*ist D arrive! Good machine...

Finally I've been able to test my newest acquisition and I must say it's bombastic! It works like Swiss clock And the battery grip, what a joy to use. The 16-45 lens is superb - so in a word, all the best

There are two or three things I'd like to ask:

-when I was shooting with the M lens (100mm f/4 macro) the strange thing happened. I had the camera in aperture priority mode and the camera was shooting with 1/1500s this particularly scene at ISO 200. When I change the setting to manual the camera let me shoot at 1/45s. Why?

-why the exposure meter bars does not show on the right side in view finder when shooting in M (manual) setting? It's a bit disturbing...

-otherwise I have no problems with it and I must say that *ist D + battery grip + 16-45 lens IS a PRO camera for those who doesn't shoot sports or very fast action. It seems that the image quality is good so: no complaint from my side

I'd like to ask one more thing: In your opinion, what would be the best program for post processing the photographs?

Thanks...

Regards - Saso

When you use an M or earlier lens on this camera, you must put the camera in Manual mode. Set the apeture on the lens, then press the green button to get a center-weighted reading for that apeture.

If the lighting changes, or if you change the apeture, you must take another center-weighted reading by pressing the green button.

This is because they left out the actuator that senses the manual apeture set on the lens, so with firmware upgrade 1.12 you can use these manual lenses in a quasi-apeture preferred mode. It's really not so diffeent from using them on the old M or K series cameras, you take a reading, compose, and shoot.

With "A" series or later lenses, the camera and lens communicate. You use the camera to set the apeture on the lens, and you have all the shooting modes available to you.

The best program available for post-processing photographs is Adobe Photoshop CS2. It has a steep learning curve, but once you get into it it's the most powerful program out there.

The 16-45 is a great lens, the camera is one of the best DSLR's available. I just wish they had a 50-135mm zoom lens, it would function similar to how the 80-200 does on the full frame film cameras.

Arthur's advice is fine, but whilst Photoshop CS2 may well be the best image editor available, it is very expensive.

There are several cheaper alternatives if your finances are in delicate health the moment.

For RAW, Phase One Capture One is excellent and not too expensive in the LE edition. Some people think it is superior to RAW conversion in Photoshop, and it is very quick to process a batch of pictures.

A free RAW converter is RAWshooter Essentials.

For photo editing, Picture Window Pro requires much less of a learning curve than PS CS2, and does pretty much all you need. Again, the price is reasonable.

Finally, the bars do show in Manual mode. You have to press and hold the On-Off switch in the Illuminate position. When you do this, the back (Aperture) button changes function and controls the shutter. You can then use the camera like an old match-needle SLR. This is a crafty camera.

By the way, you CAN use the camera in Av mode. However, the only aperture that will work is fully open.

Good luck. You've made a sound choice of both body and lens, in my view.

George

Don't forget there is always Photoshop Elements 3. A fine package with much of the functionality of full Photoshop. PSE3 includes RAW conversion, although I would have to agree with George that C1LE is a fine package

If you start with PSE3 then there's a whole heap of information out there (places like www.hiddenelements.com )

Hope that helps,
Matt

Thanks very much guys!
I didn't need this until now, because I used only film. But times are changes and new technology arrive. Fortunately good photography is here to stay, only media is different.

Good day to you all....

Regards - Sašo