I'm glad you pointed out the T& C's, John. I understand about loading hyperlinks, etc as I' a moderator for my friends' footy website, and we have pretty much the same T & C's there too. The aim of this topic was to help people who wanted to add a bit of individuality to their posts if they so wished. You are correct in saying that it's what you post that's important, but by adding a sig perhaps people will use it as a visual cue to remembering a particularly helpful comment, with any thanks attributed to the correct member, in pretty much the same way as each persons' avatar creates individuality.

Anyway, many thanks for moving this to the correct forum - I wasn't too sure where to best place it.

Firstly, I apologise if I'm posting this in the wrong place...

I've noticed since I joined that very few (if any) members bave a sig (signature) attached to their posts, and wondered if this was because maybe you are unsure how to create one. You will see that I have created a relatively simple sig for myself.


[IMG]http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab176/steven9761/Untitled-1.jpg[/IMG]

Now, I will try to explain the process of creating your own sig.

The following process applies to Adobe Photoshop/Photoshop Elements. It may need a bit of exploring if you are using a different program:

Let's begin by creating the background (I chose a black background for my sig). On the top left of the Adobe toolbar, click FILE, NEW, BLANK FILE. You don't really need to name this background. PRESET the dimensions to 750 PIXELS wide by 40 PIXELS high. A resolution of 72 pixels/inch is fine. COLOUR MODE is set to RGB COLOUR, and BACKGROUND CONTENTS is set to BACKGROUND COLOUR (black). You have now created the foundation of your sig.

I have downloaded the Pentax logo from wikipedia, as they have it in various image sizes. I also grabbed a photo of the K-r from the official Pentax website. Once I had both images, I then removed the background from them with the MAGIC ERASER TOOL.

Insert the Pentax Logo to the left-hand side of your black bar, resizing to fit the bar. This should be created as a new layer. Likewise, add in the photo of the K-r in the right-hand side, again as a new layer.

Now, we need to personalise the black bar by adding our sig. Using the TEXT TOOL select the area where you want to place your personalised sig, in the above example it is STEVEN9761. Choose your COLOUR and FONT, then simply type in your name or nickname. If the image you have created resembles mine (above), then simply save it in your preferred folder (My Photos).

Now, because your sig requires an IMAGE CODE, you will need to use an image host to upload your newly-created sig to. My preference is for Photobucket (http://photobucket.com). If you already have a PB account - GREAT!!.. If not, sign up - it's free to use! Once you are logged in, click UPLOAD. You should see a progress bar near the top, indicating that your image is being uploaded. Once it has been added to your ALBUM, you should hopefully see a BLUE BAR (save/edit/delete/move). Below this blue bar lies the golden treasure that is your newly created sig. DOUBLE-CLICK the box to the right-hand side of where it says IMG CODE to highlight the text (it will look like [IMG]http;//....). Now RIGHT-CLICK this, and select COPY from the drop-down box. Now go to MY SETTINGS on this site, then select PROFILE INFORMATION, and finally, where you see SIGNATURE, RIGHT-CLICK and PASTE the IMG CODE that you just copied from Photobucket (or your own choice of image host). Just one last step, and you're done...

Click on WEBSITE OPTIONS in MY SETTINGShere. Where is says (near the bottom) ALWAYS ATTACH MY SIGNATURE, ensure that you have set it to read YES - THAT'S IT!!

Now, every time you reply to a thread, your personalised sig should appear!

Will - check your internet connection. I get this to load no problem.

In the 1st two shots, you will need to photoshop the shiny baubles to get rid of your fizzog!! Otherwise, they are good "card" shots.

Not too sure how to do it on Photoshop, but I'm sure there are tutorials somewhere.

Number 3 is also "card-worthy". 4 might work with a bold header text added. 5 looks a bit "unkempt" to me. 6 is a bit too "monotonous", colourwise - maybe needs an infusion of other colours to add a bit more interest.

Sorry if I appear over-critical - it's only my personal opinion (for what it's worth).

Don - I like these kinds of photo! They give the viewer a wee laugh, and in years to come it will be a gentle reminder of the little girl's childhood. You captured her innocence so well with this shot!

Hahaha!!.. Typical toddler!! Food everywhere!.. Great Capture, Don!!

STEVIED - to follow up on John's point.. My supervisor at work was intent on buying the Nikon 3100 slr, but because the assembly plant at Ayutthaya (Thailand) was flooded when the Chao Phraya river burst its banks, coupled with the earthquake/tsunami in Japan earlier in the year, Nikon have been seriously damaged production-wise, hence you will have great difficulty in obtaining some of their newer models. If you can source a Nikon you're after, chances are that you will pay over the odds for it. I can't say with any certainty what Canon's problems are though.

Like John says, buy what's on the market now. It's a bit like your son wanting the latest superbike or a Mitsubishi Evo - if he got an old Honda 50cc, or a second-hand Nissan Micra, he'll be content enough with it at the time, but still be driven with the aspiration of moving up to "better" things in the future. HE's got to learn to walk before he can run, Stevie.

Depends upon how it gets shipped...

Customs handling fee - typically between £8 - £18 (though possibly higher, or even lower!)

VAT - 20% of the declared value of the goods (20% is UK vat rate)

Import tax - depends on the commodity (lens/ camera body, flashgun, etc)

If you care to PM me what you had in mind for importing, I'll check the online integrated tariff at work for the duty rate. It's a subscription-based service, and I don't have the login ID here at home. As a guide though, work on the basis (for now at least) that import tax is levied at between 4-7%, and you won't be too far out.

If you bought a £500 camera, expect to pay:

Customs fee = £25 (shown for estimated calculation only)
VAT = £100 (£20 per £100 spent)
Import tax @ 7% = £35

So, the bottom line is that all in, your shiny new camera has cost you £660 in total (minus shipping fees).

17 year olds are still at an impressionable age, so the fact that Canon and Nikon both advertise on tv, he's gonna want one of their products. Tell him that just because Pentax aren't "in yer face" like the aforementioned camera-tarts, doesn't mean Pentax are useless. I think a wee lesson in the history of Pentax cameras might just open his eyes a tad!

That said - his eyes might prefer the colours produced by Nikon or Canon in the same way as some people will buy Denon hifi because it sounds better than perhaps TEAC's hifi systems - in other words, it's subjective.

http://www.chinacheapwholesale.net/products/?pentax-s335_p1.html

The K5 is priced at $699 with free shipping;
The Kr is priced at $248 + $30 shipping fee..

Just in case anybody may be interested!!