Dave Herbst

All very interesting, most of way above my head, but thank you all for all the advice.As long as Comodo does what it says it does, the little screens do not bother me all that much - little bit annoying, but somehow comforting, knowing that something is happening to protect the machine.

Hi Jimmy 89, thanks.It seems that the more the Comodo "learns", the less often the little pop-ups, and the other warning screens appear.Comodo seems to work very well, and since I've gotten rid of Norton (finally) my machine is a lot quicker.Bye nowDave

Thanks everybody.I finally managed to download the software and it is running now - little notifications all the time - "Comodo is learning" or something like that, and also larger pop-ups requesting the equivalent of "Are you sure?", but it seems to be working fine.

The most important thing is to get to know your camera - than you can start to achieve some really great results.As I said before, books are wonderful, but they do not familiarise you with the camera that you own.

Re Comodo - I have tried four times today to download it - it takes forever, and somehow, something crashes out every time at somewhere between 80 and 90% download.Can anybody PLEASE help, please.I'm going nuts here.

I used to run Norton on the machine I am using now - still constant problems with error messages, could not get the whole thing uninstalled.Currently I run AVG on both my big machines, updates are regular, it warns you when you have not been connected to the net for updates for a couple of days, it is clean, and, I think quite effective.The only thing I do not like is that it seems to take a long time to scan my machines, and while scanning, other things semm to slow down a bit - this is on both my machines, both duo core.Talking about duo core, why do they take so long to get going after reboot or restart? Can anybody help?

I did not see a word here about Fuji Finepix, did I miss it?I use Fuji S9500 and Fuji S9600, - 10MP, zoom (optical and electronic) and you can do all settings yourself, unless you want to work in Auto, which usually gives great result.Lenses are OK, clear, and you can set the camera for either 3:2 or 4:3 ratio.I like them and use them a lot.For film, I use PENTAX cameras, one that I bought in 1976, and I use that a lot as well.

You got some interesting effects - if you want to see some more of this type of lighting, see jdeyz on dA

dA is a very good site - it is amazing what the youngsters seem to be able to do with software.There are several artists there that I regualry watch (only been a member myself since earlier this year (Lens50), but I check the site every day for new photographs - some seriously awesome people out there

Another thing, or couple of things:Always carry a notebook and pen with you -Set up an object (distance of about 3 metres, focus on it, then -Try manual mode S - setting X - , note A, P and ISO settings, take photo - note down all settings, and photo numberTry manual mode S - setting y - , note A, P and ISO settings, take photo - note down all settings, and so on. Try manual mode A - setting X - , note S, P and ISO settings, take photo - note down all settings, and photo numberTry manual mode A - setting y - , note S, P and ISO settings, take photo - note down all settings, and so on.Try manual mode ISO - setting X - , note S, P and A settings, take photo - note down all settings, and photo numberTry manual mode ISO - setting y - , note S, P and A settings, take photo - note down all settings, and so on.When you get home and download, compare the photographs, to see what differences there are in quality, depth of field, etc, etc ,etc.Now, you have a basic framework of reference points to work with.Camera handbooks are cool, but the only way to understand your camera, is practice, practice, practice. In the beginning, do not worry to get the "great" photo (although you may be surprised at what you find when downloading, - GET TO KNOW your camera - eventually, it becomes instinctive, and you know the right settings for a specific shot (it's always good to bracket when the subject is important to you).Personally, I never use flash, unless I have to do work at a function of some sort or the other, and even then, I try to get away without using flash - simply because for me, flash seems to make the image "flat"Enough for now, hope this helps

I think the second is the best, the yellow-orange-brown sky, the angle of the photograph almost as if you had staggered back when you saw the light