Is it just me?

[Matno]

Or has this board been really slow lately? Seems like we haven't had very many posts in the last few weeks. I know I've been busier than usual, but I guess maybe everyone else has been too?

On a more exciting note, I just ordered a new digital camera (finally!) Got a Pentax Optio 555. I'm excited that I'll finally be able to post "real" pictures of my bikes, instead of the current ones, which were taken with my camcorder at low resolution. I'd like to say that I'll have lots of chances to take nice ride pics now too, but since my current schedule is 5:30am to about 8:00pm 5-6 days/week, my riding is somewhat limited (practically non-existent). My weekly Saturday ride got cancelled for "personal reasons" yesterday (not mine), and I didn't have the motivation to ride at 5:00am by myself!

Anyway. I promise not to post any huge 5-megapixel files...  

[tmaybee]

Hey Manto.  The boards on MTBR seem to be slow too...  I think everyone is riding instead of posting.       Durring the winter, there is more activity.

How much did you pay for your camear?  I need to buy one for myself  but I would like to stay in the $200  range... of course, I still need to be able to take good pictures.

Trevor    

[Matno]

The camera was a little "over budget," but hopefully will be worth it in the long run. In my current situation, it was getting to be more or less of a necessity to get a decent digital cam. My non-zoom, badly beaten, and much used Chinon (purchased in the 80's) has been a good companion for many years, but its excellent picture quality has started to deteriorate, and it sucks not having a zoom lens. Plus, with a growing family, it was becoming more obvious that we need to be able to take multiple shots most of the time. (On our most recent Christmas trip to St. Thomas, we didn't have a SINGLE picture with both girls looking at the camera! Of course, we didn't find that out until after we got home...)

Oh yeah, the price. The camera itself was $388 (after $50 rebate). But that's just the start with digital cameras. Since the memory card that comes with the camera won't even hold ONE highest resolution uncompressed picture, we spit out an additional $131 for a 512MB high speed (SanDisk Ultra II) SecureDigital card (the capacity of those little buggers is amazing). We also got a 3 year Mack warranty extension for $21 (very good price). Not as good as Ritz camera's "bring in the pieces" warranty, but a lot cheaper. Didn't get a spare battery (yet) but they only run about $20.

Good cheaper alternatives that I considered were Canon's A70, and... well, that's the only one I seriously considered. I've seen it for under $250, but that's just the camera. Only 3MP and slightly heavier/bigger, but runs on 4 AA batteries, which some people like. The main selling point of the Pentax was that it's the only 5mp compact camera with a 5x optical zoom. It's small enough to fit just about anywhere (pretty close to the size of some of the "ultra-compact" cameras out there - about like a thick deck of cards). It's also relatively fast and fairly simple, yet allows manual control of pretty much every setting if you want.

Lots of good reviews out there. Check out http://www.dpreview.com for lots of info. (Although not on the Optio 555...)

[Dennis]

I agree with Trevor, its finally riding season!!
woohoo!! only two more weeks, then ride, ride, ride!!
(school is almost over - classes are over now, but tests, tests, tests for the kids the next two weeks.)

anyway, gotta go riding, bye bye!
[smiley=groucho.gif]

[Old Proflexer]

i've noticed in times past that the summer months / riding season, tends to slow things here quite a bit.

i did make it up to mammoth last week for mostly fishing and some mtb ing up and down the mountain -
(please note 'up and down' at altitude)

lots of fish, not many riders and still a good deal of snow on the runs and on much of the bike trails.

doing a lot of archery as well in anticipation of my colorado hunt this august.

all the best,

OP