Solstice, were they taken with film or digital? They are beautiful. Coffeemom, you made me laugh! I just finished my last roll of Advantix film and I swore that was the end of that camera, even though I loved it. It's time to get a digital, but I want at least 6 mp and 10x optical zoom for a good price. Does anyone know if you really need 6 or more mps in a digital camera? My first camera was a Canon AE1 program, which I still use. I bought it in 1983 and the first pick I took with it was my son taking his first step. I love that camera. I took a quick course at the local vo-tech school on photography, but I could never figure out the f stops and aperture stuff, so I always left it on auto mode and I have albums full of great pics. I got the Advantix one Christmas since I was always complaining about lugging the Canon around. It took great pics and I loved the Advantix film. You could take the pics in 4x6, 4x7 or panoramic. I still don't know if I want a digital SLR or not. I hate to spend a lot of money on something, just to find out that it's in a year or two. Julie

Contact lenses are much abused eye products and can actually cause damage if not picked wisely. Here are a few reasons why contact lenses should be picked wisely after a prescription and that too after a visit to a qualified eye specialist. To begin with, a contact lens need not be 'fits-all' type. One must get it prescribed. Since a prescription is an authorized statement that clearly mentions what is ok, you can shop with confidence and it feels good that you are doing the right thing. Since buying a pair of contact lens can happen only through a prescription, any website selling 'branded' contact lens are likely to be selling lens that may not be branded and that isn't good news for your eye. If you have been wearing both glasses and contact lens, you are now aware that the prescriptions are a little different from each other. While most of us know what we need a prescription to buy glasses for eye sight problems, the same prescription cannot be used for contact lenses. This means, you need to get a separate prescription for contact lens. Even if you wish to wear contact lens for changing your eye color, you will need a prescription from an Opthalmogist. If you prefer to wear a specific type of contact lens, you can talk to your doctor so that she or he can recommend and also mention that brand in the prescription so that there are no hassles tomorrow. The doctor can also clear any doubt and specify the positives and negatives about any special type of Contact Lens. A prescription will have the doctor's contact details and this way, the dealer can call and check should there be any kind of confusion or if any clarification needs to be sought. Here is a link that might be useful: Contact Lenses

In America it's known as the Olympus SP-550 UZ - price $500 (US):- - 4.68 84.24mm (28  504mm equivalent in 35mm photography) - Dual Image Stabilization eliminates blur (so you can photograph even when panicing) - The world's most powerful ultra zoom (at present) - 7.1 megapixel (so your UFO pix will make the FULL front page) - high-speed sequential shooting (get those shots of everybody running from the UFO) - shoot in low light without a flash (UFOs usually appear at night) And further propaganda:- - FULL MANUAL EXPOSURE CONTROL - ISO 5000 - "The SP-550 UZ offers the highest ISO sensitivity of any ultra zoom for superior low-light and fast-action photography" - With a burst rate of up to 15fps, you can freeze moments in time to get the shot you want. - macro (as close as 1cm) - wow!! gotta have one. -30 Shooting Modes including Movie with sound (HEAR the panicked screams) -Maximum Aperture f2.8  f4.5 - Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec.  15 sec., Bulb -ISO Auto, High ISO Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200*, 5000* (*approx. 3MP) - now you can photograph the famous "black cat in a coal mine". - Adjustment Resolutions 3,072 x 2,304, RAW / SHQ / HQ 3,072 x 2,048, 3:2 / SHQ / HQ 2,560 x 1,920, SQ1 High, Normal 2,304 x 1,728, SQ1 High, Normal 2,048 x 1,536, SQ1 High, Normal 1,600 x 1,200, SQ2 High, Normal 1,280 x 960, SQ2 High, Normal 1,024 x 768, SQ2 High, Normal 640 x 480, SQ2 High, Normal - 30 Shooting Modes: Auto, Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, My Modes, GUIDE, Scene Presets (Portrait, Landscape, Landscape & Portrait, Night Scene, Night & Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self-Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select1, Shoot & Select2, Beach, Snow, Underwater Wide1, Underwater Wide2, Underwater Macro), Movie - Panorama Modes Up to 10 frames automatically stitchable with OLYMPUS Master Software when using Olympus brand xD-Picture Card - Sequential Shooting Hi-Speed2: 15 frames per second for 20 frames (1.2MP) Hi-Speed1: 7 frames per second for 15 frames (3MP) Normal Speed: 1.2 frames per second for 7 frames (7MP) - Bracket: Exposure bracketing up to 5 frames - Interval Shooting - Shooting Assist Functions - Histogram, Frame Assist - Noise Reduction - Set automatically at shutter speeds of 0.5 second or longer - Flash Working Range Wide: 14.8 ft. (4.5m), Tele: 9.2 ft. (2.8m) at ISO 200 Wide: 42.3 ft. (12.9m), Tele: 26.2 ft. (8.0m) at ISO 1600 - Date/Time Calendar Automatically recorded with each image (up to 2099) (after 2099 it goes into "Millenium melt-down" - remember that contrived scare-?) - Removable Media Card xD-Picture Card (16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512MB, 1GB or 2GB) - Operating Environment Operation: 32°  104°F (0°  40°C), (Oh bother - that means no more desert trips, then); - 30%  90% humidity - So, why wouldn't you want one? Now I can get rid of my 35mm (Canon) and medium format film cameras, and give my back a rest - and even though the Panasonic (with Leica lens) has served me well, it's showing it's age.

oh,I'm still learning with my xti. It's been great, everytime I learn something new. So I started taking baby steps following directions in the XTi 400D Manual. I found photoworkshop.com/canon to be very helpful. Also, XTisite.com is another. However, makes sure you check out that some of these sites cost money. But, most of the time, they will let you read a few things. It's been interesting. Now that big long lens you spoke of. I too went through the same thing of not realizing it was supposed to be an IS lense to help me with the photograph, unless you have a tripod. Recently, a man I met on a photography forum was speaking about how he was getting rid of most of his long range IS lenses. His reason was, he enjoys and gets as much satisfaction out of the Macros. I have yet to enjoy this anomoly. However, it would be nice to try one of them macros he speaks of. May want to try. Seems to me, smaller lenses have been mostly the cheaper ones. Starr