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OK, I will. Thanks for the help :-)

Thanks for the great link.

Westgate Mall is definitely closer to me (I live in Wind Gap). I've never been to the Westgate Mall. I'll definitely have to check it out.

I did a little digging, and it turns out that there is no spinning gyro for IS. It is a solid-state system with two speaker-coil-like actuators. I was misinformed as to believe there was something spinning inside. When I put my ear to the lense body when IS is activated, there is a slight "humming" noise coming from it. Yes, it is pricey. I went to Dan's Camera City looking for two specific lenses, this lense and the Tamron Autofocus 28-75mm f2.8. The Canon is f3.5-5.6. I was leaning towards the Tamron, but the sales guy at Dan's talked me in to getting the Canon. I wanted a good carry-around lense for both landscape and action scenes. I alreay have a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II for portraits, and a Tamron Autofocus 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II for extreme zoom/action shots. The thing that put me over the edge in getting the IS lense over the Tamron f2.8 was my wife. She sucks at taking pictures and does not have a steady hand. When ever she comes home from using the camera, most of her pics come out blurry. But I still think I should have bit the bullet and went for the speed of the Tamron f2.8. What do you think? I did what you said. Here are two pics I just took: 135mm, f5.6, 1/60th, IS Off: 135mm, f5.6, 1/60th, IS On: There is definitely a noticible difference.

I just purchased my first Canon IS lense (28-135 USM IS). With IS on, are you suppose to physically feel and/or hear the gyroscope spinning? I can't hear or feel anything. I can only hear a hum inside the lense if I place my ear right againt the lense body. Is the IS system suppose to be this inconspicuos? Even if I set the camera down on the desk and open the shutter to activate the gyro, there are no vibrations. I was expecting to be able to at least feel some sort of vibration.

I'm starting to grasp the basics, slowly but surely. Thanks for the tips.

I just got a Digital Rebel XT with a Canon Speedlite 420EX, Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Tamron AF18-200MM F/3.5-6.3 XR Di II, and a Canon RC-5 Wireless Remote Controller. I only have enough knowlege to use the basic Zone settings but would like to learn enough to use the Creative Zone settings (ie Tv, Av, M, etc). I need to read up and gain some knowlege in f-stop, aperture, ISO, etc. before I can start taking some decent photos in the Creative Zone. I am learning some of the basics on using the USM and just scored a copy of PhotoShop CS2 off of BitTorrent. Ski999, can you post some specific tips here on where and when to use specific aperture values, shutter speeds, etc?

http://www.oc-athlonxp.com/stowe/index.html I started uploading some in the members gallery, but it was taking way too long to do it one by one. Tell me what you think.

I don't reccomend that, they'll probably clip your ticket. Damn CamelNazi's!

Yes, I agree, they do reserve the right to revoke your lift ticket. That is one of the terms you agree to when you purchase it. But what if you don't want to let one of the slimeball rangers touch you to get it? Are they going to tackle you and rip it off your coat? I respect all Ski Patrollers, that's a given- especially with me being a medical professional myself. The underlying premise of the formation of the Ranger Patrol was to provide support to the Ski Patrol, such as directing skier traffic around an accident scene. Here is a cut and paste from CB's website: "The Ranger Program was implemented for the 1984/85 season by Camelback management as a tool to enhance responsible skiing and snowboarding on the mountain, and has operated continuously every ski season since, 7 days and nights per week during the season. The underlying premise was to provide support to the Ski Patrol, while enforcing the Responsibility Code. "Separating the two responsibilities made perfect sense 19 years ago, just as it does today," commented Fred Klee, Director of the Ranger Program at Camelback. "The goal of the Ranger Program at Camelback is to encourage responsible skiing in accordance with the Skiers Responsibility Code," commented Klee, adding, "the term 'safe skiing' is an oxymoron because skiing really is a risk sport." Today, Camelback's 67 Rangers continue to enforce responsible skiing and snowboarding. Violators are required to watch a safety video and will lose lift privileges for a repeat offense. In addition, Rangers greet bus and school groups giving a brief safety presentation and reviewing the rules of the slopes before the group takes to the mountain. In addition, Rangers assist the ski patrol with traffic control at accident scenes and are responsible for accident investigations. Ranger training is a continuous process at Camelback. In addition to rigorous on-the-job training, prospective Rangers must complete 3 days of training and an on-snow test to determine skiing or snowboarding proficiency. Each season, Rangers are required to attend refresher courses prior to the season start. Over the years, many Rangers have come from backgrounds in law enforcement and education, two professions ideally-suited for the Ranger Program." The idea itself is an excellent one. If the Rangers didn't cut in line for no reason (this includes the lift line AND cafeteria line), harass customers for no apparent reason, and just act like power-tripping assholes- then a yellow-jacketed ranger would be a welcome sight. What the Rangers seem to be forgetting is that they are employees of a BUISINESS, and we are paying CUSTOMERS.

"if you treat them respectfully (like you would a cop) " They are not cops (if they are, they are off-duty) and therefore are not worthy of such respect. Ski911- your love of Rangers leads me to believe you're a Ranger yourself, or at least a ski patroller. If they accuse you of something (for instance- skiing too fast), do they have the right to pull your lift ticket? Maybe. But If you do not surrender it willfully, and they physically try to rermove it from your person, this qualifies as assault in my book. These assholes are not the police and have no right to take your ticket, or subdue you by force. I'd love to have one of those assholes try to lay a finger on me. I'd plead self-defense for my actions that will result.

Sit back and think about why they are asking you to volunteer that information in the first place: THEY ARE TRYING TO AVOID A POTENTIAL LAWSUIT [/size] They have people who fall and get hurt all the time. I'm sure a fair amount of them try to blame their injuries on poor conditions. What Camelback apparently needs are 6 random witnesses who have no affiliation with Camelback. If there ever is a major lawsuit, by giving your statement to the ranger, there is the possibility that you may be subpoena'd in the future if the case ever goes to trial. At the least, maybe a deposition. I would have told the Ranger to go fuck himself. I have been involved in many lawsuits and have been subpoena'd many times to be witness for the Police (I'm a paramedic) and trust me, being subpoena'd is not fun.

I just came from Camelback. There is a pretty bad ice storm going on up there. Trees down all over Camelback Rd. I was barely able to make it out. I had to drive off the road through a ditch just to get by one of the trees down across Camelback Road. Traffic was all jammed and there were no road crews any where around. This was a couple of hours ago (4:00 p.m.) I tried to make it to my parents house on Wilke Road (off the hairpin curve on CB Road), but the road was impassable. There were at least a half-dozen trees down across the road. I had a chain saw with me, but there were just to many trees, plus there was shit falling down all around me and it was just too dangerous so I got the hell out of there. Here are a couple of pics from Wilke Rd.:

I captured some of the CB video from NBC10 tonight. They only played a 15 second clip on the 11p.m. news tonight :-( They were more interested in the rain in Allentown tonight for some reason. HERE is the video.

Not only that, CB sucks. Screw them instead.

Apparently a group of 5 skiers from Pennsylvania went missing at Killington on Sunday. I wonder if it was anyone from around here? Here is the link: http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=2717477&nav=4QcRUPQh cut and paste: Mendon, Vermont - December 20, 2004 A group of five skiers from Pennsylvania hit the slopes at Killington Sunday, but only one came back. So by early Monday morning, Vermont search and rescue teams had set up shop. "It's very difficult because it's very cold," says Vt. State Police Lt. Don Patch. Temperatures didn't get above zero overnight and the young men were dressed for a day of skiing, not a night in the bitter elements. "Knowing they skied off the area of Killington where everybody skies off from and ends up in the Woolerville area, that's where we concentrated efforts," says Lt. Patch. Authorities say the problems started when the group went off the marked trail and into the woods. Rescue teams know this area well and issued their annual reminder to stay on the marked path. "That's why they have out of bounds 'cause people have done this before and this is what happens," explains Scott Carpenter of Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team. By mid-afternoon, a helicopter had located the men and search teams went in to lead them out of the woods. Some 40 people took part in the all-day effort. Just before 5:00 P.M. the once lost group was found. They didn't talk about their experience as they were loaded into an ambulance. Officials say they were suffering from frostbite and were headed to the hospital. With the temperatures dropping Monday night, rescuers say it's a good thing this incident didn't happen 24 hours later, or it may not have had a happy ending. Caroline Allen - Channel 3 News

It's definitely a Photoshop job. I got it from a member of one of the other forums I go to. Here is the thread: Neowin forums

Thought you might like them:

Despite their ski report, K-Marts base is dwindling. It is 50F here right now, it's raining, and the fog is eating away at the snow. It rained all night last night. Things don't look too good for Thanksgiving day. My wife was hoping to do some X/C skiing at Mountain Meadows- we stopped in there today and they said the base they had blown melted last week :-(

My Yukon @ K: Quechee Gorge (near the VT/NH state line): Today at Santa's Land (Putney, VT): This is a pic of Okemo from today (11/20/2004): Killington is pretty crowded today. The crowds started arriving last night. The Wobbly Barn was PACKED last night, 1 1/2 hour wait for dinner last night. I stopped by Okemo today, and they were pretty busy as well, even though there wasn't too much open. There was a ski swap going on and a hiring session for would-be employees. I was at Santa's Land all day today with the family. I'm headed to the Stowe area tomorrow morning. I plan on doing some skiing myself at K Monday and/or Tuesday. I'd rather not ski this weekend as there is not too much open/and there are A LOT of people here. I'm up here until Thanksgiving so I'll have plenty of time to do some decent skiing. as for the moment, it's family time ;-)

Killington was able to blow snow again last night, these are from TODAY (11/20/2004):

*Yesterday at Killington (temps were about 55F :-( ):

I'm posting from my laptop in Vermont right now ;-) These pics are from Killington yesterday, 11/19/2004: *My kid at the NY/VT state line outside of Bennington, VT: *My in-car music/navigation system:

The Covered Bridge Inn right acrosss the creek from Blue is pretty good. I've been there several times this Summer.