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I stopped by the local university bookstore and ran across a Gary Fong Lighsphere for a measly $20! I just hope I don't lose it. :)

BTW, if you do accumulate dust in your 17-55, the cleaning procedure is pretty simple: http://www.pbase.com/lightrules/drp

I suppose it's more interesting than saying you're going to make yogurt cheese.

Related to the 7D, here's some video a local photojournalist shot of some bald eagles in town. The streaming doesn't do it any favors, but it's inspiring nonetheless. Beware, you may experience lens envy! http://www2.registerguard.com/mm/index.php/videos/comments/the-skinner-butte-eagles/

A couple months back. Really wasn't planning on it but I'm happy with the upgrade. It has some nice features, my favorite being the rotating focus point. When you turn the camera to portrait you can set it so the focus point automatically moves to a point you use in that orientation, which for...

I guess there are no surprises here. AWB first; custom WB second. No post processing, just uploaded the JPGs straight from the card. The coffee filter is closer to accurate than at auto, but I would still want to do a little tweaking. For me the determining factor is the occasion or event...

Well... I have no idea what brand of filter they are since they're an old stack my dad gave me years ago. I don't even have the coffee maker anymore, but I use the filters for making things like yogurt cheese and straining soup stock. :) I'll post some comparison shots though. So far I like...

This talk has inspired me to play a bit with cheap solutions. Like a coffee filter and rubber band. It'd be interesting to compare it to the Lally Cap... The guy's tone in this is kind of funny:

The second looks more accurate, but I would probably make it a touch warmer just because flesh tones are involved. That's mostly a taste thing though.

Canon is notorious for veering warm on Auto WB, but generally that is better than cool. I usually stick to Auto WB and when shooting RAW it's nice you can change the color temperature to an actual Kelvin number. The in-camera WB presets (which I believe you were referring to in the first...

I've become sort of a traditionalist when it comes to flash diffusers. On an older Sunpak strobe I use a PVC ID card blank that has a bit of velcro on it (the Sunpak has velcro left over from using a Lumiquest bouncer). When I use a Canon 580 EX II, I use the pull out white plastic "catchlight"...

My Sigma 18-50mm zoom had a back focus problem and I had to send it in twice to be calibrated. It's fine now, but I still have lingering doubts about it. It's been enough to pretty much swear off third party lenses, though now I check the focusing accuracy on any lens I get.

Maybe next you should read "The Paradox of Choice." ;) http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/0060005696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273856250&sr=8-1

I agree with Man's recommendations. Especially in crowded environments like conventions a wide FOV is a necessity and a short/mid tele will come up short in the large panel settings. When you need reach, you should REALLY reach with something like a 70-200.

The 17-55 is spendy, but it's consistent and reliable - I use one at work but have a Sigma personally. I think you'll be happy with the Canon. Eventually I want to trade up my Sigma for it, but it will take some time to get there.

If you're shooting events, family and landscape you pretty much need a wide lens and the only one on the list that goes wide enough is the EF-S 17-55.

Personally I can tolerate high ISO noise if it means sharp focus and minimal motion blur. That said, I used the original digital Rebel for many years and saw a big improvement in noise after moving up to the 40D. I'd say 1600 yields very acceptable quality in both color and black-and-white. With...

The 40D will go up to ISO 3200, which will come in handy for the indoor basketball. Considering your other subjects, the XSi would probably be just fine.