Usil

Definitely a fashion statement. I like it and I think more girls will like them too. Usil

Looks good to me. Usil

Mine is 120 x 80. Black strap aligator grained leather it came with. Usil

The best I have ever got was +3 seconds a week on my IWC power Reserve after 2 adjustments. I guess I got lucky. Still keeps this time after 5 months. Most of the others I can easily get to 4 to 7 seconds a day with manual adjustments. i always try to keep it on the + side. Usil

OK, That's it. I really was tempted on this watch but no way after hearing this and the other stories on issues. I guess I was naive thinking that this one would be a better quality. I could live with the near auto-destruct 7750 chronos (as long as I left them alone) but if things are already falling off the watch then that is too much. Yes, probably not every watch will do this but how do I know? Do you think that anyone will present a fix for this? I would guess that our dealers would not be able to do this but I don't know. I will wait on this one. Usil

You are balencing your white balence much better. Notice the 'pinkness' or warmth that the top photo has. This could be a camera setting or the 'color' of the light that is imparted to the overal picture. It overlays everything. But the second picture has this removed. Whites are much better whites and when that happens, everything is represented better. Good job. Usil

Excellent. You might also check out the manual to see if there is a 'close focusing' mode for the camera. My old Olympus has this and it lets you focus at close distances. Usil

Hey, my Big Pilot is in the upper left hand position of my watch box (same model as yours) too. Usil

Sorry you got a bad one. TTK does not respond to PMs you will have to email him. Usil

Good question. I would like to know too. Is it something they mix into it prior to application? Or is it the application process itself? Usil

How do you spot these things. I guess I just do not have an eye for that kind of detail. Now when I look at it that is all I see. Based on how much that probably costs, there would be no way I could do that now seeing this manufacturing error. I think our reps are looking better and better based on this. Usil

Is there a SS bracelet available for this? I would like to try to get this up to a pound for wrist weight. One on each wrist maybe. Usil

I just love seeing his new stuff and it seems like recently he does this on the weekends. Usil

TTK - Looking for another great watch to oogle over. Usil

Pugwash: Your pics are fine for the forum and I enjoyed your tutorials. If I tried this I would be learning too. Neil: I am just glad I got out of my last responce relatively unscathed. Usil

Thanks Pugwash, but I already admitted Neal is the best. I have never been able to come close to duplicating his pictures with a home made rig and have never bought the lighting equipment needed to do this. I just prefer to do the kind of pictures I do. Probably boring to many but I have been doing it for 30 years and like it. I have sold a few, had a few on book covers and hope to retire someday and make at least enough to pay for my hobby. Usil

Point taken. It is two different discussion when it comes to equipment or technique. But, if I play the devils advocate on technique: Landscape needs: 1. Pick the location 2. Pick the 'scene' in the location 3. Pick the angle for the shot 4. Pick the best lighting 5. Pick the time of day that produces the best lighting 6. Lug the tripod around to the location and set it up 7. Set the camera up, pick the correct lense, balence the light and shoot away Watch Photography: 1. Set up the display area in your house 2. Set up the tripod, camera and lights in a stationary position 3. Place the watch and fire away, place another watch and fire away, place anthoer watch and fire away 4. Next day, place another watch and fire away... I say all of this somewhat tongue-in-cheek but there is some truth to it. But, if I wanted pictures of my watches, I would come to neal for the best shots. Usil

My wife and I just had coffee with ryyannon in Monparnasse district of Paris. We met at tha La Coupole, a popular bar since the 1920's. We had a pleasant timem, coffee and I bought an F.A. Jones from him (the one with the decorated back) that now adorns my collection. Ryyannon is a very intersting person. Usil

Neil's right about the skill of the photographer and I have often heard from other photographers that hear people say after they view their photos, that they wish they had a good camera so they could take good pics too. Heavy tripods are important too but they are a pain in the ass to lug around. But, having said that, even for what I do, I rarely ever take as clear a pictures by free hand as I do with my Manfrotto. This is very noticable when printing Super A3 size. And for telephotos, forget it without a tripod. And, for Neil's statement that land or city scapes are easy, I would favor a different view. I see many snapshots that are just that. It takes planning, skill with the camera and lense, the right time of day and light and the right angle to produce a good shot. I am always looking for that shot that you never get tired of coming back to for another look. Something undefinable but noticable. Can't say that for 95% of most snap shots. As for Minolta, I started out with them long ago (SRT 102, XE7 and others) and gave them to my son along with the lenses when he showed an interest. He still uses them today. And I like the digital Minolta line but since I have Nikon lenses, I am stuck. Usil

Your pictures are good and better than average for what you are doing. I meant no harm with my comments. If you ask three different photographers to critique your work you will usually get different answers on the setup or artistic display (matter of taste) but generally similar comments on technique. The darkness around the crown guard is too dark and the reflection of the pusher at the top has the highlights blown out too much. Your camera does not have enough dynamic range to allow both of these parts of the picture to exist at the same time. The dynamic range for digital cameras get's better all the time so this could be a good reason to upgrade. As for the highlight on the glass, if that was your intent then fine. I would have used a polarizer to see what that might have done and also I would have extended the depth of field a little and rotated the watch a little toward the front but here we are getting into artistic display and this is your choice as you are the artist. The picture at L'Defense, looks better on my screen and it is too small (280 k) a jpeg to print well as a large picture. I usually save raw files at 25 meg a picture to insure I get a good print. Small jpeg files are fine for screen. The white balence was a little off and with all the grey it was a little flat which is why I upped the saturation. But, these are technical differences and the shot - artistically - looks fine to me. Usil

Pugwash: Not bad and simple setup but hightlights need some fine tuning which is difficult to do with home setup. Also, the photoshop work was minimal and you are right, not that different from original. Just added a little contrast and boosted the saturation. Usil

I have seen some of the home made set-ups used for some of the pictures of watches posted in this forum and while they are generally better than setting the watch on the window sill, Neal's shots are pro all the way. It not only takes the right equipment but knowing what to do with it to get the correct highlights, depth of field and preventing a flat picture without contrast. Usil

Try pushing the crown firmly in - seating it to the watch. If the stem is up a little this can cause the watch to stop. Usil

My specialty is land and cityscapes and nature photography. Taking pictures of watches is an entirely different ball of wax. Neal is right, it is the lighting that is the most important thing to get right for good pictures of watches. You can take a Nikon or Cannon or S3 and not be able to even come close to what Neal does unless you invest and get the proper light arrangement (or are very handy with your hands and tools to make what you need) I can not come close to Neal's pics as while I have the proper Nikon macro lens, I do not have any lighting equipment. Neal is the king for these kind of pics and I bow to his skills. Usil

It just needs a touch of Photoshop: Usil