Don't forget Capture One LE
As far as I know it's the only one that lets you apply a camera specific colour profile to the RAW file. All the others do a bit of a "fudge" with values from Adobe - check out the dcRAW source code

Generally, any RAW workflow should work in the following sequence:
1. White balance correct
2. Basic exposure correction
3. Tweak WB, if needed (then check exposure again)
4. Apply curves and other exposure corrections.

BTW, don't both with RSE - it's been bought out by Adobe, and there's no more support

Just to throw something else in... there's SilkyPix.
The quality output is excellent (as is C1LE), and it'll be included in some of the newer Pentax DSLRs However, C1 still has the fastest workflow, IMO.

(Check out my sticky posts if you want to play with C1LE.)

Just in case you're wondering - I'm not affiliated with, nor paid by Phase One. It's just that I've tried pretty well all the RAW convertors and this one, for a number of reasons, is still top of my list.

As far as editing, I personally prefer Adobe Photoshop. If you can't afford CS2, then Elements is a very worthy package which will give you the same engine (but with fewer features). I could still do most of what I need in Elements... it's just that I have CS2

PS: I'm utterly useless at remember colour, though my wife is very very good at it!

Matt

Ali, I'm jealous

If it had to be one lens...

I reckon out of my kit it's got to be the SMC-F 50mm/f1.4

The bokeh is just truly sublime, and I love being able to take candids in low light. Took some truly beautiful shots at f2.0 at two weddings, even if I say so myself , ... well actually the brides & grooms said so too

But that's a hard call

Matt

Glad you found PTLens

My work flow is this:
* shoot RAW
* process in Capture One, unsharpened
* apply my sharpening (Sharpen-O-Matic - detailed on other threads here, or on my website)
* flatten and correct with PTLens
* continue editing...

i.e. apply capture-sharpening before using PTLens

Have fun!!
Matt

That amount of distortion (which is not a huge amount) is within spec.

I ran your image through "PTLens" which has a generic profile for the SMC-DA 16-45, and the horizon became dead straight So I'd say your 16-45 is fine. And yes, when extended the barrel does move a mm or two either way - can measure it if you need to. As has been said, plastic lens construction makes this almost inevitable.

I've used both Cokin P and Lee 100mm filters, and haven't found it a great problem, to be honest.

Hope that helps
Matt

Ava,
I would say that you should get a very good working experience with JPG first

Processing RAW takes some practise (I would suggest at least a couple of weeks solid), and if you are struggling with other aspects of the *ist-D I would delay the use of RAW until you are completely happy with everything else.

But to answer your questions (in part) - I use two 2Gb cards and one 1Gb. That does me just fine. However, if I am away from my PC for a while I need to carry a 40Gb portable storage device (Flashtrax) to empty the cards. It's not unusual for me to take 10Gb in a couple of weeks

If you are asking because you want "cleaner" images for action photography, then I'd suggest using JPG ISO400 (and turning "Sensitivity Correction = off". That should give you a little extra room. However, you need to work out whether your problems are down to camera shake, mis-focussing, or just too slow an exposure. Work that out first, and then try the other options available to you.

Alternatively there are several noise reducing plugins available that can clean up higher ISO JPG images. I have NeatImage (and I provided the *ist-D profiles for NeatImage), but there are free ones out there that do a pretty excellent job of cleaning up image noise. You will probably find that an easier path first of all.

Once you can identify where the "weak" areas are, you may then decide to move onto RAW processing. If you still need help, I can dig out some online guides to using RAW convertors.

Matt

Golfdiesel - how are you measuring their mAh rating? The only real way to do that is to do a controlled discharge.

SMC - the quality of the charger has a huge impact on the state of NiMHs, I have found. A decent Ansmann 8-way charger does a brilliant job of revitalising my NiMHs

Matt

Ava,
When you first select the custom menu you can arrow right (or left) to choose between three sets of custom settings

(It's mentioned at the top of page 115 in the manual, and steps 1-3 on that page)

For macro/landscape work (or any other tripod work for that matter), I have one custom set to have "Sensitivity Correction = off" (because I want ISO200 all the time), and the "Program Line = MTF" (which means the camera will pick the best aperture for the lens - otherwise known as the sweetspot).

It's just helpful to know that you can set up one of the custom sets for day-to-day photography, then set one of the others for anything unusual. Just remember to check which custom setting you are operating before you use the camera each time

Matt

Ava,
Regarding the ISO rating - the image quality depends...

When shooting JPG in camera, then I find the quality at ISO400 is ok, 800 is just about usable, and 1600 is pushing it.
However, I shoot RAW and use Capture One LE for processing and I find that I can get very good image quality at up to ISO1600 (recently did some wedding shots at ISO800 and ISO1600 with an f1.4 lens at f2.0). ISO200 is "cleaner" of course, but it's not always appropriate to use.

Noise does increase as you increase the ISO rating, but not nearly as much as film!

But then think about it - if the lighting was poor, and you try to stick to ISO200, what's the point of having no good images at all? In my view it's better to get noisier/grainier images that capture the moment than none at all

Let us know how you get on!
Matt

I quite agree with John.
Thanks for the suggestion JointComms
Maybe they could let me have the new DSLR on loan so I can write an "English" manual for that (Dream on!)

Note that the *ist-DS has many of the same facilities. You can set it so the "OK" button on the back does the focus. It's a real time saver and I've hardly missed a shot - it's become second nature. Kudos to Pentax for including that feature on all their DSLRs

Matt