DD for DoD!
Holy Handgrenade of Antioch!! I got a DD! On Prayer. I'm speechless (for once). All I can think of is to say thank you to =TTL-Photoworks for suggesting it and ^kkart for featuring it. I really appreciate it.

I Don't Hate My Head, Any More
If you read this blather on a regular basis, you may recall that my last entry was about how I hated my new/old ballhead. "It's a Manfrotto. But, it's impossible to accurately set it at an angle... No matter how much I clamp down on it... it "slumps". And it slumps an unpredictable amount."

Well, not anymore. I bought a new one, with a gift certificate I had. It's a Cullman Magnesit 40200, and it's a fabulous piece of machinery. It is made, at least in part, of magnesium, so it's quite light for it's rather brawny size. It's beautifully machined and finished, despite having been made in China, and the engineering is as exemplary as one might expect of quality products from the better German manufacturers, like Cullman. I can't give you their company history, but I know they've been making tripods for decades, because my old one is a 25 year old Cullman. That's the one with the three-way pan head I mentioned was better than my Manfrotto ballhead. But, it's a pretty light-duty tripod, geared towards travel photography (although not as specialized as the Cullman Magic series).

Anyway, this head is rated for 66 lbs!! My Manfrotto is rated (optimistically, in my opinion) for ~17 lbs. The Cullman has a tension control. The Manfrotto doesn't. The Cullman is one of those products that make you go "Well, damn! Those people who rave about these things AREN'T crazy!" Because, frankly, I was thinking anyone who voluntarily used a ballhead had to be nuts, after my experience with them. But the Cullman is a whole different beast. It stays where you point it, even without locking it down. Just dial in the right amount of tension, and you don't even need to touch the controls after that. It's amazing.

It's not perfect. The quick release mechanism on it is apparently designed for 8x10 field cameras and/or 600mm lenses for 35mm cameras. It's HUGE. It's SO big, I can't leave the quick release plate on my 100-400mm when I put it away, because it keeps the case from zipping up. So, I may need to figure out a way to swap that out, because that's kind of a pain. But, on the other hand, that too is extremely well engineered, even if it is awfully large. It even allows considerable fore-and-aft adjustment, to allow you to find the perfect balance for a big lens, or to act as a crude macro stage. If only it weren't so huge. this ballhead would be damn close to perfect.

North To Alaska
As you may have noticed, I started uploading shots from my trip to Alaska. And then I got sidetracked, again. Well, I'll get back to them, soon (I hope).

Other Good Stuffs
I want to put in a good word for Jeff Schewe and Bruce Fraser's Real World Camera Raw. I've recently finished reading it, and it's one of the better instructional books I've read. It's fairly thorough, but doesn't bore you to tears with endless reiteration and explanation for the dimwitted, like some books. There were a couple of things that could have been explained better, or more thoroughly, and it suffers quite badly from Mac-addiction, and somewhat less badly from inept editing, though less so than many books, these days. But, I can find way more of those kinds of problems in most instructional books so, by comparison, this one is a gem. If, like me, you're new to Camera Raw, this is the book I'd recommend. I learned a TON, and that's after working with CR for awhile before getting the book.

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Thanks!
I'm always appreciative of any comments, favorites, or features, naturally. I've long since given up trying to keep up with thanking everyone individually for each , because I do need to sleep pretty much every day, but I am grateful. And, I HAVE noticed all the new names showing up in the notifications of faves. So, a special thank you to you folks.

I do still try to reply to all comments on my work, and all your comments, positive or negative, are welcome. And, now that I can see the messages on my homepage on my regular message page, you may even get a reply to those.

And, if you dropped by to say thank you,

You're Welcome!

If you said something nice about me,

Thanks!

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