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May 11, 2007
Dear CNET members,
Happy Friday! For those who celebrate Mother's Day this coming Sunday, I want to wish all the mothers and grandmothers out there who are making or have made a difference in our lives a happy Mother's Day! (To my wife and also my mom, who is with me in spirit, I love you!) Now let's tackle Stefan's newfound interest in moving from a point-and-shoot to a dSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera.
This week, many members, ranging from beginners to seasoned shutterbugs, came through for Stephan and shared their expertise, recommendations, and true passion on this topic--we are all very fortunate to have you here to participate. So for starters, I picked out a few possible winning answers for you to vote on, but honestly, I have to congratulate all our supporting members who offered advice--your knowledge and suggestions passed down to us is invaluable. I'm even considering the move to a dSLR camera in the future and this discussion has my mind flowing with interest and ideas! So I urge you folks to read through all the submissions. In the discussion, you'll find advice, as well as members telling us what their choices of cameras are and what has worked for them. I hope this information will prove helpful to all in need. And as always, if you have any additional information to share, I invite you to join in and tell all. Thank you, everyone!
(Note: I will be taking a week off for some needed R&R, so there will be no community newsletter next week. However, the CNET forums are always open 24-7 for your perusal. Also, if you want to catch up on some of the previous community newsletters, we have all of them archived right here. Enjoy and see you all when I get back!)
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Member Question of the Week
I've been using a point-and-shoot digital camera for years and I'm ready to take the next step and move on to a digital SLR, but I really have no idea where to start. What I want in a dSLR is the ability to capture multiple shots quickly so I can capture an entire sequence of the subject's actions--which requires a good automatic focus and no shutter lag. In addition, I would also like to take landscape photos and close-up photos of flowers using manual zoom for close and distant subjects. I believe most SLRs will do this, right? What I'm looking for is something for a beginner--so it won't cost me an arm and leg (I have a $500 - $700 budget) and isn't too fancy, enabling me to experiment and see if I want to go any further in this new hobby. I need advice on what brands are recommended, and what to look for and avoid in a dSLR camera. What additional lenses are possibly needed? I know there is no one answer that will fit all, but I would like to see what you have to recommend for me. Thank you.
Submitted by:
Stefan M.
Vote for the most helpful answer
 Which answer below would you consider the most helpful? Click on the title to see the answer by the member. To vote, click on the button next to the answer to weigh in on the decision.
Here are the selected submissions grouped in one post.
(Note: these answers selected below are not listed in any particular order,
so please read the answer before casting your vote. Thanks!)
 Answer by charlieworton (Read submission)
Answer by Screaminlizard (Read submission)
Answer by Watzman (Read submission)
Answer by siriusproductions (Read submission)
For the member whose answer was voted the
most helpful by our community, we will send
this member his or her choice of any
CNET Learning CD.
 Previous week's Q&AThe votes are in! Below is the answer voted most helpful by our community to last week's question.
To my online virtual family of help- I'm in the spring
cleaning mood and I've cleaned my house already, but now it's
time to face the chore that I have been dreading for a long
time: cleaning up my 2-year-old Dell computer with XP, which
I think has 200MB of memory, but I'm not absolutely sure. I
need to face the music and do this because it is getting
slower and slower every time I attempt to use it. Programs
take a long time to load and just booting up Windows takes an
eternity. I'm not a technical person, but I'm a fast learner,
so your assistance would be most grateful. I need some
straightforward guidelines (not too technical if possible) on
how I can clean up my computer to make it run faster, and
once I clean it up-how to do whatever it takes to continually
keep my computer in tip-top shape, so that when the spring
season comes around again, I'm not looking at a chore that I
hate doing. Thanks for your help.
--Submitted by:
Sandy H. of Des Moines, Iowa
Excellent question Sandy. Many computer users do not realize that just like your automobile, a computer needs routine maintenance to keep it in good working order. I would recommend maintenance a little more often than once per year, but a good spring cleaning is certainly better than nothing.
I think I have to start by saying that there is a fine line between a computer needing a little spring cleaning and actually being in need of repair. A computer that is starting to boot and run slowly could be a result of something as...
(read more)
--Submitted by:
Dana H. (CNET member: waytron)
Congratulations to the winner!
Community Buzz
 Each week we take a look at topics discussed in the forums.
Have fun and enjoy!
More from the forums
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Check out next week's question:
My question is: When you send your computer off to a local or even big brand store to be upgraded, how do you know the items you chose (like new graphics cards, RAM, motherboards, etc...) were installed, instead of an inferior product? Also, how can you tell that your existing hardware are still the original and not swapped out by cheaper or different hardware? Is there something that I can do to make sure I don't get ripped off?
--Submitted by:
John K.
We feature a new question every Friday, and if you have the answer for our member, you can submit it above. If your submission is picked by our members as the most helpful answer, you'll receive a free CNET Learning CD of your choice.
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Simple question, simple answer
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Green tech
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