I'm with you - just took delivery this afternoon... Guess I'm staying in DX world a bit longer and couldn't be happier about it :thumbup:

I think you got the reading part down ok... Work on the comprehension next.

I get that - but if they won't even give you a price quote, based on condition, it feels wrong to me. What happens if I ship them my gear... And a week later someone calls and offers $150 for a $1,000 lens, and I say no, but my lens is sitting somewhere in New York and I have to hope it comes back timely... Not saying that would have happened, but the refusal to give me an estimate based on my conditioning left a bad taste in my mouth. kEH, on the other hand, had NO issue doing this, in fact I didn't even have to request it, just the way they do it... It was very clear the quote given was conditional upon my equipment meeting the rating condition I quoted them, but that quote was sent to me in an email and I simply felt much more comfortable doing business that way.

I'm not saying they should issue payment prior to getting and assessing the gear because that would be, well, stupid. But the refusal to even say what they would pay for a specific piece of gear if it fell into a specific rating category? I'd love to hear how that sets them up for anything.

Not B&H specifically, but if their used department is anything like Adorama I'm not surprised. I have purchase from both Adorama and B&H and never been less than thrilled with them... however, I called Adorama about selling some gear and it was like talking to the sleaziest used car salesman in the world. He wouldn't give me anything in writing to back up what he was saying, wouldn't even give me a quote for the gear until it was in the store for inspection. I called KEH next and recommend the same to you - night and day difference. I told them what the gear was and the condition I was self assessing it at, they gave me a quote depending on the condition holding up and a pre paid shipping label... Sent my stuff in, they agreed with my ratings except 1 lens which they deemed one grade lower, promptly contacted me with a new offer which I excepted and had a check in a few days... Great experience and no hassling with the general public, well worth a few bucks to me.

All good points, but makes me curious...what makes you think I don't think of those things, then use the semi auto mode to act on the decision quicker? Not saying my way is the right way, but it's definitely my preferred way having tried all the others, gives me the best results for me :thumbup:

Not trying to speak for Graham, but he main benefit is to control DOF... appropriate DOF will make your subject pop in the photo, and help you "hide" a less then desireable background. A photo of an interesting subject with a completely in focus, cluttered, uninteresting or distracting background, all thing being equal in terms of composition and exposure, is what turns what could have been a very nice "photograph" into a "snapshot", IMO

Sometimes you want that background in focus, for sure... But sure enough that will be the one time auto gives you a shallow DOF 8-)

I shoot in aperture mode 95% of the time and don't know what additional control I would need from manual... When shooting in decent light I want to control primarily my DOF, secondary concern shutter speed subject and focal length dependent. I leave my ISO on manual and simply move the ISO as needed to manage shutter speed, with the front dial doing aperture and the rear doing ISO I can dial in my exposure regardless of the light changes or change in the speed of the subject in the blink of an eye and without ever taking my eye from the viewfinder. I use manual in some situations, like night shooting, poor light, or wanting a specific effect like sillhouettes, flowing water, etc. but otherwise the only thing I see full manual doing is slowing me down...

My pit mix always had a strange skin irritation, vet didn't know what it was, researched better foods and Blue Buffalo was the only food that got 5 stars on dog food analysis.com and was readily available locally (any Petsmart has it), little pricey compared to some alternatives but no skin issues for 5+ yeas now, highly recommend Blue

:thumbup:

Love number 3 :thumbup:

I have and love it, great lense and tack sharp

It's free if you subscribe to the cc, got an email announcing it yesterday and installed on my phone, seems pretty nice for quick edits on phone pics

If you subscribe to cc just download the app and sign in with your Adobe ID, simple

I have this lens in Nikon mount, but the new VC version... I have never used the older version, but when I was researching lenses before I bought it EVERY comparison noted a significant IQ increase in this version from the older non VC version. Something else you might want to consider...

The Lens Align directions give you a minimum and maximum distance to be from the target, which is actually 25x the focal length to 50x the focal length. To answer your question, yes, distance from sensor to target affects your DOF, with your DOF getting shallower as you get closer to the target - if you are too far from the target your DOF will be too great to accurately determine a focus issue as too much of the ruler will be in focus.

It sounds like you have the answer to your question on your computer as you have already attempted To shoot games with your current lens - why don't you go thru your pics, whether they came out well or not, and see what focal length you tend to shoot at. If you tend to shoot a lot of pics in the same range, you will better know which prime to look at - if you're focal lengths are all over the place you will be better served saving for a faster zoom.

I have it and love it (I assume you're talking about the newer VC version)... It is tack sharp, great build, no noise at all focusing, and very fast focusing. I think the Nikon may be slightly faster focusing, but I would not call the Tamron slow by any means and the difference is well worth $1k to me...