F-Stop Junkie

Urban Myth no. 7: Trials riders run their tyres really low. Motorcycle trials riders do, but a lot of biketrials folk run theirs at sensible pressures (anywhere from 40-60psi). The reason they look so flat is that when you have a high pressure tyre on a point or rail, there is a lot of weight focused on a small area so you get more deformation of the tyre, and hence it looks really soft. The exceptions to this are natural riders who don't do big moves, or very light riders (either in weight, or riding style). Street riders tend to run higher pressures as they require less absolute grip, but need more stability from the tyre to stop it rolling around on the rim.

Other people may have put these videos up, but this is not the place to further them. DVDs support the riders and production companies who have made them, and piracy like this does nothing but impact the number of these films available in the future.

I don't like the 28-135, it's a pretty slow lens, and not great for a crop body. I also think that IS on a lens of that length is only of limited use, given the increase in cost, weight and the extra glass elements in the lens which affect image quality. Nikon's VR - their version of IS - is only used on the longer lenses, and they have a 70-300 with VR coming soon. Thing is that IS will give you two stops advantage reliabley, but if you're at the max aperture then all you can do is slow the shutter speed which isn't always a good thing. 1/120th of a second may freeze action enough, but 1/30th certainly won't. Don't get me wrong, there are times with IS is useful, but most of the time I'd rather push the ISO two stops and keep the shutter speeds up! I use a pair of 550EXs, though I think it's been discontinued for the 580EX. The Sigma EF 500 DG-Super has a high speed too though I think.

Doesn't stop me syncing upto 1/4000th on my Canon ) All you need is a decent flashgun with high sync mode.

4th thread today! Do a search!

Bottom line - you can't go wrong with either. Which ever one you prefer to use will be good. Nikon seems to have a better flash system, but the Canon Anti-dust system could be an absolute god send in the future. Tamron and Sigma both make Nikon and Canon fit lenses. The Canon kit lens is often unfairly criticised, but it is a cheap lens. Keep in mind that most of the time, a couple of those points won't make much difference most of the time. The Canon may have better high ISO performance, but it's not amazingly better. Certainly most of the time you won't see a huge difference, same with the start up time. I've been trying a 30D, and the startup time on that is so small I wouldn't notice if it was any better. Go and try both, see what you prefer, then buy the Canon, you know it makes sense

A couple of hundred maybe. You'll save more though starting earlier and getting no claims built up.

Level Vibes.

The whole point of SMs in my view has been to have a 'council of elders' who can discuss forum improvements and problems before they are applied to the forum as a whole. It's not that SMs are better, it's just a group of people to bring a bit of sense to decisions about the forum where needed. A lot of the time the SM forum isn't heavily used, but it's useful when needed.

From the EBC website: "Founded in 1978, the EBC Brakes Group is still a private company owned exclusively by the current managing director Andy Freeman." Go on then Pete, why isn't it Andy Wright? I remember back in the S7 days that someone with motorcycle links with EBC rang up asking for a Mr Wright. Turns out the only person who matched who you claimed was your Dad worked in a warehouse, he wasn't the owner of the company... Then get a matching Magura disc for the rear too?

This has already been discussed at length, please use the search.

I found out the other day that Cannondale don't sand the welds, it's a by-product of the heat treating process which causes the excess weld to soften and flow into a pool. It's not enough to structurally affect the weld, but enough to make it look pretty. That said, they may sand a little before paint to tidy them up a bit though!

Why when people mention photography do posts start going up about nudes and taking dubious photos of kids? Unless it's a nudist wedding, I doubt very much there would be any opportunity for such things. Sorry if I'm being a bit touchy this morning, but this is an artform that means a lot to a some of us on here. On top of that, doing something like a wedding - even in a non-pro capacity like Dave - is a lot of work and pressure to try and get a few good shots so the happy couple have a few more memories of their big day. Sorry if I sound like a whinging git, I blame lack of sleep.

Being one of the objective ones - as opposed to the ones who are looking at this through rose tinted specs - then why do things now which will store up problems for the future? Why be 70 years old and worrying about dying before you can see your grandkids for the first time? Why put yourself in a position where you could pick up problems (mental or physical) which could affect your quality of life and potentially your economic status for the rest of your life? I'm not saying you should live a perfect life, but I don't do drugs for the same reason I wouldn't have laser eye surgery, it's probably ok, but it could cause massive problems. What's wrong with JT giving his opinion? I'd rather hear him say why he doesn't like it than hearing you threatening him. A fiver a day isn't much? It's nearly £2000 a year. By the time you're 30 Danny, it'd be over £20,000. Twenty grand! And for what? Having a quick fag so the craving stops. Ah well, like you say, it's your choice. End of.

How bent? In what direction? Certainly worth a warrenty claim if you're the original owner...

Excellent. Like I said, don't copy the pro's shots. Try cute shots of the younger kids there, people dancing at the reception, nervous/happy brides and grooms, etc...

Exactly, especially if it's well looked after. Lots of motorway miles are less damaging to a car than lots of short journeys around town! One thing I forgot to mention, if you think the mileage is too good to be true, then check the steering wheel, gearstick, pedal rubbers, seat... If the car has 30,000 miles showing, but the seat is collapsing, the steering wheel is shiney and has lost all it's texture and the pedal rubbers are down to next to nothing, then it's a good bet the car is somewhat higher mileage than it's claiming! BTW, one good test is to sit in the drivers seat, get comfy, then try the passengers seat. As the passenger seat tends to be used less, then it'll give you an idea of how much the drivers seat has worn. If the passenger seat is firm and snug, and the drivers seat is soft then you know it's done a decent mileage.

Hehehe On a serious note, my girlfriend has a 1.2 Punto and it's done nearly 100k without any major problems!

I'd suggest you look for something fairly new, with reasonable mileage. It's better to have something newer and higher mileage than the other way around. That 1990 Clio with 30,000 miles on it may look like a bargain, but if it's only ever driven mavis to the post office on a Wednesday for her pension, then chances are it's spent a lot of time sitting around rotting, the engine will have been upto proper temperature very rarely, and it will have shafted the catalytic converter. Something newer will drive better, be more efficient, safer and more secure. Stick with Fiestas, Puntos, Lupos, KAs, Clios and Corsas. You want something unmodified, paying extra for things like alloys, fancy stereos or bodykits will get you little extra money when you come to resell and may indicate that it's had a hard life. On a cheaper car a good service history is less essential than a more expensive one, but the more stamps in the log book the better. Check carefully for signs of the car being a cut and shut (two cars cut in half and welded together). There should be no marks or changes in the paint on any of the pillars or the roof. Check also for accident damage along either side of the engine bay and under the carpets in the boot. Any damage here could be cosmetic, but it could also mean the chassis is damaged. Turn the steering all the way across, and have a look at the front tyres. The wear should be even all the way across. If it's worn on one side a lot more than the other then the suspension could be out of alignment or damaged. Do the same with the back tyres. Under the bonnet, find the oil cap, take it off and look on the underside of the cap. If the oil is nice and clean looking then you're fine. If it's 'mayonaising' (becoming cloudy or white and thick) then water is getting into the oil which could be major trouble. Do the same with the dipstick. If the oil is very low or very dirty, then it may mean a lack of maintenance during the car's life. One trick when you go to look at a car is to put your hand on the bonnet when you first arrive. If a car has a problem starting when it's cold then the seller could run it for a while to ensure it starts easily. Inside the car, check everything. Do the lights work? Indicators? Radio? Start the engine and watch the dials, does the oil pressure/temperature and water temperature come up? Take the car for a test drive, does it accelerate cleanly? Hold the wheel very lightly and the car should go in a straight line and not wander off to one side as this could indicate a twisted chassis, suspension damage or just the tracking being out. Again, hold the wheel and brake heavily, the car should slow down in a straight line too. Try all the gears too. Most of all though, don't get too set on a certain car make or model. If you want something cheap, then look around and on the Autotrader website and see what you can get. The wider your search, the more chance you'll find a bargain. Oh, and do an HPI check. For £25 it'll confirm the car hasn't been registered as stolen or scrapped, will give you an idea of what the vehicle is worth and if the mileage is above or below the average. It'll even tell you when it was registered, how many owners it's had, confirm chassis numbers and engine numbers and if it's been repainted! It will also reimburse you for various costs if it turns out the information was wrong. If you buy a car, they say it's ok and it turns out to be stolen, they'll pay for the cost of the car. Here's a thought, does it have to be small? Having been looking recently, I've noticed that small cars hold their value more than bigger ones. If you want something comfy for the motorway, then you may find a Mondeo, Vectra, Passat or Octavia (especially the last one if you want good value!!) to be more suitable, and it'll easily swallow four bikes and three friends.

Rather you than me! There's a lot of pressure for wedding photos, especially if you're the only photographer. If your camera breaks or whatever there will be a lot of unhappy people... However, if they've hired a pro and asked you to take some shots too then it's all good! Don't get shots of the big setups, but instead go for unusual angles and quirkier shots.

Looks very cool. Ryan really is The Nicest Man In Trials! Who were you shooting for? I guess it had something to do with the guy on the Cannondale?

You're joking right? The Prophet has some amazing specs. The MX are beefy ones with 12mm bolt through rear axles and ISCG mounts. Plus the spec is damn good for the money!

Cannondale Prophet MX?

When scientific and socialogical evidence show that smoking weed is bad for, then you can say in absolute terms it is bad. You can also say though that the effects can be magnified or reduced based on cumlative intake and the individual. Smoking tobacco has been shown to build up tar in the lungs, and cholesterol in the arteries, hence does cause proven damage. Laws are there to provide balance, to balance the need to do something, and the need for safety and the protection of the general public. People have a need for strong medication, so the safe guards are in place that they require perscriptions and pharmacies to dispense them. There can be no arguement that hard drugs (heroin, crack, etc...) should be legalised as that would effectively say they are safe to take, and would cause a lot of harm to a lot of people.

It's easy to say there's no point to smoking, that it's just feeding a craving, and it's true. I see people rush out of theatre in the interval or be the first to get off a train just so they can light up. Why would anyone want something that has that much control over them, and that costs them so much money? However, I've seen the downsides of drugs. I knew someone at uni who had a real Hunter S Thompson, altered state of conciousness approach to drugs. He'd taken the lot and then some, and as a result he was a manic depressive on a whole host of medication and dropped out of the course he was on. Worse than that though was one friend I've known for many, many years. A real bright spark, great intuitive grasp of engineering, but became a big, big stoner during and following his uni days. As a result he lost all his motivation, his ambition. It was heart breaking to see the person I knew become dulled by his intake. It was still the same person, but he lost his spark. He missed out on good jobs because of failed drug tests, and was similarly diagnosed with depression. He's stopped smoking weed now, and he's is slowly returning to his former self, but still carries psychological scars from it. I've also seen family members die from the cumlative effects of smoking. Even though they stopped, the damage had been done in the year previously, and it affected the quality of their life for many years before they died. Many people use in moderation, or just smoke a few now and then, but putting aside the practical considerations, both drugs and smoking having affected me personally because of what they've done to people I love. I hope that the way I've looked after myself, not smoked, not drank excessively (much) and kept fairly fit will mean I get to spend more time running around after my kids and my grandkids, and that I can experience things in their life that my relatives could not be there to experince in mine.