'All hope abandon ye who enter here'

Woolburr wrote in post #2260330
The sticker on mine was like $36,200....I got the loaded model....didn't pay anywhere near sticker though...it was picked up in Sweden...at the factory in Göteborg....I couldn't make the trip...but I have a friend that has family in Malmo...so she took delivery for me...

Ah, cool. I think that if Volvo ever went bust 70% of the Göteborg industry would do as well. So many people rely on Volvo here, either they work there or they work at companies that rely on Volvo. We used to drive a Volvo all through my childhood as dad worked as a consultant for them, so we got a good price on the cars. Since my parents retired they decided to skip Volvo and upgrade.

If anyone want to sell me a 70-200 2.8 really cheap....or just send it to me as a Christmas gift (or birthday in April), I am game.

Claire wrote in post #2260353
Since my parents retired they decided to skip Volvo and upgrade.

Gee...is a Ferrari all that practical in Sweden?

Woolburr wrote in post #2260346
When they first introduced the Canon mount Kodaks....I was sure I wanted one....I kept watching the price...but it didn't move down a whole lot in those days. I waited until the D30 was introduced....and snagged one of those...I was glad I waited.

I made the decision for my first P&S in 1996 - I opted to go film instead of digital. I knew about the state of digital back in those days and it was cellphone quality. In fact, my Nokia (almost spelt that Nikon.. such blasphemy) N70 has higher resolution than consumer digitals of that day. We're talking webcam grade resolution. 640x480 pictures. This is consumer digital, because pro digital SLRs cost a fortune and then some.

Interestingly, I shot real pro grade film on those, Kodak's high end professional neg films. I was talked into them by a pro, and not knowing any better, went with the recommendation. I can't say I'm disappointed. Of course the camera operator knew NOTHING in those days so.... I have a roll left as a souvenir from days gone by. It will sit on my desk, unexposed, forever.

If, for some reason, as an SLR shooter I suddenly found myself stuck in a timewarp that sent me back 10 years, it's interesting to note that my choice of equipment would have been almost parallel to what it is today - the 5D is so "me", along with the 24-105. 10 years ago that would have been the EOS 5/A2 with 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 USM.

Image stabilizers wouldn't make it onto standard zooms until two whole years later (1998) with the 28-135 IS USM. However, the very first telezoom with IS, the 75-300 IS, was launched in 1995. I would have had to wait a whole year to use a 300 f/4L IS USM, assuming I even knew what it was or could ever have dreamed of affording one. And two years again to 1998 to use the awesome 100-400. My ultrawide would have been the 20-35mm USM f/3.5-4.5, introduced 1993.

Very cool to note that the Big Whites would have still retained their relevance in today's full frame digital age. I was into computers back then, every 12-18 months we would throw another chunk of change into the black hole of instant obsolescence. ALL of my computers from then are now just memories, or photos taken with the P&S. No longer relevant. Thrown into the trash can.

Do I sound old before my time? I probably do.... I am.... I feel it too

Woolburr wrote in post #2260357
Gee...is a Ferrari all that practical in Sweden?

Ehm, no. LOL And we certainly don't have one either! hehe I wish, but my parents aren't the type to go for sports cars. Now, if I won the lottery though I'd probably buy a blue Ferrari for the hell of it...

My parents got a BMW

Just to give you folks an idea of what digital looked like in 1996...
http://www.canon.com …l/data/1996_ps-600_s.html

Shudder at the thought.

On the other hand even consumer grade 4x6 prints done at the chemist/pharmacy gave me an effective scanned resolution of 2MP before the scanner started resolving the individual dots in the print. So it turned out I was right; film would yield higher image quality (given MY constraints, no drum scanners for me)

It would be 2000 before things broke even at 2MP native.

Hm, I remember those HUGE digital cameras where you put in the disk in it.

I was traumatized by the fact I had to use the Sony Mavica at the office. The floppy and the CD versions. The tales I could tell you about those cameras would rival the NC2000 stories on Rob Galbraith - almost (they had it worse, I must very much admit)

I did high speed PJ-style coverage of our corporate events as I was only one of three shooters (eventually 2) who could even figure the damn things out. Let's see.. I am trying to nail "the moment" where the VIP is being presented a token of appreciation, or the "ceremonial handshake" (you know, the usual nonsense).. and the camera goes "WRITE ERR" - because CD-Rs and floppy disks are THE most unreliable media EVER. CF failing? Deal with it; we did it all the time. They'd even send two of us if it was important enough just in case something catastrophic happened, and it did, more often than it didn't, I can definitely tell you that.

Then sometimes it took 15 seconds to write to disk with a ONE shot buffer. Great, when I need a follow-up shot RIGHT NOW because we botched the first one.

Onboard flash...with all its trappings. You know how it feels. Bad.

My team always developed a procedure where we would charge the batteries, load media, format media, fire shots, chimp, before even leaving our desks. We couldn't even count on the things working properly all the time. It saved us on more than one occasion.

I was part of the postprocessing crew. Wow. Those are things I would rather forget.

So in an odd sense of the word, I have been a professional photographer (stretching the definition to the limits) insofar as I did it as part of my job. Those days are gone; may they STAY dead. I left them a few years ago.

Whenever I do events nowadays (on my own, no longer as part of the job), I say a prayer of thanks for the state of the hardware I now have access to. I notice lots of folks bash the 350D here, whine about it and everything, call me stupid for my choice of that camera - well, where *I* come from - we are grateful to have even that. And I STILL am grateful.

Claire wrote in post #2260386
Ehm, no. LOL And we certainly don't have one either! hehe I wish, but my parents aren't the type to go for sports cars. Now, if I won the lottery though I'd probably buy a blue Ferrari for the hell of it...

My parents got a BMW

A blue Ferrari...there is a novel idea. I think I should have gotten some other color than silver. Here is mine the day it finally got here.

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I was happy with my little Kodak DC 200 and monster 4mb CF card. Did a good job of embarrassing my friends with their Sony Mavicas that would give an error about every other shot.

Woolburr wrote in post #2260415
I was happy with my little Kodak DC 200 and monster 4mb CF card. Did a good job of embarrassing my friends with their Sony Mavicas that would give an error about every other shot.

Wool.......NO @#*(!@ING KIDDING!!

Those were as unreliable as all imagination. It was all we had....

But that's not to say those days are entirely a waste. I learned one thing about events - it is ALL ABOUT FOOTWORK. We had s$%t gear - I won't mince my words - we had to compensate. Footwork meant being in all the right places. Good thing about being on official business is that we could 'butt in' in front of others and they would not say a word (we would leave quickly though, again framing for the next shot). Always one step ahead of events, always have the programme in your head even though they NEVER follow it, always pre-frame the shot in your mind (that's why we use zooms), know where you need to be for the next angle, predict, predict, predict. Pre-focus when your camera takes five staggering seconds to acquire an autofocus lock (and botches it anyway). Bracket like mad, you WILL NOT get a second chance. Always watch for the key moments. Talk to people at events; you learn interesting things that way, especially about what happens next (SOMEONE always knows - finding the someone is the problem).

The footwork lessons I learned still continue to amaze me. I had headshots shots of the VIP's at the Christmas parade only because I correctly predicted where they would be and pre-positioned myself. At the end it became IMPOSSIBLE to move in the crowd period, but I was already in position. If you are badged media, security has a roped-off area you can wander into, but I am not, so that takes a lot more than just waltzing in with a media pass. (I wouldn't go in the restricted areas anyway - no point, I'm not paid to do that or take the risk if I do)

Improvise, adapt, be resourceful. People talk about shooting with less. We sure did in those days. Some see only the EOS owner side of things that I do; partly this is my fault since these are stories that were never told.

And that's also the reason why I have this caliber of gear today even though I don't exactly 'NEED' it. But when that day comes again....I'll be ready.

Woolburr wrote in post #2259311
Might take me a moment or two to handle that. Still struggling a bit with the death of my dog on Saturday morning.

Dan - so sorry to hear of Sadie's passing. I lost my 13 year old Flatcoated Retriever last year and it took me quite some time to get over it. They really become part of you.....

Wool, didn't it cost a lot to ship it over?

rfreschner wrote in post #2260430
Dan - so sorry to hear of Sadie's passing. I lost my 13 year old Flatcoated Retriever last year and it took me quite some time to get over it. They really become part of you.....

Thanks Rick...they do hold a special place.

Claire wrote in post #2260435
Wool, didn't it cost a lot to ship it over?

No...interestingly enough...Volvo has a factory delivery program for customers here in the States....they give you two tickets to Sweden and a night in a hotel...you take delivery of the car in Göteborg. Then you can drive the car for up to 120 days or so...without having to pay Swedish tax. You drop it off at one of the pre-arranged ports....they load and ship it for no extra charge....since you have driven the car in Sweden...it is a used car when it arrives in the US....cuts down on taxes and such here too...lots of people buy their Volvos this way.

Lightstream wrote in post #2260419
Wool.......NO @#*(!@ING KIDDING!!

And that's also the reason why I have this caliber of gear today even though I don't exactly 'NEED' it. But when that day comes again....I'll be ready.

Anyone that didn't experience the horrors of shooting with a 2 day shutter lag has no idea about any of this. I am glad those days are long gone.