Recommend to me an e-reader. And/or camera lenses. I'm not picky.

In My Humble Opinion
41

I don’t know all the specifics, but I understand the relevant and applicable operation of it. I feel passionately about issues of copyright, control, and technology. I worry that we’re placing too much faith and trust and power in the hands of corporations, and letting ourselves be tied down to specific devices that we can’t control. I don’t think that either Amazon or the Kindle are evil, but I do think that DRM is terrible, wasteful, and misguided.

It’s true that the vast majority of users haven’t been affected, but the Kindle’s still young. The vast majority of MSN’s digital music customers, or Yahoo’s, or Walmart’s had no problems either, until those stores became unprofitable, and everyone who purchased music from them became unable to transfer it to new devices. I really hope that Amazon doesn’t go the same way, but I don’t have a lot of faith in that. I think that the chances that I will want to read a book I’ve bought after the corporation that sold it to me decides on a different business plan are significantly higher than being struck by lightning.

I’m considering buying a Kindle myself, and I might actually pay Amazon for some books on it, but if I do, I’ll be renting them.

Anyway, I’ve said my piece, and I don’t want to derail this thread further, so I’ll shut up about it here. To the OP: the Kindle looks to be the best e-reader out there right now, so if you’re going to buy one, that’s probably the one to buy.

42

I don’t think that the Kindal is back lighted, that Is something to consider. It’s nice to not need a reading light.

43

enipla, that’s a good point. I was already planning to take a netbook (my parents had an extra that didn’t work for them), so maybe I should look to that. The question is if we can get it working for me.

44

Sorry for the late-ish bump, but I was hoping some of the camera folks who contributed to the thread could comment on something a friend just suggested.

What about this “extender” with my kit lens?. Of course, I’m not even clear that it’s compatible with my kit lens, but it was a suggestion a friend made, so I thought I’d ask people who know than the two of us. Or thoughts on some extender, I suppose.

Thanks!

45

Generally, adding more glass means losing image quality and it’s a matter of tradeoffs. An f/4 lens becomes an f/8 lens. What’s your kit lens, a wide to short tele?
Amazon has 45 user opinions about it:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EF-Extender-Telephoto-Accessory/product-reviews/B00009XVBY/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Here’s a snippet of one:

It should be obvious - this extender really needs to be used with a tripod. That alone will increase your image quality. It’s also designed for the higher quality Canon lenses - the EF series. 90% of the complaints about this accessory ignore those two facts. The next biggest complaint - autofocus. Again, Canon is clear that you need a lens with an aperture of 2.8 or faster in order for autofocus to work. Basically, so what! If I’m on a tripod shooting my subject, I’m going to pre-focus .

Here’s a highly rated Sigma APO (apochromat) for about $200 at amazon:

46

Looks like I linked you to the Nikon version, oops. Hey, the Canon mount’s a little cheaper though.

47

Thanks, lobotomyboy63. I think I like the lens you linked to more than the idea of the extender, and I CERTAINLY like the price of that lens. As you know, I’ve been trying to figure this all out for awhile, my deadline’s coming up, and I’m not figuring things out as quickly as I’d like.

I’ll be buying something in the next couple of days, and hopefully it will work for me.

48

Inexpensive tele adapters are pretty much always a bad idea. Good ones cost some serious money but can be the right choice in certain applications.

In this case, the Sigma lens would be a much better option.

49

No problem. I just went into amazon, thinking they’d probably have other brands (Tokina, Tamron, etc.) and found this:

$142? Wow!

I’m not up on the alphabet soup of what functions work with which Canon cameras, but maybe you can do some further reading:

http://search.dpreview.com/?q=Canon+EF+75-300mm+f/4-5.6+III+

50

That lens will work, but the Sigma would be better. On the other hand, Sigma is notorious for bad quality control, so you run the risk of getting a “bad copy.”

51

Here are some choices, sorted by average customer review.

http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1251407292/ref=sr_st?keywords=telephoto+zoom+lens+for+canon+slr+cameras&rs=502394&page=1&rh=n:502394,k:telephoto+zoom+lens+for+canon+slr+cameras,p_72:4-&bbn=502394&sort=reviewrank_authority

OP, I don’t know if it’s still true but back in the day, apochromats were pricey and highly valued.

Achromatic lenses are corrected to bring two wavelengths (typically red and blue) into focus in the same plane. Apochromatic lenses are designed to bring three wavelengths (typically red, green, and blue) into focus in the same plane.[1]

Of course the next question is whether it’s designed and produced properly to function as advertised. IIRC I did read somewhere that Sigma’s QC wasn’t always up to snuff.

52

Thanks!

Well, I’m going to buy something and commit to it. Going to have to, since I leave very soon. Somehow I blinked and it was time to leave. I’ll update the thread when I’ve gotten something, just to let everyone know.

I’m super excited! Three months in Kenya, here I come!