Being ignorant to the world of photography, I must admit to being a little skeptical when you initially mentioned there would be "massive upgrades" to the photos, given they already seemed pretty sharp. But I had to smile when I saw this, because you can really see the difference, and its quite impressive....great shot of Overbay. Wow.

Jeez!

Uh yeah...details.

Very nice.  The colour seems better than the older photos too.

There's a wishbone in Overbay's forearm!

Oh yeah, I forgot -- better colour (and better contrast) is another added bonus.  Good catch!

Details:

The camera is a Pentax *istDS2.  Last year I used an *istD a few times, but I find the smaller, faster DS2 to be a better camera despite the D being a "pro" body and the DS2 being a "consumer" body.  This is actually the first digital SLR I've found useful enough compared to what it costs for me to actually buy it -- up until now I've been either renting or borrowing when I needed one for a job.  I've always preferred smaller, lighter bodies -- for instance, while I have a Pentax LX, the Rolls Royce of manual cameras, I usually prefer to run around with my Pentax ME Super because it is smaller, lighter and quieter.  When my first ME Super finally went to camera heaven (I wore out one of the gears in the advance mechanism), I used the LX exclusively for about a month before I decided that it was time to buy another ME Super.

Anyways, I find that I feel very similarly about the D vs. the DS2 -- the D is a more capable camera in many ways, but the DS2 is a well-built, well-functioning "cheap" camera that I can use quickly and cart with me everywhere because of its size.  Of couse, the size advantage is totally negated for baseball because of the lens I'm using:

The legendary Pentax SMC-A* 400mm f2.8, a professional lens from the late 1980s, was designed specifically for baseball.  It weighs as much as my son and the front element is large enough that he can wear the lens cap around like a hat.  While I have owned a great many excellent lenses, this one leaves 'em in the dust.  It makes me look sadly at some of my treasured pieces of glass, thinking "once I thought you were the best I'd ever see, but now..."  Of course, it's almost useless for day-to-day shooting because of its size and weight.

The exposure is at ISO 1600, 1/640 of a second at f2.8.

The wishbone-type structure you're seeing in Overbay's right elbow is where the vena mediana cubiti meets the cephalic vein.

(At least, I think it is!  As Mike Green said of someone like me earlier today, I think I'm some kind of expert because I watch _House_.)

By the way, if you look carefully at this shot, you can see clear as day, where the pin on Overbay's belt has scored the buckle (presumably from sliding/diving) and where the pin has pulled at and discolored the leather on the belt hole.

That's a great action shot. I noticed the colour difference instantly, and it's a big improvement. Keep 'em coming!

Behold the power of the Upgraded Photo of the Day:

Lyle Overbay: 4 for 4 with a walk, two runs scored and one run batted in.

New one will be up in about half an hour -- watch for the picture to change in the sidebar.