I have several very large metal prints in my living room and love them. The best part is that they come pre-mounted so you can just hang them as soon as you recieve them. I'm now a believer.

Thanks Alan, A lot of good information

I have not tried the radio feature of LR5 but I will soon thank you

I use a mac.

Yes I have done it several times and still the blur affect is not enough. Does this mean I need photoshop? Is that the only way.

The only way I know to soften a background in LR 5 is to slide clarity and sharpness buttons all the way to zero and paint in the affect. Often times this is not enough and would like to blur parts of the background even more. Any ideas without moving to photoshop which I don't have?
Cheers guys.

Anyone have a simple slide show software program. About 200-400 shots, single piece of music and Im off and running?

Literoom? Google?

Thanks guys

Regarding computers, I've learned a few things from my super brainy son.
He likes to think of himself as a computer genius. he likes to tinker, play, build, buy additional parts at every store he sees. He likes to redesign things and play games which can basically only be done on PCs. he doesn't care if it works or not perfectly because he can go in there with his screwdrivers and fix things. in fact he lives to tinker. For me, I
Just want the damn thing to work so I'm all Mac. I've had mac's for years and have never used antivirus software.

Virtually the entire advertising/photography industry operates on Mac'a.
One thing to consider: pCs traditionally try to accommodate people with older models from years past which can be a problem when running new software. Apple, like it or not, doesn't give a crap and re- designs every time it thinks it should. People often don't care for the Company (apple)because of this but their product works. As we move forward in technology we need to reinvent things which Apple is good at. another issue to consider is hacking. The fact that there are many many more PCs out there, Hackers go after them first rather than mac owners. Yes is possible for a Mac to get a virus but much less likely.

Lots of great stuff guys. Thanks so much!

Sounds like a great trick. I suppose a very tiny amount of graphite would work just the same as long as it doesn't ever work its way onto the glass.

Thanks, I did hear that B&H suggests using a brass step up ring to solve most of the problems. Also looking at Lee filters in comparison to Singh-ray. Any users and thoughts?

Anyone have problems with the type of metal used on these rings. I heard from someone at B&H that putting aluminum on aluminum can be part of the problem.

Getting ready to take a trip and want to do quite a bit of long exposure photography. Many top photographers (deborah Sandidge and others) suggest a system like a LEE foundation kit and Singh-ray filters.
Step up/down rings (82-77mm) for screw in always seem to get stuck so I'm reluctant to get screw in type yet it would be more compact for traveling.
Any thoughts out there?

I've been to Ireland many times and recently had the same thoughts when traveling to Iceland and the Netherlands. I've done it many ways, most recently with a 16-35 and a 70-200 but was disappointed that I didn't bring along my 24-70. Bottom line, If you can take 3 bring along the 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200. That's perfect but not realistic when you want to travel light. If you can only bring one it will end up being the 24-70 but this is assuming you are shooting with a full frame camera of course. If you are on a crop sensor, I'd consider only the 16-35.