Frank - I'm pretty simple and easy when it comes to my editing. I have a mac so I just use iphoto (the photo program that comes with macs) to do very basic editing. Shadows, contrast, saturation, that sort of thing. Nothing fancy at all. I want to purchase lightroom and start learning more advanced editing techniques sometime soonish but it hasn't happened yet.

martino - the only 'after' pic I got was the one I posted in #18. Fig no more. I asked her if it was tasty. She gave a content, happy, grunt and licked her chops.

Jo-Ann. You are a thrifty one aren't you? That is just what I'm now planning to. After I study what others are doing camera wise, I'm going to start shopping around in pawn shops & similar. I know there's got to be something better than this thing I have now.

By the way. I found this great camera repair shop last night while searching on cameras. They're base in PA and will repair any type of camera. Pretty impressive really. Here, take a look: http://www.camerarepairservice.com

Nichole. The more I look at that picture of your dog, the more I like it. It really is frame-worthy. It also captures two of your passions in one shot - your dogs and figs! Great shot! Unfortunately, the fig drew the short straw didn't it?  

I think it's hilarious that any dog would eat figs. We used to have a cat that loved cantaloupe though :-) .

If you want to stay Nikon this is a great time to buy a camera.  They have new cameras at every price point and they're all superb.  For any given line of cameras the bigger the sensor the better the picture and the more expensive the lenses will be.  The D600 is the camera I'd buy if I was in the market right now.  It has a full frame sensor, the same size as 35 mm film.  Here's their comparison page.

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Digital-SLR-Cameras/index.page


You can get a good deal with bundles on line.  I use my cell phone for most of my forum photos just because it's 'good enough' and automatically uploads to G+ so it's easy to post.

DSLR, take photo, batch convert to .jpg, upload, copy address, probably 10-15 min, have more image control







Cell phone, take pictures, copy locations, less than 5 min

My old trusty cheap camera broke and found another exactly the same on
ebay 20 bucks total.

Hey Bill I found your camera !!!

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=Argus+C3&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Martin. Your pictures seem to have always looked great! So, what kind of camera is your trusty old "20 buck" camera? 

Yes Tony, I had seen those. I was surprised to see that some of them can be had for a pretty reasonable price too. Has me thinking about messin with some 35mm stuff just for kicks.

The flash bar on those Argus Bricks were a real riot. The one I had, had a working flash bar. when you'd hit the shutter release that bulb went off like some kind of pyrotechnic device :-O. A big woosh and then you could here it sizzling for a few seconds after the flash. Most people (including myself) got a kick out of that :-) . 

eBay is how I found that camera repair company (post #27). 

Bob!

Are your last few pix of tuberose? Those close-up shots sure look like tuberose! We had a few growing last year that grew so well and the scent is to die for. beautiful close up pictures for sure. thanks for sharing.

Tuberose it is.  Taken today.  One of them is almost finished blooming, this one's next.

Nikon D60 (a DSLR) with Nikkor 18-55mm zoom.  Most of the time I need to reduce the image resolution/quality significantly, and cut the size of it to about 20%, in order to make the digital image files small enough to fit on the forum.

Mike   central NY state, zone 5

Bob. There is definitely something to be said about the quality of DSLR pics. Very nice close-ups there. But I have to admit, the cell phone pics are not bad either. So what is Tuberose? I really like flowers with a strong fragrance. Is that in a greenhouse or just an elaborate grow room?

JoAnn, I have an Olympus SP-560UZ. Have had it for 7-8 years and it is still going strong. Have dropped it many time, even with the lens extended, and it keeps on ticking. I bought a very slightly newer model as a backup, and have never used it. The one thing that most people overlook when buying a camera is the feel in your hand. This Olympus has a grip that has an amazing synergy with my hand - just fits like a glove. I one hand a lot of shots hanging of ladders, etc. I know I said I have dropped it several times, but still, it fits so well, it is really hard to drop. I think it is 5-6 M pixels, which is 4-5 times more than you need to a 64- x 480 pix for the internet. I can't tell you how many pix I have taken with it, but it has to be pushing 100,000.

Which reminds me of the dirty little secret of photography: take a ton of pix and pick the good one.

So Jon, you had to be trying pretty hard to drop a camera that you have such synergy with huh :-)) ?

Good comments. I was hoping we'd get your input since you have, obviously, taken a lot of pics.

Bill, synergy doesn't cover all situations. Have set it on the ladder and knocked it off a few times. There are other ways.

Mike, I might take 2 dozen pix of a fig, from a variety of angles, and as you flip through them on the computer, one one with the best focus and the "it" factor will just jump out at you. It is instantly recognizable on the computer monitor, but would not have shown up in the viewfinder.

I hear ya Jon. Things happen. It's usually tools with me though. I had a great little cordless drill that I dropped so many times. It was pretty handicapped the last time the battery died but it still worked great - when you sorta held it together with two hands :-} .

Your mention of the ladder reminded me of one time when I went to move my 8' step ladder. I was wondering where I had left my hammer when it found the top of my head as it fell from the top step. Sounded like someone thumping a watermelon!  @%#@&*$%! Dang that hurt! I can't figure out if I'm absent minded because of  all the times I've been hit in the noggin OR I'm absent minded and that's why I've gotten hit in the noggin so many times !?! Makes your head hurt just reading that huh? 
Anyway. I'm waaay off topic :-/ .

Bill, it's a grow room with a lot of West facing windows.  Shelves and fluorescent lights.  Tarps on the floor.  Great for extending the season and keeping newly rooted cuttings healthy.  I got my Tuberose at Roberta's Garden on line.  Probably best to wait till Spring.

Also, see what happens to the detail as you crop.  The DSLR photo is enlarged almost 2x the cell phone photo

My Sony F707 that I bought in 2001 has been a good camera.I've taken about 16,000 photos and it is still working well on the original lithium battery. The only real problem that I've had with it in the last few years is errors with the Sony memory sticks and I had to take it apart and clean the contacts with electronics cleaner.

A resized to 1600x1200 pic of a Celeste cutting that I started in 2012.

I use my Samsung Galaxy S for most impromptu shots for much of the same reason mentioned by Bob above (plus ease of posting to Facebook).  I sometimes use my Panasonic Z3 point & shoot for something quick and then will sometimes use my Canon 7D, usually with my 24-105 because I like the colors produced by that lens.  Takes more time and I've never got that great at using Lightroom and then also use Photoshop and it's painfully slow in this quick word of today.

- Bob. Nice grow room you have there. I have a similar room I use but, out of necessity, it's on the N.E. end of my house. Only one E. facing window. Not optimal but gotta go with what I've got. 

Obviously, the bottom pic, above, is the SLR camera. More versatility than a cell camera no doubt. But it's hard to beat the convenience of a point and click I guess.

- Barry. Very nice clarity and detail in that picture. Excellent "real life" color saturation too. That's what I'm going for. I just want my pictures to come out more the way I see them with my own eye. Within reason of course. 

I simply use my iPhone now 2 years ago I used my acer phone as well.

Wish I hadn't missed this thread.  Just picked up a used Powershot A1000 IS 10.MB on Ebay.  Gave my older Powershot to my daughter.  I kept having to ask to borrow it for pictures. It's a point and shoot and real easy to use.  Here is a picture sample.  Nothing special but works for me. 

For the sake of completion...

I thought this might be a nice thread to bump, especially for this time of year. It's always nice to see pictures of growing things in the winter. So don't forget to include some pictures you've taken with your favorite camera :-) .

Hopefully I will have better pictures to share this summer. I just bought a used Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H5. I think it was a pretty good deal for $60. Seems to function just fine. Now I just have to get used to using it.