dr_mat

I'm surprised to hear a discussion of chromatic aberration! - most of the compacts have code that automatically removes all trace of it, along with any geometric distortions present in the lenses (of which there's quite a lot!). And if the camera doesn't do it, numerous post-processing apps can correct it similarly perfectly. I wouldn't worry about that too much in practice. In my experience there's very few lenses that don't show some CA, including lenses with eye-watering price tags. My personal favourite review sites are http://www.dpreview.com and http://www.imaging-resource.com/, for what it's worth. So realistically, if money is genuinely no object then you'd choose to read up on the subject, find a list of the must-have features, then produce a list of suitable cameras that tick all the boxes. Generally you wind up doing this exercise and deciding it's too expensive .. :) The other way of doing it is to figure out how much you *really* want to spend and work from that - take a look at cameras in that price range (count the online retailers and your choice will widen), make you choices based on reviews and your personal requirements within that shortlist. Also remember that your budget should include a few quid for a big memory card or two, probably a tripod or monopod, a soft or waterproof case of some sort and a spare battery. You might also want a card reader or a portable card copier device for backing up the cards on long trips.

I guess I'm not a good enough photographer to make photos that don't need post-production. Or I'm too picky, focusing on the technology over and above the art. Or something like that ... ---------- Post added at 8:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 8:09 PM ---------- (For example my avatar shot has a two-stop grad filter applied to darken that moody sky .. to be fair, that's how I saw the scene when I was there, it's not actually "cheating" in my book .. :) )

Messirs Owl, sorry, I didn't say anything about your photos, just the camera's potential .. I was only trying to offer some advice myself. Though I'm sure pictures do look broadly similar to the Ixus (they're both canons after all, they strive for the same image processing results) .. and I'm also sure that for non-critical viewing the Ixus produces images that are totally good enough for even medium sized prints (you can't zoom in on your panasonic telly - I know, I have one too). But if you ever take the time to look up a bit closer or attempt to eke a little more out of your photos in e.g. photoshop/lightroom you'll get sooo much more out of the 5D images. Even JPGs straight out of the camera should be printable up to about A1.. The 24-105L is a superb lens, I love mine. The colour and contrast retention is just amazing - this is what makes those out-of-camera JPGs look brilliant. It's also breathtakingly sharp at times (not always, but hey it's a zoom, you can't have everything can you?). Now in my ideal world the camera would actually expose and do the white balance right every shot.. but it doesn't.. that's the biggest issue - canon's slight tendency to overexpose, coupled with a tendency to make the white balance a little too "blue" and cold (except in low light where they go the other way).. This is the main reason I always shoot in CR2 raw format so I can fix up the white balance on the computer (Lightroom) and correct any minor exposure issues along the way without any losses in quality. Wendy - you'll find a TZ20 almost anywhere, they're very popular and Panasonic sell through all the standard retailers. Probably even Argos will be carrying them soon (it's a fairly new camera).

Panasonic TZ20. End of story. Cheers! :) ---------- Post added at 3:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 3:43 PM ---------- And BTW, if the Canon IXUS takes better shots than a 5D mk2 you need to look a little closer at your photos... I'll guarantee that on a per-pixel resolution and noise level basis (printing/viewing large or doing heavy crops of images) the 5D mk2 absolutely destroys the Ixus. My experience of a class-leading compact versus my very own 5D mk2 show that in 99.9% of situations the 5D takes a technically better picture - more detail, more dynamic range, more colourful, more accurate colours. The class-leading 10-12MP compacts really only provide about 2-3MP of actual image information, the rest is lost to noise and sharpening artifacts. The 5D Mk2, however, provides 22MP of real information (assuming you spent enough on your lenses!).

Tempted... Would need postage tho. Are you up for packaging and arranging a courier?

It's a long walk. I often stop off for a pint on the way .. ;)

I used to do a 1.2 mile commute .. 90% of the time I'd do it on foot/bus/bike, but just for kicks and to make sure the car got used 10% of the time I'd use the VR6. I've seen 9mpg on a winter run over there.. :-\ Now I do a 0.4 mile commute. I never, ever, drive .. !

Have seen some docs that point to this 30mm number, but it's an obscure one, most people probably wouldn't know it.

Ah yeah, *that* thread.. :) So 263s on a standard engine looks quite tasty. Got to wonder what a Schrick would add to that? Prospect of 220lbft? I've got 200 lbft with standard cams..

I'm glad to say it's called "Stonor Park".. No-one is high .. ;)

Does anyone have a link to the power/torque curves for the 263s on an otherwise standard VR to whet folk's apetite a little? I can't find them right now.

WTF? Last time I asked the dealer for a quote on VR6 droplinks they are £69 a side ...

Wait till after midnight when everyone stops contending with your broadband...

I'm still looking for a set. If the group buy comes off, particularly if it happens through Stealth, then that makes a lot of sense to me.

Well, a *straight* six is. The V isn't. The VR6 is "nearly" balanced.. Hell of a lot nearer than a four-pot anyway.

Sadly 4-pots are not balanced... you need a six for that..

Depends how fast you're going when on full lock, obviously ..

I had a similar noise years back and we were 50/50 on whether it was the CV or the wheel bearings. Turned out it was the wheel bearings. (This was an old Jetta.) The front wheel bearings have to be a VERY long way gone before you notice any play, they'll click and clunk under tight cornering load for ages before this happens. I also currently have the standard Corrado "heavy clunk" from the front suspension once per journey. It's a different issue I think, but as you've seen above no-one's figured out what..

Unfortunately for you, the whole point of the engine immobiliser is to make it hard to nick the car if you don't have the right key .. :) Fortunately, since it has run ok in the past for you chances are it's just a bad connection in the reader coil or its connection back to the ECU. Have heard about this many times before.

And, again, the engine will *not* stall if the CAM sensor has failed.

The original immobiliser operates through the ECU, nothing to do with the starter circuit. There's a chip in the key and a reader coil in the steering column. If the crank sensor is dodgy .. it's not unusual when they're borderline that they will stall after getting hot, and then won't restart .. but it will restart once the engine is cool. And basically without any reliable crank sensor signal the ECU won't even put fuel in while you crank the starter, so I don't think that's your problem.

Auto boxes are pretty strong, but it's just not cricket, you know ... :) I just wouldn't. You know where you are with cogs and splines - and they're easy to uprate or fix. Uprating an auto box means finding something with a larger torque converter.. Auto boxes are good for getting off the line but as you know they're somewhat inefficient in normal use and you just don't get the control you get with a manual box.

I'd also vote for ARB drop links if it only happens when you hit bumps. If it happens as the wheel turns it's more likely to be wheel bearings or CV joints though.

Five years ago GSF used to sell a genuine VW middle-and-back section Corrado VR6 exhaust.. I got the last one in the UK for their bargainositous price. You can't fault the fit or quality though, there's nothing else out there that's as good. That part is about £350-400 from the dealers and I think they're still available. The only drawback is you have to cut it or drop the back axle to fit it - it's one solid piece just like they were in the factory. The quoted £850 price would include the CAT. There's four sections - downpipe manifold (££££), CAT (~£300), small front box (£150?) and the main middle-and-back section. It's usually the middle box that goes first.

I'm still keen ...