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Good-Bye to Computer Chaos

As a generalist pro who shoots portraits, weddings, and products, my lightmeter is about as important to my livelihood as a working phone. Tyros, who swear by their TTL 35mm's, don't live in the pro's world of big manual flash units, where consistency in ambient exposure is also required. No automated, on-board

Fujifilm's super-saturated Velvia 50 (RVP) created a revolution when it debuted in 1990. Because its surprisingly rich color palette delivered vibrant hues even under dismal lighting conditions, many pros and advanced amateurs wouldn't think of going on a slide-shooting assignment without it. Bring on the rain, Velvia can save the day! But even Velvia 50 isn't perfect. Almost any pro will advise you to shoot at ISO 40 or risk an underexposure.

Upping the capacity of AA cells was the name of the game again this year at the big PMA show in Vegas. This race, fueled by the increased power demands of mainly digital cameras, has battery manufacturers scrambling to out-charge each other. Traditionally, alkaline AAs have been pegged at about 1500 milliampere-hours (mAh), but several vendors showed AAs rated at 1900 to 2100 mAh, with 2300 mAh cells promised very soon. This is up from last yearÕs 1700 mAh offerings. With mAh, more is better. These ratings are specified at the industry-standard C10 currents, one-tenth of the mAh rating.