Recently I purchased a Canon 5DsR camera, and this replaced my Canon 1DX that I had used extensively both in my studio, and on my microscope for my photomicrography work. This event triggered a cascade of events that led me to this post. Let me start at the beginning.

I have been using DSLR Remote Pro for all my photomicrography work, as the camera needs to be tethered with Live View enabled to get the best quality from the system. I never really had any issues with the software, so I never had a need to look around for something else. Until now. Chris Breeze from Breeze Systems was kind enough to fast track an enhancement to his software so that it could properly support Live View on the new 5DsR. However, I could barely muster 3 - 5 captures then the UI would lock up, and the only way to proceed was to turn off the camera and back on. The new camera was using USB 3.0, but my Windows machine supported USB 3.0 and I have been using it since the beginning with a USB 3.0 Hard Disk for backups; never had any issues.

Naturally I suspected that DSLR Remote Pro was at fault, so I started isolating the cause of the issue. I first installed Capture One Pro from Phase One to try a different tethering solution. I have never used it before, just heard about it. It worked slightly better but still locked up - the same as DSLR Remote Pro. This made me think the issue could only be the camera, the USB 3.0 cable or the USB 3.0 controller / driver. I tested a different cable - no difference. I tested a different USB 3.0 port - no difference. I tried my MacBook Air laptop with the Mac version of Capture One Pro - it worked fine. By now I was pretty convinced it was the USB 3.0 controller / drivers. Since there were no newer drivers, I decided to try and connect the cable to a USB 2.0 port on the machine. Suddenly both applications started working well. So there - it was the port (motherboard). A new PC is in sight...

When you walk in to a Best Buy here in Canada, and want to buy a $100 external hard drive, the process is as follows:

1. Take the empty box on the shelf to the Nerd Herd
2. Wait for about 10 minutes as some computer n00b tries to spell their email address to the customer rep: "All lowercase, no spaces, Jay-Eeee-En-Eye-..."
3. Have some geek locate the real box with the actual product inside in the back storage room once he is done with the n00b.
4. Pay for the product.
5. Complain that you do not want to pay the extra $50 or whatever for installation services as there is nothing to install.
6. Walk to the security dude at the exit and have him check your receipt and purchased goods, and tick them off one by one.
7. Leave feeling very good about the trust in humanity and how you were treated.

When you walk in to an Apple Store here in Canada, and want to buy a $500 Time Capsule, the process is as follows:

Over the years I have been accumulating watches that I found interesting at the time. Unfortunately the Seiko watch I had in the late 90's and early 2000's is no longer in my possession. Yesterday I decided to take some studio photos of my collection. Which one would you pick? Pardon the scratches - some of these watches are more than a decade old.

What's up with the shady characters lurking on Craigslist? When I post something for sale, I will get say 10 responses asking anything from whether it is still available, why I am selling it, pictures etc. However, 9 out of 10 times the person will just never respond to my reply. Of those 9, 8 will ask me to contact them about the item, I will respond within 10 minutes of their mail, and then I never see or hear from them. Why? WHY???????

There are many kinds of photographers out there. You have:

1. The crowd that uses shitty cameras, knows nothing in general about photography yet think if they mutilate their photos and upload it nano size it will look awesome.
2. Wannabe professionals with too much money and too little skill.
3. Internet forum trolls with no skills but mouths to compensate
4. Great photographers
5. Upcoming photographers
6. and too many other to care about writing

However I like to classify photographers as follows: