Does anyone else share the view that the shortlist for this competition
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/apictureofbritain/gallery/
shortlist/index.shtml) is on the whole pretty poor, especially "wales -
rural" (every shot is rubbish) and "north of england - rural" (a couple

Most zoom digicams seem to be around 35mm equivalent at the wide end.
Any go anymore without going SLR?  Concern is taking buildings inside
and out and wanting to get as much in as possible.
Also anything I can add to my digicam to go wider - it has a 52mm

I have taken some pics of products for a website I recently set up but my
results are a bit naff.
They are spectacles, I have taken them against a white background but they
always show with a mucky coloured background.

Can anyone tell me where I can find a +0.25 and/or +0.5 dioptre close-up lens, preferably 55mm or 62mm thread?
Nearest I've found so far is Nikon 0T which is +0.7 with a 52mm thread.
TIA
paulw

I'm looking for a TFT monitor to replace my aging (huge) 20" Sony Trinitron,
for photo editing work. Ideally I'm looking for something around 20"
probably 1600 x 1200 resolution with good colour gamut, black level and
viewing angle. Price is less important than image quality any ...

Anyone have experience of equipment prices in Poland?  I'm flying out
there next week and wondered if I could save a few hundred on a Nikon
70-200.  Or a pointer to a Polish dealers web site?
TIA

If one sees a pic on a website I am guessing it is illegal or at least out
of order to pinch it for your own purposes.
If somebody could point me to a resource for free images I would be
grateful, im googling also.

I have a Nikon F65 which is fitted with the standard as supplied from
new 28-100mm AF nikkor lens. If i purchased a bare Nikon D50 camera
body,could i use the AF Nikkor lens on it with full functionality or
would there be issues??

First of all, I would like to appologize for this sort-of-a spamming of
the Newsgroup.
I am a young photographer from Croatia, looking for international
affirmation.  I would like to take the opportunity to invite you to take

Further to my last thread I am getting better at this.
http://www.justrimless.com/images/thi266.gif
The above is a full rimmed frame, the rimless types are still posing me a
problem.

My understanding is that VAT is no longer payable on s/h items.  Is this
correct?
I ask because at least one web based dealer (with extensive s/h lists) uses
an automated sales page which adds VAT to the total before debiting the

To what extent are RAW files from different cameras similar? To what extent do
they contain the same information/use the same file structure?
Each manufacturer supplies its own software to manipulate RAW files - and I
know there are generic programs with add-ons for each version - ...

I've seen a flash gun advertised on eBay from DigitalRev who ship from Hang
Kong.  Has anyone had any experience dealing with this firm?  The price is
very good but I'm wary.  Should I be?

Is the use of a teleconverter EVER as good as a decent long lens of
equivalent fl?
Example...I have a f2.8 200mm lens. If I add the 2x converter to make it
400mm am I going to get as good a lens as if I bought the 400mm f5.6?

Sorry if this has been asked before but a mate has just got married and the
photo album he got back on cd is in Flipalbum format.
Ho do i go about getting the jpegs viewable in a photo editing program
cheers