Hi to all (a few pics inside)

[ilko]

I've been a member for a few months, but haven't posted much here. So take this as my formal introduction to this forum.

I have a 2004 A4 Avant USP Tiptronic. Bought it CPO with 40K miles last November and I'm almost at 50K now. Love it! My wife also thinks it's the greatest car we've owned.

Only mods I've done so far are RNS-E w. XM and front fogs as DRLs. The car came with a blacked out upper grille and I'm planning on painting the lower black as well soon.

Oh yeah, I have my tow hook installed in the front because some douche stole my tow hook cover last week. I didn't want to leave a hole in the front. Now I have to find a new cover and paint it

This car is sort of a daily driver for me, I have another toy that I play with at the track.

Here's some pics I snapped of the USP today:

[AudiA4_20T]

whats the deal with the tow hook?

[manhertm]

whats the deal with the tow hook?

Reading is fundamental. LOL

[jon102034050]

lookin good, now just clean up the passenger side wheels

[ilko]

They're not dirty it's just a reflection.

[manhertm]

I actually like the red tow hook. It would look even better on a completed car

[AudiA4_20T]

Reading is fundamental. LOL

touche lol... i kinda like it too its different

[Capt. Obvious]

Welcome! I got really worried at first when I saw your avatar, I thought I was going to scroll down and see some black USP with orange stickers all over it! Then I read what your other car is and now it makes sense.

Oh yeah, I have my tow hook installed in the front because some douche stole my tow hook cover last week. I didn't want to leave a hole in the front. Now I have to find a new cover and paint it

Living in NYC, I'd just leave it there for when someone inevitibly backs into your car. That way your car does a little more damage to their car.

[Shak]

I really like the way the pictures came out! Ofcourse, awesome ride! I knew you saw this coming but clear corners :D

What kind of camera did you use?

[|FYASKO|]

i like the first picture

[gq9]

Awesome looking car. Tow hook looks great! I would leave it as well, esp to damage other people more, if they hit you. lol

[has6]

Mercer and Prince?
My favorite pizza place is just around the corner

[Smitty2A4]

Great pictures, something about them (the contrast levels maybe?) makes them look so clear and lifelike. The towhook is funny, and I agree about the back into comment, that thing would put a nice hole in someone's bumper should they do that.

[mxrz]

So have you ever driven on the Ring?

[Zoidbort]

Yeah the white balance was toned down and saturation upped on the camera or Photoshop was used to raise the contrast a bit for sure. Very nice shots however. If I was using Fire Fox now, I could use the EXIF data add on and see what camera and shutter info etc was used but alas, IE & at work...gay!

[jrau13]

Nice avant

[mxrz]

Yeah the white balance was toned down and saturation upped on the camera or Photoshop was used to raise the contrast a bit for sure. Very nice shots however. If I was using Fire Fox now, I could use the EXIF data add on and see what camera and shutter info etc was used but alas, IE & at work...gay!

There is no EXIF data, it was lost when the pictures were processed by an application or image service that doesn't understand it. The photos look film like, either they were shot with a Nikon (many of their cameras are known to produce film-like photos) or they were post processed to look film-like, Fujichrome Velvia in particular.

[HeHateMe]

damn all these USPs popping up all over the place. I wish I had a GD USP.

The pics and car look great

[Grenade]

Awesome looking avant. Soo clean.

[Maverick]

I am surprised to see how clean your car is.
in boston, I see cars' bumpers get all scratched up, they look shity

[n7plus1]

sweet avant...wish my sedan looked as good.

[A4 in SC]

Welcome to the 'zine. Nice looking Avant! Of course, nice RSA too! Do you visit Pelican? If so, see you there too...

[Zoidbort]

There is no EXIF data, it was lost when the pictures were processed by an application or image service that doesn't understand it. The photos look film like, either they were shot with a Nikon (many of their cameras are known to produce film-like photos) or they were post processed to look film-like, Fujichrome Velvia in particular.

Uh oh, someone is Nikon bias . As far as I am concerned, Canon and their CMOS chips are still the most superior in regard to film grain quality for a DSLR. The least amount of noise at higher ISO's as well vs. a tiny CCD which Nikon's use still but this is a whole different topic for another time I suppose lol.

[ilko]

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

Favorite pizza place? Hmm, let me guess: Lombardi's! I don't go there anymore because the crowds are huge but thankfully I live within their delivery area

I prefer the tow hook cover to the actual tow hook, but this will have to do for the time being. Actually I wish the tow hook was a little longer to really mess up the bumpers of those trying to back into me. The way it is now, it is only effective if someone is backing into me from the passenger side. Otherwise it's pretty much lined up with the license plate holder.

Actually today I saw a front license plate holder that was full of 2" spikes, so I may have to think about it, hehe

The car has none of the usual for NYC bumper scratches because I keep it in a private lot and very rarely drive it around town. Otherwise it would look like crap within days.

I used a 5-year old Nikon CoolPix 5700 for the photos. The camera is decent for its age and Photoshop is my weapon of choice for post production. My wife is a professional photographer so she's taught me a few tricks. She used Velvia film before going digital. Always at ISO 50. Really warm and saturated colors, loved it!

I actually spend most of my time on Rennlist vs Pelican, but I like Pelican's For Sale & Wanted forum a lot. See you there!

[Zoidbort]

Wow ISO 50...she must have used a tripod most of the time or used a very low F lens. Yeah Velvia is nice stuff, Fuji's higher end. I have not taken a film photo in over 8 years, kind of miss it! I have so many rolls in my fridge from 10 years ago that I totally forgot what is on them, should be a great surprise!

[ilko]

Actually it was live music at low light. Totally counter intuitive but the images were amazing!! She had a few lenses she used but it's been a while, so I don't remember the details. She's moved on to still life since and sold all her 35mm and medium format equipment. Kinda miss it every once in a while, those were fun times.

[mxrz]

Uh oh, someone is Nikon bias .

Nope, I shoot Canon, but I'm not a fanboi and I recognize Nikon's strengths. Ever since the D1, Nikon has produced more film-like tonal balance and contrast straight out of the camera. The high ISO noise issue is sooo 2006, Nikon has caught up by now and I'm not really sure what tiny CCD's you're referring to... All the pro Nikon bodies use CMOS sensors, and even the prosumer D300 does. And btw, their APS-C sized sensors are larger than Canon's (23.6 x 15.8 mm vs. 22.2 x 14.8 mm). I don't shoot Canon because their bodies are superior, they aren't... I shoot Canon because their lens selection is better, which is what really matters. A photog will go through many generations of camera bodies, but lenses can last for decades.

[Zoidbort]

Yes I know Nikon moved over to CMOS as Canon was killing them in that dept, Nikon finally took the hint and old technology is still sometime superior. Their Sony CCD's were causing so much moire and purple fringing etc that it was a real pain. Those photos taken in this thread were taken with a CCD Nikon so it does pertain in this instance. I too love Canon lenses. I have a few L glass in my quiver but I think that Sigma's higher line is every bit as good as L glass.

It honestly never truly matters on the camera nor the glass. Ultimately it relies upon the person taking the photo as it is the eye that 1st captures the moment and the finger that immortalizes it, right?

[LampyB]

looks good man, i love silver USP avants! get your lower grille painted as soon as you can, it looks strange with one blacked out and the other chrome. do the clear corners headlight mod as well, your car will look a million times better once this is done. it's more important than the grilles!

nice job on the photos as well, they're really clear. what camera was used? i love NYC....

[Zoidbort]

Clear corner mod? Do you mean buying new headlights or is there an actual mod for the 1 piece originals?

He said he used an old Nikon CoolPix 5700 with PS.

[mxrz]

I think that Sigma's higher line is every bit as good as L glass.

Some are real good, some are bad. I had a Sigma 17-70 zoom, as a walk-around lens for my personal Rebel XT (for work/product shots I use a 1Dmk3, but it's too big and heavy for personal use imo), and the first one was defective (Sigma's Quality Control still sucks big time), and the second one front focused even after two re-calibrations, so I got rid of it, a flawless Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS now practically lives on my Rebel. However, I do have a perfect sample Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 and it's so good, I got rid of my Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS and 300 f/2.8L IS, I kid you not! On the other hand, Sigma has nothing that even comes close to my Canon 35mm f/1.4L and 135mm f/2.0L, their new 30mm prime is fairly good, but Canon's 35 is just epic. Other than that, I had a loaner 300-800 Sigma for a month (stunning lens), tried several other normal zooms, like the 18-50 f/2.8, but it was very soft wide open and only acceptable at f4. Sigma is really a hit or miss for me. A bit of a gamble.

It honestly never truly matters on the camera nor the glass. Ultimately it relies upon the person taking the photo as it is the eye that 1st captures the moment and the finger that immortalizes it, right?

Agreed, I was referring to when someone is about to make a choice between Nikon and Canon... It's the whole "system" that matters, like the lenses and accessories, rather than the features of the current camera body alone.

[A4 KiDD 810]

Cool NYC !! I'm in Westchester. I like the tow hook, but it looks like if someone actually hooked a tow line to it and drove to tow ur car it looks like it wud rip the front bumper off I know im wrong it just looks like that. Anyway, the car looks really clean and nice as anything. Look in the regional forums every once and a while and head up to any meets you see in there if some meets come up. Trust me they're real fun.

[Zoidbort]

However, I do have a perfect sample Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 and it's so good, I got rid of my Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS and 300 f/2.8L IS, I kid you not! On the other hand, Sigma has nothing that even comes close to my Canon 35mm f/1.4L and 135mm f/2.0L, their new 30mm prime is fairly good, but Canon's 35 is just epic. Other than that, I had a loaner 300-800 Sigma for a month (stunning lens),

Ah the Bigma? I would love to buy that lens! I use a lowly Sigma DG 18-125mm and it stays on my 20D more than any other lens. I love my Canon 50mm macro as well, great portrait lens! I also have the 70-200 2.8L as well and I do enjoy that but the Sigma equivalent is amazing. I really want the 105mm Sigma macro, I am big into macro and abstract etc.

Glad to see another photohead in the midst here! Cheers mxrz

[Sammy7]

Great pictures, especially the first one. The city street's a nice change from using the nearest industrial park for the background. One question though, have you thought about using a polarizing filter to reduce the glare in the windows?

[eg6siR]

you should put those red wheels from the porsche on the USP!! J/K but i would probably do it for like a day just for shits and giggles

[bojinadu18]

Where did you get your RNS E????? I want one!

[giacb6usp]

nice ride..

[ilko]

I have a polarizing lens but I was shooting under low light conditions yesterday. My aperture was at 30 and anything lower would've made the photos blurry. The polarizer needs more light IMO to make it effective.

Silver car with orange wheels would look great, but It's a lot of work to get my Porsche whees to fit

Got the RNS-E off Ebay for under $1K IIRC. Funny thing is I bought it before I finalized the purchase of the A4. I'm a sucker for OEM navigation systems. I was one of the first people to retrofit an MFD Navi in my VW R32, then had the RNS-D in the allroad. The RNS-E is light years ahead of those two, great purchase!

[LampyB]

^^yes there's a "Clear Corners" mod that removes the orange reflectors found inside of the headlights. all you really need is a drill with a small bit to break them out, and then just use a pair of pliers to remove the reflector from inside of the housing. check out the DIY tutorial below...

this simple mod made my car look legitimate with a set of new wheels, 100% better looking than stock!

http://a4mods.com/index.php?page=web...earcorner.html


look at the first pic in this thread...you can see the headlight without the orange reflectors...it looks very clean!
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=214839

[ilko]

Thanks, but I'm not a big fan of the clear corners.