Quick Hit Monday: Scrambled Egg Images, More On Wide Angle Lens; Am I On Canon's Payroll; More On Imagine This The Musical; and London Recap

Good Morning Everybody,
I didn't know if I was going to get this post up this morning - long plane ride yesterday, jet lag, etc., but heck, I feel good as new today. We got back to Cincy about 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon. By the time we cleared customs we were back at the house around five. I have to say, it's always good to be back home.

The weather in Cincy was pretty much the same as the weather in London when we arrived. It looked to be a beautiful sunset yesterday evening so LaDawn and I grabbed two chairs, pointed them westward, and reminisced about our trip as we enjoyed the sunset in Cincinnati.

For all those interested in our London trip, you can follow it over at Dave and LaDawn On the Road - here is the link. There are several photographs and stories about last week's visit to the UK. We do it mostly for family members who like to keep track of where we're traveling and what we are doing. But you might find it interesting, so give it a read if you like.

Scrambled Egg Images
I received an e-mail from one of our DPT readers who was shooting with a Canon 40D, but when he downloaded his images, he found that the image order was scrambled and that some of the images were missing. I had never heard of anything like that happening before, and suggested that his FAT table appears to be scrambled. I find it hard to believe that this could happen in the camera, and I think it must be happening upon download. It may even be a bad card reader.

How about a fix. My best suggestion, should this happen to anybody out there in DPT land is to download my favorite digital image recovery program, PhotoRescue from Data Rescue.com Here is the link. Get a different card reader, insert the card, and run PhotoRescue on it. Hopefully everything will reappear.

Hey, DPT readers, if you've heard of anything like this before or have any solutions to this problem, please post a comment below and see if we can help our fellow DPT reader out there.

More On The 12-24mm Sigma Wide-Angle Lens
I have to say, Friday's post on the Sigma 12-24mm lens was one of my favorites [link]. That's probably because I love the images I get with that lens on a full CMOS sensor camera like the Canon 5D. Many people commented asking if the Canon 17-40mm or 16-35mm lenses would give the same result. Hey gang, I think the Canons lenses are great optics, but for me, I wanted even a wider reach. Sigma’s 12-24mm wide-angle lens is about the widest you can put on a full frame DSLR. Check out the comparison of the field of view of the three lenses below and you'll see what I mean.

Sigma 12-24mm - 122 degrees angle of view - the widest.
Canon 17-40mm – 104 degrees angle of view
Canon 16-35mm - 108 degrees angle of view

I found this interesting link comparing the Sigma lens to the Tokina 12-24mm lens right here - a good read if you are considering one of these very wide babies.

Am I On the Canon Payroll?
I love when I read comments like this. People think that if you really enthusiastic over certain brand of products, then there must be a payoff somewhere. Let me make it clear here and now that I have purchased every piece of camera gear that I own. So, when I find something I really like, I want to share it with you guys and girls, giving you my perspectives on how the gear works and to how I use it in my shooting routine. I occasionally get a piece of gear loaned to me and am happy to share my perceptions of that gear. That's what happened with Canon's new 18-200mm IS lens [link]. I tried it, I bought it!!

Everybody has their favorites, and not everybody's going to agree with me -- although I can't imagine or understand why ;~) But, it still comes down to what works for you and what works for me. Would I like to be on Canon's payroll? Well, heck yeah, I'd love to have a couple comped Canon 5D Mark II’s without having to wear a bit more plastic off of my American Express card – ‘nough said.

More on Imagine This - The Musical And A Contest

I mentioned in last Thursday's blog post [link] that LaDawn and I attended opening night of Imagine This - The Musical. As I said last week, we were blown away. I just got an e-mail from a friend who found a very cool link that reprises the sights and sounds of a spectacular musical. Here is the link right here. Give it a watch for about 3 minutes and you will see what I mean - amazing!!!

I'm even considering a contest to give the winner two complementary tickets to the musical. I know the contest leans heavily in the direction of our Great Britain readers, but if you're contemplating a trip to London, you still might want to enter and play. I'll keep everybody posted.

Don't Miss Tomorrow's Technique Tuesday
Folks, that's it for me today. We've got a busy week ahead with Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday so, I better get back to my real job. Today I'm working on tomorrow's Technique Tuesday which is entitled, “Brides and Grooms Around London.” I think you'll find it really interesting and a very informative tutorial. The tutorial will be on composition discussing where to position the bride and groom within the scene. I'll be using some of the major sites around London for this Technique Tuesday, so it should be quite fun.

So tune in tomorrow, and I'll see everyone then. Adios, -David