"What is your photography religion?"

When engaging in polite conversation you should never discuss matters of religion, politics or ask this question, "Nikon or Canon?" There are certainly devotees in each camp and they generally fall under the category of "religious fanatic".

And everyone knows that you can never trust a fanatic. Their feelings are based on emotions rather than hard facts.

So if you can't trust the devoted, who can you trust and what IS better? You have to look at the equipment objectively and ask yourself which camera delivers the features you value most best. And no one but you can decide what features you need. This is purely based on the kind of photography you enjoy doing most.

Photographers are notorious for being anal retentive. We like to control everything, especially our photography; we know exactly what time the sun is rising and setting, we know every specification of every lens, etc. And while that is fine, sometimes

Have you ever turned on your camera to find the following message: "Card Error"? And all of your photographs have disappeared? You are not alone. Your memory card has failed. All media will fail at some point, we don't know when it will happen only that it will. If you find that your card has failed. STOP using your card. DO NOT reformat it. Leave it alone until you get home. You may be able to recover the information with some simple software. Here are a few sources for data recovery software

http://www.cgsecurity.org(free)
http://www.cardrescue.com/ ($)
http://www.lexar.com ($)

If you have ever been to lower Manhattan you will have seen this incredibly beautiful and ornate building. And if you have ever tried to enter the

If you are going to be out all day shooting, it's a good idea to carry a water bottle. Dealing with dehydration while carrying a lot of heavy equipment can be dangerous. But when you are carrying a water bottle be sure to keep it on the outside of your bag. If you thought a leaky pen inside your camera bag was bad try a leaky water bottle or how about a soda bottle? Always carry liquids outside your camera bag.

Like all things batteries have a shelf life. But when will a battery fail? This is not clear. By marking your battery with the purchase date you will be able to determine whether or not the battery has failed prematurely or if you just have an old battery.