thatgrip

So, I've been attempting to buy a watch (or two) from Neil for a couple of months now. Once I got the protocol straight on what to include in emails to him, I emailed on a few occasions spaced apart by a week or so each. Then I waited a month + and tried again. No response, nada. What the f*(k? I'm a good guy; I love my wife and kids; I don't go on boards and screw with people. And I got a moneybookers account and included the fact in my last email, so as to indicate my level of seriousness. Assuming I've followed the rules, why can't I buy a watch or at least get an fyi email regarding same? Please, before you respond, I don't want this thread to turn into a [censored] and moan session about TTK. Having read a good deal on the board, I am painfully aware the man has defenders like lap dogs and detractors with translucent skins. I don't give a rats ass about how great or what a POS he is. I want honest discourse. I've meted out respect and deserve the same. Chris

Nice Shot!

Thanks for the response. I'm not attempting flippancy. The quake is not funny; my circumstance is, rather. I'll hang around the girl's locker room for awhile until the smoke clears. Again, thank you all.

You are probably inside close focus. Unless you have the camera set on a preset mode, its brain won't allow it to shoot without focus lock. Additionally, in any mode beyond av, tv or manual, if the camera determines it can't take in enough light to expose properly, and the flash is in the off position, the camera won't snap. Or, if you're within the lens' ability to focus, it may have trouble reading focus if the light isn't strong enough. Did you try the same test outdoors? In any event, look at the manual for the zoom lens to determine what the close focus is. Hope this helps.

Pug (& others), I don't want to be presumptuous; but here I am again, requesting advice about ordering from the venerable TTK. Having examined the Rules of Ordering (courtesy of jraines87 who answered my plea for the TTK how-to-order guide) I followed Neil's requirements to the letter, and sent off a request for 2 watches. "This time", thought I, "I can't miss." I might still be a few chromosomes short of full, but I can follow directions. Unfortunately since smoke signals are now the preferred method of communication in the Orient since the earthquake, I might as well have eaten my order and tried to contact Neil telepathically. Maybe then he'd puke up my request and fulfill it. So, anybody have an idea whether Neil is in an order fulfillment mood given his communication purgatory? If he's amenable to receiving, how should I go about it? Junking up his new support page would be rude. And I don't want to willie nillie try to contact him on the board. There you have it. As people are trying to patch together what remains of their lives post earthquake, I'm trying to buy a watch so I can look cool. Americans Are narcissistic. cheers, Chris

The particular slr body is not terribly consequential (for this work)beyond having a large and accurate enough sensor to do the job properly. An Eos Rebel will produce results quite like those of a $7000 1ds assuming you're not enlarging dramatically and don't require the extra chunk of resolution $6500 buys. Sure, the Rebel is a 1.5 crop, so you won't get those landscapes seen in Nat Geo. But a good shooter could pull the trigger on any solid dslr and produce good photos. Shoot RAW, make sure you color correct in Photoshop/Elements to repair rotten color rendering in most cameras, and use good, fast lenses. A D200 looks worse with a slow and soft lens than a D50 with a fast, sharp one. And there are a ton of adapters allowing for use of screwmount (Pentax, Leica), Zeiss, Olympus and other manual lenses on Nikon or Canon dslr's. Given that a vintage Pentax Macro runs about $100-150, and is beautiful in its function, you can run headlong into yet ANOTHER insidiously expensive hobby. It's all reasonable individually. Just don't add up the costs. Hope I don't sound too much the jerkwad. Chris

God bless you. Everyone's responses are sincerely appreciated. It seems I blew it right out of the box-no watch # in the subject line. Damn! So, as long as Neil doesn't recognize me as a rogue buyer bent on irritating him to death, I should be ok. As for dealing with a lack of communication from a seller, I have read enough posts about TTK that I'm not worried. He might not be everybody's cuppa, but I have 3 young ones in my house who I'm far more worried about liking/respecting/talking to me. I just don't want to be a pain in his backside. Conviviality for everyone!

Hello to all. I've been following various threads with dork-like interest for 2 months now and am ready to take a plunge into the murky waters of reps. That said, I am befuddled by the whereabouts of the vaunted TTK rules. I take stupid pills 3 times a day which makes it all the more difficult for me. So, come on where the hell are the rules? In there absence, I went over lots of Neil's postings to glean what sort of email gets sh#(canned vs. responded to. So, I email him last week regarding my desire to purchase 2 watches, and questions of how much and is elec. transfer (not iban) ok, etc. Nothing I wrote was too idiotic and I was nice. Nonetheless, no response. So I tried again last evening in the hopes Neil will take mercy on my desperate need for fakery and shiny objects. I am aware the man is busier than a prison whorehouse; but his methods of QC are obviously excellent, hence my desire to buy from him. Any and all comments, advice would be appreciated. Oh, and I'm thoroughly impressed by RWG. That a noncorporate board can be this well rounded and knowledgeable is impressive. Well done Kenberg et al. Grip