I’m planning a trip to France, Italy and the UK. I’m concerned about carrying expensive gear and inviting theft or worse. Any thoughts on this?

I only hope someone from FedEx is also a Hog and takes these comments to the management of FedX

I wanted to alert my fellow UH's to a problem that I and other in my neighborhood at least, have been and are still experiencing with FedX deliveries. In particular, the fact that Fed X does not come up the drive to deliver a package--even though I requested to have package left at my garage door. Nor do they honor the requirement for a direct signature. I ordered a Hasselblad lens and it was delivered to the TOP OF MY MAILBOX--which is located right at the street. No signature was requested by the FedX driver, even though BH clearly stated that a direct signature was required (see attached). A would-be thief could have just driven by, picked up the package and have gotten clean away. This situation is not just with high value packages, from my experience all packages from FedX have been delivered in this manner. They even left one out in the rain. I filed a "formal complaint" (the supposed magic words to get some action from FedX) and still nothing happened--no response of any kind. I also complained to BH explaining that it would have been their problem had the package been stolen. They told me that they too would file a complaint. The take way is this, keep an eye out for your FedX packages. You never know if they have not been delivered or stolen and apparently a direct signature requirement is just a suggestion to FedEx so you can't rely on that either. Even though it will cost me money, I'm going to use UPS from now on.

Thank you for all the suggestions. For those of you who are in fact interested, the Lee Filter holder (150 series) fits perfectly into the 180-400 lens hood. It can be secured with gaffing tape to give a secure set-up. It works well and because the lens hood can be rotated, the CP filter can now also be used effectively.

I'd like to use ND filters with my 180-400 zoom. The 40.5 mm filter needs to fit into a drop-in lens holder which then must fit into the back of the lens. I know there are many 40.5 mm ND filters, BUT the ones I have tried are too thick (4/16"). The required ND filter must be no thicker than 3/16" in order to fit into the lens.

6, 10, and 16 stop filters would all be useful. Any suggestions would be most welcome. So far I've only been able to find an Aurora-Aperture PowerND ND64 40.5mm ND 1.8 Filter (6-Stop) from B&H. They claim it will fit; but I haven't received the filter yet so I can't confirm. Thank you.

I’m looking for a how-to book that discusses the use of mono lights (Broncolor Siros 800 L) in high-speed photography. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Has anyone heard anything new about this firmware update. It’s been discussed since before January and there have been two firmware updates without, what is for me, an important addition.

I use Bay Photo. www.bayphoto.com Amazing quality and fantastic service. You need to use their baryoes (bay photo remote ordering system). It is a bit complicated at first; but after a while it becomes very intuitive.

I'm rounding out my S1-r kit and I'm looking for opinions on which 50mm lens to purchase. I use a Leica Super-Vario-Elmar-SL 16-35mm on the S1-r and I love the lens. I've read that the Lumix 50mm offering is excellent, yielding tack sharp results across the frame. My concern is that the Leica is more than twice as expensive as the Lumix and I'd like to know if there are any UHH users with hands-on experience. Thank you.

Ask away.

To respond to your specific remark: "Does anyone in UHH land admit to owning / using Fuji ?"

I freely admit to owning and loving my GFX-100. One of the best cameras I've ever used.

Does anyone know how to get the shutter counts on these two cameras? Thank you.

I had a 645z and I loved it; but it was very heavy and difficult to schlep into the field. With such a large sensor I’m a little concerned about blurry images at slower speeds when not on s tripod. Thanks to all for your comments.

I’m thinking about buying this camera. Any thoughts?

I am considering this Leica lens for my Lumix DC-S1R. I am a landscape photographer and I know Leica lenses are superb; however, the price is $5495.00.

So two questions, has anyone had experience with this lens and second, does anyone have a suggestion for a lower price alternative with comparable, if not exact IQ. Thanks