CDsSister said:Thanks, I got some of it and will be re-reading it several times to get more! Once I get my new eyes (cataracts) I may be able to see the differences better. 
If any of it doesn't make sense, that's my fault. Please ask about what's unclear and I'll try to explain...and then clean up the first post.
I'm also not very happy with some of the examples - I didn't take very long to set up the gargoyle shoot and the contrast among/between settings could have been shot in a clearer way. Also, some of the distinctions between the shots are lots easier to see in the original resolutions.
For example, the difference between ISO 100 (crop preserving original resolution from picture labeled IMGP9076 above) and ISO 12800 (IMGP9083) isn't all that clear in the two photos that I posted - but if I crop the photos to just the flowers, you can really see the decrementation of the quality.
Similarly, with cropping, it's easier to see the difference in focus depth at f-4.5 (IMGP9060) and f-29 (IMGP9065).
Anyway...please don't hesitate to ask for clarification - if it doesn't make sense, it's on me...not you. Worst that can happen is I will say, "I don't know the answer".
