With the new EOS 7D, Canon introduced a camera with APS-C sensor and positioned it above its previous top APS-C lineup, the XXD series. With this strategic move, Canon has once more the best available APS-C camera on the market. The 7D outshines all other crop factor cameras and even manages to score points against its more expensive full frame rivals. Canon manages the tightrope walk of combining some of the best features of APS-C cameras, such as more reach and a super fast shutter, with the superior image quality and resolution of full frame cameras through its advanced new CMOS sensor.

… Or how I traded wits with the Nigerian Mafia.

Unused, Unsold and Unwanted

In the past, I have disposed of my used equipment on eBay. Writing the perfect sales copy, creating images and positioning myself against other sellers in the hope to fetch a fair price took too much of my valuable time, hence I didn’t bother going through the motions and left much of my equipment unused, unsold and unwanted.

After I suffered yet another computer crash I finally decided to head over to Fry's and walk home with a Quad Processor Computer, 8GB of RAM and Windows 7. Seems like the motherboard on my old computer was finally fried after it refused to recognize any of my hard drives. I added two monitors to the computer and can now enjoy the editing process again.

I have not even installed Photoshop on my new computer yet, but I am already editing photos like a champ. I downloaded the new Lightroom 3.0 Beta version from Adobe. It took some time to get used to the interface, but I am coming around to like it very much. I think I am going to write a review of Lightroom, maybe pitching it against another one of my favorite RAW editors, Silkypix PRO.

I am completely fed up by the licensing policies of Adobe, which may ultimately keep me from buying Lightroom. I am not sure yet. As my raid array disintegreated, I had to reinstall Photoshop. Then later I decided to build a raid again and install Photoshop again. Apparently the software kept recognizing a new computer each time, possibly because of the raid. Now I have to call Adobe and explain the situation every time I wish to re-install Photoshop again. My requests to erase all licenses from their Servers and let me re-install was simply denied, leaving me frustrated with a useless $600 software.

The most recent photographs I uploaded to my Golden Gate Park Gallery are done with Lightroom only. Those images also do not have any watermarks anymore. For the last few years I have included watermarks that were barely visible, but now they are gone altogether. I am working on an idea to make all images on this website publicly available for free, but I do require attribution (hyperlink on websites and url on prints). Stay tuned for more information on free pictures.

I found a better way to back up my photographs in the field.

Since laptops are too heavy to carry around all day, I used to rely on image tanks for backup outdoors. That strategy works very well for me, but it did lack the capability of viewing images. That is where expensive image tanks with RAW viewer such as the Epson P6000 come in. Since the P6000 costs about $600 at the time of this writing and this photographer is always looking for better deals, I never bought one.

I ended up carrying my laptop on many trips so that I could connect to the internet and manage my websites. Outside, I simply swapped flash memory cards and back in the hotel room, I ran backups to my laptop and my image tank. I carry the image tank into the field, in case I run out of memory.

Learn how we will appreciate photos in the future.

How I got into HiperSpace and how it looks there.

Update :

I got the pictures from San Diego and since their display is still a bit larger, I decided to update this article.

Hector send me a nice email. It turns out that the photographer had screwed up and forgot to notify Hector, so it wasn't his fault.

So here is how my San Francisco Panorama looks on the Hiperspace Display:

This is how I should display all my Panoramas.

Joby flamboyantly markets the Gorillapod SLR Zoom to “serious photographers”.  Will it hold up to the promise of freeing us from our tripods or is it just another useless gadget cluttering our bag?

Let me give you the answer right now. The Gorillapod SLR Zoom is not stiff enough and therefore, sags a bit, making very long exposures difficult, if not impossible.

…are the best value for your money.

The 190XPROB Tripod legs together with any Bogen Manfrotto Tripod Head are an affordable, versatile and easy to use combination. It is my tripod of choice for all my needs.

I like this Tripod so much, that we upgraded Dani to the same one for our last Christmas trip. It makes a big difference to have a professional tripod that just works the way you would expect it to.

Learn what you need to know about Tripods.

Here is me posing with tripods and below are the tripod articles.

• Review of Tripod Heads
• My Tripod Legs
• Gorillapod