mbird

For anyone that's interested version 2.3 of Lightroom has been released this month. If you already have 2.0 or 2.1, the following link will take you to the upgrade page where you can download the upgrade file. This isn't a separate programme but will upgrade the version you already have to 2.3. Dunno what the changes are, but they sound more like fixes than anything else. http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4360

Ooh yessiree!!!!!

Ah, but some of us like a bit of punishment from Miss . Oh, sorry, did I just type that out loud?

Hi Barry I find the easiest software for resizing is Microsoft Office Picture Manager, which comes with Microsoft Office. However, I believe it's possible to resize in Microsoft Paint (which comes with windows) using Image->resize. The only downside with this programme is you can't specify a size you want in pixels, but have to give a percentage of the original size. I guess it's also possible to do within Lightroom2, but I haven't sussed that one yet!

Whoops, forgot one! This was on the way back down the Bure to Thurne.

Hi All Some snaps from our cruise to Neatishead at the weekend. We stopped off at Irstead and had a look inside the church which produced a couple of photos. I'd never been inside before, but I think it is about the same age as St Helens at Ranworth, and every bit as charming. Hope you like them (and please forgive the rather tongue-in-cheek copyright logo, but I just found out how to do it! ). There were a couple of swans having a bit of a territorial battle at Womack. The view up the dyke opposite the public staithe at Irstead. I loved the way the sun illuminated this candle in Irstead church. And also the shadows cast on this simple scene And lastly Sharon spotted this Kingfisher in Lime Kiln Dyke as we approached Neatishead. He stayed put until we were almost up to him, brave little chap!

Hi Steve Heres a little picc of a typical plug . The long sticky-out bit is a metal tube with a ceramic core which glows red hot during heating. If this is encrusted with carbon, the air inside the combustion chamber can't heat up and therefore starting becomes a problem. The unscrew-retighten method described by JohnT helps reduce the risk of breakage by loosening the carbon deposits, but any breakage normally occurs just below the threads.

Hi Steve I had no idea when our plugs were last out either. I decided just to go for it as starting was becoming a real issue, and it really wasn't a problem. A couple of them sqeaked a bit, but I just took my time and eased them out. One of them still had to be encouraged after the threads were clear of the head due to the carbon build up. The only problem I had was having to loosen one of the fuel feed pipes as it was right in the way. I have heard that if the tip of a plug does break, the easiest way to remove it is to crank the engine and hopefully the broken part will get blown out of it's hole. I can't say I'm too keen on trying that though!

I've obviously got involved in a huge subject here, which I'm afraid I still don't fully understand. As being no more than a keen amateur, I think I have come across a bit of a compromise to keep things simple (sorry Bruce, you're gonns hate this ) 1. Ordered a calibration print from Photobox. 2. Adjusted my screen brightness and contrast to try to match as closely as possible the screen verions of the calibration print with the hard copy. 3. Run the Spyder2 Calibration software to get the colours right. Doing the above sequence, I am now seeing on the screen what I am received as hard copy. My biggest problem wasn't with colour tint or anything like that, it was just that the photos were so much darker than the images on screen. The Spyder2 software says that you should reset the contrast and brightness to factory default, but on my monitor default is 90% for both brightness and contrast, so it's no wonder the prints looked darker than the screen images! The Spyder2 software doesn't seem to adjust the brightness at all, just the colour temp, so I think I will just try a few test shots and then get them printed and see what happens!

Welcome home Simon, I'm glad you could get back at last. If you need anything, give me a call.

Bowthrusters ....... Now what do you need them for then ???

We got surgeons on here too Good luck mate.

Hi John We had a lot of starting problems last year on our BMC1.5. Sometimes I would have to heat and crank 4 or 5 times, occasionaly meaning I had to jump the starter battery from the domestics. Darren at DRL Marine lent me his reaming tool (drill bit brazed to a brass rod). I had never done this before, so I proceeded with caution taking the plugs out. They all came out fine with a bit of squeaking. I tested them all, and all worked ok too. Reamed the holes, popped the plugs back in and hey-presto, instant starting. She sat idle from end of November until a couple of weeks ago, when I heated her for 30 seconds and she started after about 3-4 seconds of cranking on all cylinders. Not bad for a 30 year old engine and I saved myself a good lump of cash by the sound of it too!

Excellent news,Simon. Make sure you get a post on here as to what ward your on, and I'll be sure to pop in and see you. Safe trip mate

Adam & Suzanne, thanks for your tip about LCE. Spoke to them this morning and whilst their price for the 50D is the same as Jessops (£20 more than WE), they will give me £200 trade in for my 350D and battery grip. As long as the VAT man agrees with my returns, hopefully I'll have a new toy in a few weeks time

Oh tell me about it! I went in there earlier this week to get my Spyder2 monitor calibrator, and also came out with a 4GB CF card. I nearly had a set of Lee ND grad filters off them to but luckily they were out of stock. Phew, lucky escape or what! As regard funding the beastie, my VAT return is due the end of the month, and with everything I had to spend on software and printers etc to get my business up and running, I should be getting something back from the Vatman. SWMBO thinks it would be good to reinvest this in a new camera....... cool or what! Good tip about LCE by the way Suzanne. I always forget about them being tucked away in Norwich. I tried Jessops just for a laugh and they would match WE price but nothing more, but I shaln't be purchasing anything there. They have as much expertise as I have fluent mandarine in my experience!

Paul, Thanks for the link. There was a lot of reading material there and the conclusion has confirmed "I want one!" Adam Many thanks for your input. . I did exactly that last year, as I wanted a better lens with IS. It's so much better than the kit lens, that's for sure. I also went a step further and bought a 70-300 EF IS USM lens too, so they should both fair well on the 50D. It also helps keep the cost down as I only need the Body Only option. I'm trying to find the cheapest price at the moment, and so far Warehouse Express are about the cheapest as far as retail outlets go (£828) and I live near Norwich so getting there is a doddle. I have found it £50 cheaper online, but I am always worried about aftersales service, especially for something of that value. All in all, I think I'm convinced. I now need to make sure the wife is too!

Okay, so I've been bitten by the bug, and am thinking of upgrading my camera from the EOS350D I currently have to a 50D. The reviews seem very good, but does anyone here have any experience with them? Any one want to buy a 350D?

Hi Bruce Just as an update, Photobox have sent me the calibration print (shown below). I have then downloaded the jpg of this same print and opened it in Lightroom. There was a considerable difference, so I fiddled with the brightness and contrast until I was happy the screen image and hard copy were similar. The contrast had to reduce to 35%, with brightness at 70% (both were factory set to near 100%) in order to get the images the same, so it's no wonder my prints were rather dark! I'll now run the monitor calibration again to get the colour balance right and I should be about there I reckon. No more disappointing prints! Many thanks for your help, I think we've sorted it!

I was just going to raise that point Jimbo. Just because there is an extension of BSS for a year, doesn't necessarily mean the certificate would be classed as valid, and I reckon that could possibly give insurers an out in the event of a claim. Might just be worth checking......

Great to hear from you Simon, and as Bruce mentioned, you seem to be firing on all cylinders thanks god! All the best mate, and try to stay positive. You & Susan have my mobile number if you need me.

Bruce, As always, your knowledge, but more so your willingness to share that knowledge are amazing. Thank you for taking the time to explain things so thoroughly . I have now purchased a Spyder 2 express and calibrated the monitor. To my surprise, the corrected screen image has much more vibrant colours. The main problem I have I think it with brightness, as the screen, being back-lit or course, shows the photos as being much brighter than the printed result. I have manually adjusted the brightness on my monitor so the photo of the cloisters above now looks similar on the screen to the printed version I received from Photobox. I'll try a few like that and see if the photos I receive are more like I expected (I did recalibrate the monitor after adjusting the brightness, but the way). The software I am using to view the jpegs is generic Windows Photo Gallery that is part of Vista. I didn't realise the software used could actually affect the way the jpeg was displayed, I thought a jpeg was a jpeg and it would look the same in any software, but having reimported a jpeg back into Lightroom, I can now see how wrong I was. The version viewed from windows is markedly different in tone but also in clarity, looking almost blurred in some areas. I will make sure I export to jpeg from the develop module in sRGB for Photobox and see how I get on, but I may also try sending one where you suggest just to have a bench mark comparison. Photobox are cheap and convenient (and quick) but if there is something I really do want to get just right, I am happy to pay a bit more for a better end result. Again, many thanks for your time and effort, Bruce, I really do appreciate it.

Thanks Perry Reading through the link Brice put up, I noticed further down you had opted for the Spyder 2. I now think my biggest problem, as you rightly say, is my monitor not being calibrated. How are you getting on with the Spyder 2, would you recommend it? Warehouse Express have them at about £64 at the moment, whereas the Spyder 3 is more than double that.

Hmmm Right, I knw this would confuse me . When in Lightroom, a photo has been tweaked to where I am happy with it. If I go to the print module and print it to a file as a jpeg at 300ppi, with Adobe RGB colour profile, the resulting jpeg looks much different with regard to colour tone, particularly in the yellows. The only other progiles I have in there are sRGB or ProPhotoRGB. Which would be best to use then do you think? Also, should I be using perceptual or relative rendering intent (neither of which mean anything at all to me!) Also, when selecting to print to my printer, there are only two options in there for the profile, managed by printer, or Epson IJ (which is the one that came with the printer anyway), so I would assume changing to either of these would have no discernable difference. Sorry for all the questions, but I took a photo I was really happy with on Sunday am shown below. On the screen I thought it looked good, but when I printed to my Epson inkjet on photo paper the result was flat and dull. I sent it to Photobox for printing, and the result was much better, but still nowhere near as good as the screen image. I think this is partly because my screen is set up to suit my CAD for my day job, and only uses the default ICC profile that came with the driver, so there is no benchmark to work from, but there seem to be so many different options I don't really know where to start!

Thanks Bruce. I'll read through your link and see where I get too.