Great...tack sharp! I'm sure it took a great deal of patience too.

Ditto on LR5....very useable.

Raw....I know its best to get it right on camera but its prudent to have the control inPP to fix the unforeseen on that otherwise "perfect shot"..

Color on all three. B&W is great when you are wanting alot of contrast and creating a mood, i.e.old buildings, barns, etc.

Being a Canon guy, I recommend a Rebel T3 or T3i. These are both very good cameras at a reasonable price. I use one as a backup and it is rugged and easy to use once you learn how to use it properly. It runs around $500 or less including the decent lens (15-55mm auto focus, Image Stabilized). Canon has excellent online tutorials and customer support as well. You can also purchase a refurbished T3 direct from Canon w/1 yr warranty for $400 or less. A friend bought one of their refurbs and had no complaints.

Hopefully the GOP will go with Sarah Palin......it would be really amusing and I haven't had a good laugh in awhile!

Hey tuffsheet.....do you ever have an original thought? You know...something you havent heard on a rediculous conservative website or radio talk show? I seriously doubt it!

I believe that's a "common yellowthroat"..but I wouldn't bet the farm on it!

Hello and welcome! My son is in a punk band called Counteractive, he's the singer and guitar player. Nice shots!

Nice shots! it's okay for a slightly blue hue. This imparts a sense of cold to the viewer. You just want a barely noticable amount, the second shot looks just about right to me.

Its essentially what the name implies, the raw image without any camera processing except for your shot settings. What this gives you is a large file with much more range of control in PP and much more leverage in fixing problems with your shots.

I prefer to be alone during shoots, especially on a "walkabout". I like to keep it spontaneous and its very difficult to do that with others around. Of course, I want people with me if I'm going to use them in the shots. Otherwise, its much better to be alone and not worry about boring the others with my obsessive shooting from different angles, etc....

Dont you know sarcasm when you hear it?

I have been using raw images with Canon editing software. I just bought LR5. My picture folders contain 5,000+ images, most in RAW format with some processing already completed. My question: How do I open these folders in LR5 without losing the processing that's already been done to them. Must I convert the files from RAW to retain the changes I've already made to the images? If so, which format will give me the most image info to use in LR5? Thanks......