It is probably just a personal preference, but I find that having too many fancy transitions is distracting. I have used VMS for many sideshows and it has always worked great and was in many ways superior to some of the other packages that are "specifically designed" for slideshows.

I prefer to have a default of a basic crossfade and then go in at specific locations and add special transitions that I think will help to set off a portion of the show.

In MS its a lot of work. However in Vegas Pro where you can use scripts, there are several available that can automate the process, even adding "Ken Burns" type effects.

I'm in agreement with cmcdonald. A few weeks ago, my kid was at a Vacation Bible School program. On the closing evening, a sllideshow was presented. Man, every transition was in it...3-D swirls, windows, explosions, puzzle pieces flying in and out, just everything. I felt like I was on a thrill ride at an amusement park. The show was so busy with transitions that it took away from the actual photos of the kids, which is what everyone wanted to see to begin with. I asked what software they used - Pinnacle 10 is what I was told.

Interestingly, I have done a similar slideshow for our church with VMSP 6. I tend to use mostly simple crossfade, a few Spice transitions where it looked appropriate along with a few Ken Burns type effects. I got a lot of compliments. Personally, I was very pleased with the look and feel of the slideshow.

"Man, every transition was in it...3-D swirls, windows, explosions, puzzle pieces flying in and out, just everything. I felt like I was on a thrill ride at an amusement park. The show was so busy with transitions that it took away from the actual photos of the kids, which is what everyone wanted to see to begin with. "

YES, YES, YES!!! Just because you CAN do fancy 'stuff' is no reason TO do it.

I prefer to have a default of a basic crossfade and then go in at specific locations and add special transitions that I think will help to set off a portion of the show.

Ditto.

I believe that if you have two events overlapping (a cross-fade), you can drag a transition over the cross-fade and it will be applied. [I'm not at my editing PC]

You are correct about dropping the transition onto a crossfade. This is exactly what I usually do. I save my "fancy" transitions for major breaks in the action. I also don't like to use too many pans/zooms either.

I have seen slideshows where every slide has a special transition and/or zooms or pans and it gets overwhelming after a while and takes away from the main subject of the show.

Naturally, this is simply my opinion and my wife will be more than happy to tell you what my opinion is worth.

Consider trying the free Microsoft Photo Story: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx

Interesting. It creates a .wmv file which should be able to be opened in VMS for additional editing if so desired. Definitely an option. Thanks for sharing.