Liam
The batch processor is really great. Works great and its very very useful.
One question though, I cant seem to find a way of creating the output folder so that the new files go all into a separate folder. It keeps going into the same folder with the original files. Have you managed to crack that one up?

Thanks

Amin

Liam

You mention how you create your folders, by the trips you make, so I am just thinking about the way I have been doing and see if I get some input or advice in improving the system.

Mainly my pictures are family and kids ones, and since I found that windows was giving me an option to upload my pics from the card by creating a new folder named with the date I have ended up with a huge number of folders based on date.

Whilst that helps me when I go looking for a particular picture because I know more or less the date when it was taken, and also the Vista browser opens up as an option based on the dates of the pictures, and then I can select and open the folder, I still think this is not the most ideal way of cataloguing the pictures and putting them in folders named by dates.

Consequence of this is sometimes I have very few pics taken over several dates and when I upload into the drive I end up with so many folders and many of them with just very very few pics.

Its ok in a way because they are all split by dates, but I am open to suggestions if there is a better way of creating folders or naming them in a way that might be more suitable. What are your experiences regarding this aspect? I presume picasa might give me some other options as well, so it would be interesting to know what other methods others are using.

Thanks very much for all your inputs.

Amin

Liam

Thank you so much for your input on this. I really didn't know picasa had these extra features up its sleeve. I did play with it once long time ago and didn't give much thought to it because at that time I was looking for a more robust editor, which subsequently I managed to get hold of GIMP and am quite happy using it with my limited capabilities with these editing applications. In fact I am extremely happy with it.

Since then I never went back to picasa to explore extra features but I recall finding it very user friendly and the fact that it sorted out the pictures in the way it did the day I ran it captured my attention, but let it go because I was looking for an editor.

I will go back to it and start exploring further. My main problems reside in two aspects. First although the bulk of my pictures are all inside MY PICTURES, but I definitely have some scattered in other folders that get created occasionally just as temporary but then I never go back to it to empty and delete it, thinking that I would revert to them but never happens. I open sometimes folders when i am working on a webalbum creation for example, which I do often using jalbum and fotoplayer, so ideally I want a duplicate finder that would search my main drive rather than make a comparision between two folders, which seems like most of these applications are good at doing. I have briefly downloaded the ones suggested above but unless I am missing something they are good at comparing and then finding duplicates.

I do recall sometime ago when I had decided to glance around I did come across a couple which were mainly scanning the C drive and coming up with duplicate files, and mainly images, which then it opened in two windows to ascertain if one should be ticked off for deletion. So I am sure there are such applications around, must be a matter of searching then.

But as you say, if picasa does that job then thats a huge bonus, because as I said earlier I really liked the interface and the layout and the look of it. So off I am to download it and give it a try.

Thanks again

Amin

hehehe this is the sort of question I have been wanting to ask for quite a while but was afraid of spelling it out in case I would be told off ha (just joking) thought it would expose my utter ignorance about digital photography world, but I see that I wasn't the only one searching for something like this. Oh my, this is such a relief hehehe, so I am not that dumb after all, couldn't be if I am in such great company. So many of you also looking for this huh? . Nice one.

And Matt, you are marvelous as always, and thanks for everyone to chip in with suggestions. I am off to check the applications and clean my folders. Its starting to get to my nerves when I open the Vista image viewer with so many duplicates and some that I should just delete it. The rate at which the images are increasing now since I got my K20D has gone up the roof so I got to keep a tab on them and start checking and rechecking and then delete some.

Thanks again everyone

Amin

HI
Does anyone know of any reasonably good software that I could use to start reorganising my pictures as I have reached the stage that I better start it all over again. Like many I have ended with lots of duplicates scattered on my C drive and I had started backing them up on my external one so its all a mess now.

To make matters worse I have a laptop also and wife loads pics in there from her digicam that I have passed on to her. The main pictures which are of common interest and that I find more difficult to organise are the family and the little ones specially, as they are loads and loads of them and now quite a few duplicates.

Now that I have upgraded to DSLR and getting to grips with it I definitely have started separating my lot but its the old ones that I want to streamline and start making some sense with them.

Any suggestions or advice please?
Much appreciated

Amin

Matt

That's what I wanted to hear, cheapy-cheap extension tubes although without electrical contacts but that's where the advantage of aperture ring in the 50mm 1/4 comes handy so I can manually set it, right? .

This one seems cheapy-cheap enough to get one while I keep an eye for one with electrical contacts so that I can try on my other DA lenses

Thanks a million Matt for the feedback

Here is another thought, and sorry for picking your brains up again.

For the amount of macro work that I think I would be doing at least in the near future and trying with trials and errors wouldn't a Vivitar 2x macro converter be more ideal.
The prices I come across for other extension tubes are over £100. In that case I would rather go for the Pentax 100mm.

Only thing is finding the Vivitar 2x macro converter

Amin

If I did go for a dedicated macro lens (and I am not saying I am:wink wouldn't the obvious choice be the pentax 100mm one compared to the Tamron 90mm? With the £50 cashback from Pentax the prices end up exactly the same, £299. Or am I missing something here?

Right now I am so looking forward to play around with the extension tubes and reversing and coupling rings, sounds so much fun .

Can't wait for the parcels to arrive, kids back to school from today (when the 6 year old is around its a havoc as he wants to take full part in everything I get bombarded with non stop questions about curiosity "what is that dad and whys LOL), will pursuade wife she needs to buy some new shoes and she should go shopping preferably in one of the big shopping centres so she takes her time, and may be catch up with friends LOL, then I will start fiddling with the gadgets ha LOL)

Amin

Amin

Now I learn the trick. So that is the secret way in. That should work marvelously wel, hehehe I hadn't thought of that. I see I have still a lot to learn from you veterans . Will make sure I leave the lens boxes in the shed while coming in and tuck them well in there so that she doesn't notice on her odd trips to the shed to look for her kitchen stuff

So the tricky bit is getting the first silver lens in and then the rest comes easy, provided I never lay them visible together or else I will have to play the magician and say that one hatched the other ha .

thanks very much for the tips

Amin

Stefan

Even if I managed to snap up images which showed the Mrs like the queen of Sheba with that lens I wouldn't get away with it, haha . I would be jeopardising my whole kit and risking any further purchases. She would start watching all my entrances at home with a hawk eye to see any more gadgetery gets through that door lol.

But reading the reviews and comments on the FA 43/1.9 limited they definitely seem desirable, to someone who can make full use of them. Tempt me again next year and I might want them. On balance for me the FA50/1.4 seems perfect and I notice also the angle of view on the Limited ones is only 53 degress compared to 180-100 degrees, which is great for my purposes.

Amin