I realize that Renderosity doesnt promote any specific camera brands and such and such. (See I have read the news and views and tos and all that good stuff! :P) But I have several questions that I would be much appreciative for a professional's opinions on. For the past 3 years I've been using a Minolta Maxxum QTSI SLR camera with the standard lens it came with. It was a christmas present and I never really expected to fall into the hobby like I did. The camera has been great. Considering I've never had a photo class and dont have the slightest idea about photography on a professional basis, it was excellent for me as in being easily used. Recently I upgraded to a new lens (Minolta 70-210mm F/4.5-4.6 II Zoom lens ---- whatever that means) And wow! I cant get over the difference it made. I'm using it now to work on the November contest and I'll post some stuff soon. Now my question is if a lens made that much of a difference than I am completely in the dark. Is the lens I have a decent one? Also do certain brands of cameras come in better for certain photos? Minolta is all I've ever owned. In the photo forum people's humble non-promoting opinion what brands do you perfer? :) Also, I would love to have a negative scanner but I'm not too sure about the tech end of things. They seem to be quite pricey and I hate to blow quite a bit of money on a hobby. Is there a certain scanner to start off with perhaps? I really dont have the spare time to enroll in a photo course, can anyone recemend a book that might come in handy? (Slynky go easy on the sarcasm Im sure will come :P) Oh and btw I read the Learning Center's piece on photo lighting and found it very insightful! Keep the tutorials coming. ps sorry this post turned into a novel :P