Links-N-More Photography

By: William McCave

Sometimes shopping online can be a real learning experience. Shopping online can be full of pitfalls, and I have run into a few of them while shopping for camera equipment. I placed an order on one photography supplier's website. After two days, I received an email with a 1-800 number, requesting that I call and confirm my order. I thought to myself; there is something just not right about this. I called the number and was told that the camera package that I ordered was not the factory sealed package with all included accessories, but instead was just the camera body. I promptly canceled my order, and started looking for another site to buy my camera. I found another price that I thought was reasonable, and called the online merchants 1-800 number right away. After some clever social engineering with the operator, I was able to find out that the camera that I thought was so reasonably priced also did not include the normal camera accessories like a battery and battery charger. Neither of these merchants included this information anywhere on their sites. I later learned that these merchants are called grey market retailers. I finally went to www.pricegrabber.com, and found a reputable retailer. The retailer put a guarantee in their ad that I was getting a factory sealed box, and they listed all of the box contents in the ad. In this case I have to say, be careful where you buy, and do your homework. Pricegrabber was definitely my life saver here.

I enjoyed all the time that I put into making the book, and I hope all of you enjoy your time looking at it.

Follow the link,click add to cart and follow the directions to create an account. If you experience any problems with the ordering process, please email me and let me know.

http://www.lulu.com/content/519409

My book is also available at Amazon.com if you prefer to get your copy there. It is a few dollars more expensive there than at my publisher's website, but for some people Amazon may be a more convenient option.

My Book On Amazon.Com

New York Times Article On This Topic

By: William McCave

Printing your digital pictures at home definitely does cost you more money than getting them done at the myriad of photo finishing options that are popping up everywhere. I have tried printing digital photos at home, and it is a very time consuming and costly process. There are many costs incurred if you print at home. Your time has a value, the cost of the photo paper, the cost of your ink, and the cost of the time that it takes for you to clean all the ink buildup out of your printer.

There are many other options available to you besides printing your pictures at home. Post your photos to a site online like yahoo photos or snapfish. Pick the photos you want as prints. Pay with a credit card, and you will have your pictures in 2 days. Take your camera media (memory card) to your local photo finishing lab, and they can give you prints in an hour.

In this day and age, it is just more convenient to get your photos done by a professional photo finishing lab. The photos they produce are far better quality than anything that you can print out at home.

By: William McCave

Tamron AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II

Tamron AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Lens
High Power Standard Zoom Lens Designed for Digital (APS-C) SLRs

This lens is specifically made for digital cameras. The optics are of a better quality, and focus more light on the CMOS sensor of the camera. I have gotten some really great results with this lens. It is so versatile in its range. I have used it indoors and outdoors, all weather and light conditions. I paid a price well below the one listed at this link. Check at your local camera shop and haggle with them a little. I am sure that you can get a really good deal just like I did. If you are just getting started in digital photography, and you what a versatile lens, then I would definitely recommend this one.

Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro

The Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro is especially made for digital SLR cameras, and produces great quality shots at a very long distance. This is a great lens for those who have digital SLR AF cameras.

Wolverine
MVP

I have put my Wolverine MVP to the test as a digital photography tool on several occasions. On one occasion I was tasked to be the official photographer for my company Christmas party, so I thought I should use the opportunity to use my Wolverine MVP. The MVP performed beautifully. It copied photos from my flash media very quickly, and I was also able to use the unit to show everyone the photos that I had copied to the player. I got a lot of use out of the MVP that night, and all on one charge of the battery. All in all I think that I made a really smart investment when I bought the Wolverine MVP.

By: William McCave

LEARN ABOUT DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY ONLINE
http://www.shortcourses.com/

This site has everything that you need to get started learning about digital photography. From choosing a digital camera, to photography techniques; this site covers it all. You can also order e-books that are specifically written for a particular digital camera model. These guides help you get the most out of your camera. This is a must see site for anyone interested in digital photography.

SOFTWARE RECOMMENDATIONS
http://www.xnview.com/
Xnview is a photo browser and photo format converter. This is a very small footprint utility that enables you to browse your photos in many ways. I really like the photo slide show feature. It is much more customizable than the photo slide show that comes with Windows XP. The software supports a large number of popular digital photo formats, and supports easy conversion between these formats. This is a great little utility if you are just looking for something to browse through your photos.

COREL PAINT SHOP PRO
If you have a digital camera, you are going to eventually need some good photo editing software to do some minor touchups to your photos. I recommend Paint Shop Pro because it is user friendly enough for the home user and powerful enough for the professional photographer. Everyone will find something that they like about this program. You can try the software free for thirty days. Just look for the TRY IT link on the left hand side of the page.