Thank you Sarah for your great comments on the Mantis i just uplaoded another btw :-)

Re: HDR i find Nik software have improved the algorithm in their latest software and the general professional consensus is that it has surpassed Photomatix :-)

Google will find Photomatix. You can download it for free and print out as much as you like, but until you hand over about £60 it will still have the watermark on the photos. There are other HDR pieces of software including in CS5, I've tried most of them, but keep coming back to Photomatix.

Sara!  What kind of work do you do?  It's nice to work outside where you can run into animals, birds, and to say the least, insects - they're all  over the place - some good, some not so good.  Don't trust the bees too much, some of them will swarm after you, if they're the wrong kind - they build nests in the darndest places too, like in the ground!  "Nuf Said!

Try the book again - if you have a problem, let me know - I'll try to answer your questions - I used to teach a basic beginners' class in a vocatioinal school up in NJ for 11 years.  The owners' manual that came with your Kodak camera should be fairly easy to read - they're one of the most user friendly manufacturers there is form info.  Terminology is the toughest for beginners to learn - I'll be glad to help you!  TTYL!  :>)

Sara!  I'm delighted to be your friend!  You know, we're practically neighbors!  I'm in Carlsbad, NM, "just down the road apiece, by the little white church", over the mountains!  We've been here for about 23-4 years, having moved from NJ, up east.

I read your discussion about a telephoto lens - like Mange said, the quality would very definetly suffer - I know I've got a Kodak Z612, the 6 mp model before yours!  I did invest in the tube that goes over the lens for filter use - this also works for close-up lenses.  Something that would also help you to understand digital photography, and photography in general is one of the   "Dummy" books on digital photography - no slur intended!  These books make it easy to understand subjects in a fun way and they do have a good digital photo book - You can find them in the chain book stores -Hastings, Noble, etc., usually found in malls!  I hope this can help!  TTYL!  :>)