, and just so I don't put all eggs in one basket, I caught a great deal on three 1.5 tb hardrives at, believe it or not, my local Best Buy. Today, one (silver) stores my photographs, one (blue) has my music and another (red) is my desktop backup. With all this, ALL of it is then stored on an 2 tb external drive. As a Seagate rep once told me on the phone, we should plan for the day WHEN (not if) a hardrive dies--because they ALL die.

Well, the other day, as a follow-up to our forum chat here, I sent an email to the NYTimes regarding Pogue's column and his torturous photography tease. Here's the reply I received:

Thank you for contacting NYTimes.com.

Please find the link below to the requested article.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE0D6173AF93BA15755C0A9649D8B63&ref=digitalcameras

Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Regards,

Daniel Jones
NYTimes.com
Customer Serv

Guess the camera is: the Sony RX100

Keep hearing rumors (including yesterday at an authorized dealer) about an anticipated mirrorless full-frame coming out by Sony. Would love to get back to FF (former 5D owner) and was even toying with changing systems from Canon (would buy a 5D III) to Nikon (their new D800). Any thoughts on mirrorless; concerns about Sony/Minolta; cautions about switching complete systems???