Christmas shopping

OK... I was thinking in my browsing this afternoon that I'd come across some sort of attachment you could put on a "bridge" camera to increase your telephoto range... maybe that's not quite the same as changing out the lens altogether. I need to do more research, looks like! :-)

Critter, there may be some sort of attachment that would do that, but I don't really know. I have not tried to look for one. The camera I have now has an attachment that came with the camera that screws on around the lens. It's threaded at the both ends, so you can put filters on it, though I've never tried it. There are filters out there that will increase the magnification on macro shots. They come in sets of 3, and you stack them to get more and more magnification. Of course, the more filters you stack, then less light you have getting into the lens, so you really need to set up on a tripod for that. And to get good depth of field in macro shots, you really need to use an f stop of around f11 or better. I have not done anything like this in ages. I remember it all from when I worked with 35mm film SLR's. I had a Cannon AE1 Program and a Cannon EOS Rebel, neither of which are professional quality, but still were good cameras in their day.

I believe you can find that for some point and shoots, Jill. I have Sony's first 12X zoom p&s - the H1, and I like it a lot. My only complaint is how the white balance handles certain colors, but many cameras have that problem. The zoom is very convenient.

Every camera I have ever had true purple is hard to get.

Purples and Reds are the hardest i think.

Thanks for the help & advice! The filters vs. lenses thing makes sense. Since I don't think I'm wanting a DSLR, I guess I'll be browsing the superzoom P&S cameras and watching for the filter add-on capability. Victor, I'm glad to know you like your Sony superzoom.

Pixie, that's a great shot of a beautiful DL! True purple is hard to capture with digitals. I read an explanation once of why that is... but I forgot it, LOL. Made sense at the time though.

No, some do have lens add-ons. usually for increased telephoto. Here's a Sony.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665360043

I think the film cameras have the same problem with capturing true purple. Or is it true blue? And I forget the reason why, too.

Karen

Oh, very cool... Thanks, Victor!

That's like one of the add-on filters that nutsforDL was mentioning... 1.7 increase in magnification would bring that 15x lens to a sweet 25x!

I know it's a slippery slope when you start wanting more and more zoom... but really, I just want to get nice shots of the birds in our back yard... I don't need a 10 inch long lens... (I wish that last sentence sounded more convincing in my head, LOL)

Jill thats what I wanted something to reach out and touch those birds. lol We have a big field..about 15 acres and I have Eagles landing in it but not enough zoom!
See?

I do see! My little 5x zoom was just barely enough, with cropping, to get some OK photos of wild turkeys in Mom's yard last weekend (I'll use them in an upcoming DG article)... but if I'd needed higher res images, forget it!

We have turkeys too, an occassional Moose, lots of Deer, and of course Coyotes. I want to zoom in and see what they have in their mouth, what they are looking at ect...

Karen ~

Thanks for posting that link for the camera. That's another one for me to consider. It's got a good price, too.

For true blue on a film camera (which I have) you need a blue filter as well as trying different film. I haven't gone to didgital yet--as long as they make my slide film I will use it.

Oh, that's cool, Celeste! When I looked at the thumbnail it looked like a cat!

Candyce, yes, that is a great price for that camera, and I think it's one of the better point and shoots out there. I don't think you can get much better without going to a D-SLR, and those, I think, start at $500 for a nice one.

Iris, strictly speaking for myself, once I went digital I never went back to film. I loved the convenience of being able to see if I had a good exposure or composition before getting it printed. I like the fact that I can take literally thousands of pictures with almost no expense, and then I only have to pay if I want to print them up. Because of the fact that I don't make a lot of money I was always limited on how many pictures I could take with my film cameras. Digital has really freed me to be able to take as many as I want without having to worry about expense.

I rarely print mine up. I enjoy looking at them on my computer. I've made many prints on my inkjet printer, but I really prefer to have them printed in the 'real' photo processing method, as I feel they are much more superior quality, they look better, and they last longer. The inkjet photos will run if they get wet, and the colors also fade easily.

Karen

I love digital for those same reasons, Karen. I love that batteries are much cheaper than film developing ... and a whole lost less wasteful.

Digital cameras have probably saved part of the environment, too.

I think you're right, Candyce, on saving part of the environment. I love the fact that you can use rechargeable batteries.

Hey, speaking of saving the environment, does anyone in my area know of a place I can take old batteries to be recycled? My recycle center doesn't take them. Batteries are toxic waste. I can believe my recycle center won't take them.

Karen

Do you have a hazardous waste facility in your area? That's where I bring mine.

I don't know. I will have to see if I can find one. I know most people just dump them in the trash, but I don't like doing that. I prefer the rechargeable ones, though they eventually have to be thrown out, too.

Karen

I have 16-20 of the rechargable ones.....I wish I could find re-C ones in size C , Justin has one toy he plays constantly and it uses C batteries.

Just google it, Celeste. You can get them in all the sizes.

Thank you....going now.

Most recycling centers have days when you can turn in your hazardous materials like paint, batteries, etc.

We have a county hazardous waste facility that's open every day. They take all kinds of stuff - chemicals, paints, solvents, batteries, computers, monitors, fluorescent bulbs...

Useful site for deals and other good stuff.

http://www.walletpop.com/deals

Thanks, Victor.

Thanks, indeed! Lots of links to Cyber-Monday specials! I'm headed over to the World Market site... :-)

No problem. Here's another I just hear about:

http://www.couponcabin.com/

I only have 1 more gift to buy!!!!!! woo hoo!!!!!

Check out Dave's new post in the DG forum. 2009 DG Calendars are now on sale, and Zazzle is offering free shipping, *today only*.

:-)

Jen, you're way ahead of me!

Karen

You haven't asked what I would like, Jen!

Funny, Victor!

Karen

I used that Walletpop site yesterday for an extra 30% off at Sierra Trading Post, which was already having a 40% off sale. And their prices are always good to begin with. Any more and they would have been paying me.

Great deal, Victor! I've never gone to Sierra Trading Post, nor shopped there on-line.

Karen

That 's a deal...oh I thought you wanted a DG calendar

They are fantastic for clothes, outdoor stuff, etc. Been buying from them for over 20 yrs.

Are they're prices cheaper than L.L.Bean? I went to their outlet store on Friday and thought even the outlet prices were steep.

Karen

I did, Jen - a free one!

Yes, much cheaper. And they sometimes sell Bean stuff.