Oh, I felt kind of as if I was not being nice, but really Julie, your portraits are nice. But music or videos playing without my permission drives me away every time and I know I'm not the only one. It's gotten worse since the advent of multiple tabs because you can't figure out where the heck it's coming from. If you're at work or just reading your e-mail in bed while your sweetie sleeps it becomes a real problem.
I wouldn't mind a button where you can choose to add music, but just having it sprung on me feels intrusive.
Please get rid of the music on your site. I had multiple tabs open, had to dash around to figure out which one was making the noise, then had to figure out where on your page I could stop it. By then I'd totally lost interest in your pictures.
I use IrfanView. Free and reliable. Does basic stuff, batch processing, DPI setting, etc.
Bob J.
Very pretty camera, I must say. A little out of my league, though, pricewise. Also I don't want interchangeable lenses.
There's something very "clean" about its looks, though. I realize that's a completely irrational statement but it does pull me in.
Holy lightbox, Jim. God freaking bless you! I've been trying to figure that out for ages.
Thank you, thank you.
PS: I generally try to purchase things locally, from non-big box vendors. I will be checking with the ONE remaining photo/camera store in the Big Town near me to see what they have, what they can order, what the price will be, their return policy, etc. My preference would be to buy locally. Second choice is Amazon. This is a once in a decade purchase I'll be living with for a long time and I live in the local economy so I'm not going to quibble over a few dollars.
Just wanted to set that straight.
Moose, love those shotgun shots.
Bob J., thanks for the encouragement to look at the Nikon again. My friend *loves* hers.
raghavnk, Several people have mentioned the Sony and it's one of my top three or four now.
I am currently recovering from a rather prolonged illness so it's going to take some time for me to haul my sorry arse to a store. But that really needs to be my next step.
I'm inclined to purchase whatever camera I buy from Amazon. They tend to have low prices, plus they take things in return with no question. I am not experienced enough to hold my own in any sort of push back from a vendor if I need to return camera equipment so I need the peace of mind a bullet-proof return policy offers. Also--a minor concern--I have an Amazon VISA card which gives me 3% back on Amazon purchases.
Buy buying from Amazon does rule out some of the older cameras people have recommended here. Not many.
My next step is to take paper and pencil and make a list with pros and cons of all the models you kind and generous people have mentioned here. The discussion has sharpened my thinking so I now know what the deal breakers are for me and I will use this information to narrow my choices down to three or four models. Those are the ones I will try out in a store.
Phew. I'm glad I only do this once a decade or so.
I cannot tell you all how grateful I am for the advice everyone has given me here. It can be intimidating to stroll onto a photography board and ask for advice. You've all been great.
I use Irfanview (free software) for all my (minimal) editing. It has batch processing capabilities. Which I have never been able to figure out, but I'm not very technologically adept.
BobT,
Okay, at the risk of revealing myself as an idiot... what are/is Dave's picks?
TIA
Re your raptor photo, Bob J.:
Oh my. I'm such a little piker compared to you. I should probably hang up my pixels. This is an awesome picture.
I've been trying to get a shot of a local beaver for a while now. He's quite used to me, but he swims around at deep dusk so you have to know he's there to be able to see him in the picture.
This is an inspiration. Thanks for sharing it.
Duckie (off to take another look at Nikons)
BobT, Yes that's what I read from your comment. The reviewer (dpreview???) said the burst was fast and single shot slow so your comment is illuminating, to say the least. I never use burst so the single shot is more important to me.
quonnie, A good friend of mine just got a Nikon p500. It does have an articulating screen. I believe you have to get an adapter to use a polarizing filter, which is something I want to do, but that's not too hard a thing. My reservation about a DSLR is portability. That Nikon does look like a good camera. And it's a Nikon... an old friend.
Bob. J,
You're a Nikon kinda guy, eh? I am so enamoured of my Coolpix 4500. It's going to be hard to move on, but I can't expect it to last forever. And the 4X zoom means lots of missed wildlife shots.
BobT, your description is the exact opposite of what one reviewer described. I'm more inclined to go with your description since you're using the camera now. Thanks for this info.
Sonny and Moose, I'll take a look at each of these. Hey Moose, did you know that moose sleep intermittently? They move in and our of sleep in an almost binary fashion every few seconds. It enables them to rest and keep an eye on things in the woods. Multitasking at its best.
Thanks DixieMP. I'm especially glad to get the macro information on that camera. The reviews don't go into it much. I'm sure they'd mention it if it was poor. The zoom is very attractive. It's also has a longer track record. I'm going to have to get to a store (I've been home sick for a couple of weeks) and see how the fixed LCD will work for me.
Thank you very much.