PaulCoen

Yup - the Nik software (on Mac anyway) will essentially be gone at that point. And even some mostly 64-bit applications have some 32-bit supporting applications, installers, utilities, etc. People are going to have to be really careful about the next major upgrade.

There should be - I have the a6500, so the menu arrangement is a little different. I think on the A6300, the top custom (gear) menu has a FINDER/MONITOR setting on one of the submenus. If so, set it to Monitor (Manual) instead of Auto. On the a6500, that's on "Display/Auto Review1" under the second "camera/shooting" top menu.

I use PCs (Windows 10) at home, and I support the art department's Mac lab (all iMacs) where I work. Either works. Why do I use a PC at home? 1) I can pick my display. I hate glossy displays, I always have. My display always lasts more than one computer. 2) I can get a substantially more powerful computer, generally for less money. And that's even without building one myself, which I'm about to do again. I can build a six-core i7 with a pretty high-end graphics card, a 2TB SSD, and 32GB of RAM for less than either a maxed out 21.5" or a similar 27" iMac. Since (besides gaming) one of my kids is messing around with 3D rendering with apps like Blender, the extra horsepower is helpful. Being able to easily upgrade individual components over the lifetime of the computer is a plus for me as well. 3) I set Windows up in a really, really specific way that works for me (in some cases changing a substantial number of defaults). I just can't quite make macOS work the way I want - that's not Apple's philosophy. Over the years, I've probably used a dozen different operating systems, so switching from one to another isn't a big deal. For any specific task, they all have pluses and minuses, I'm not even going to criticize someone for not wanting to take the time to look at a different platform - if what you have is working, why invest the time? If your current solution is bothering you enough, you'll put the time into exploring other options.

The LA-EA3 will focus the newer SSM/SAM lenses. Classic Minolta Maxxum/Dynax/A-mount lenses that rely on the screw-drive motor will NOT autofocus with the EA3. The LA-EA4 includes the screw-drive motor and a translucent mirror, so as Howard said above, it's like the A65/77 and the other SLT cameras at that point. You will lose between 1/3 and 1/2 of a stop in terms of light reaching the sensor with the EA4. You're not going to have any image stabilization with the non-stabilized, A-mount lenses with this camera, so you might feel that light loss on the LA-EA4 a bit more.

One advantage of the 7 (and the 5) is that they will work with the later Minolta (and Sony) SSM/SAM full-frame lenses - the 9 won't autofocus with them unless it was upgraded later (you could have that done at a Minolta repair center back in the day).

I've got a pair of Scan Elite II units - bought one new, and happened to be in the right place at the right time when someone was getting rid of the other. They're solid scanners - I've been using them with Vuescan since getting rid of Windows XP. They've held up well. I do get significantly better results on the Elite II than I do on my Epson V600 flatbed with the transparency adapter. One note: the Scan Elite II supports IEEE 1394 (Firewire) and USB 1.1, not 2.0. So if you don't have the option of using FIrewire, you're going to get fairly slow scan performance on the Elite II compared to the later models. I've got a Firewire card in both my desktop and for my laptop. If you do go that route, I'd recommend getting a card with a TI chipset. I'll probably switch to Plustek when these eventually fail, instead of going the used route, though.

On any sizable copy, where you aren't going to be able to check the individual files visually, use a copy utility that will do a checksum on the original and on the copy. It's the only way you can be sure that there aren't any errors on the copy. I've had everything from bad RAM (the computer was working otherwise - after the copy errors I did an extensive memory test), a slightly-malfunctioning card reader, failing SD cards, and simple "somehow this bit of data was read wrong" errors cause problems on copies - especially large ones. The more data you're reading and writing, the higher the chance of an error. Not sure what I'd recommend on a Mac - Tercaopy will do it on Windows. But I'd consider it a "best practice" when moving any archive.

<p>Assuming the card itself is OK (and that's a big assumption), you may have either 1) a failing card reader or 2) a bad memory module in the computer. I've actually had issues over the years caused by each of those - card, card reader, RAM.<br> <br />You didn't say what platform you're on, but Apple's got a built-in memory tester on the Mac, and there's the "Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool". I've had faulty RAM that was not significantly impacting other computer functions because of the type of error and where it was located on the memory module - cause this.<br /><br />I'd run the memory diagnostic first - if you've got RAM problems, every other diagnostic is potentially suspect. Assuming that passes, you need to test the card and card reader. (If you're being especially thorough, you could test the computer's hard drive after the RAM test. Just make sure you don't select a destructive test!)<br> When testing the SD card - note that a decent test of the card may be a read/write test - make sure you have no data left on the card that you want to keep.<br /><br />If possible, do read/write testing on a different SD card (one you believe is OK) on the same card reader. There are a few test utilities out there, depending on platform. If you end up with problems on every card you test, it makes it more likely it's the card reader (or the cable).<br /><br />If the card reader checks out OK, re-run the testing using the card that failed.<br /><br />If you still haven't found anything, you need to keep an eye on it - if the problem is intermittent, it's likely to get worse, which will at least make it easier to find.<br> Also, think about whether or not you've seen other computer issues - crashing programs, operating system exceptions, etc. with any increased frequency of late. That would tend to point more towards a system problem, than the card or the card reader.<br /><br />Make sure you've got a current backup! Something that generates checksums and compares the copy with the original wouldn't be all bad in this situation. If you're getting read/write errors of unknown origin, you're in "trust no one" territory.</p>

<p>The biggest difference is the degree of pressure sensitivity (2048 instead of 1024 levels) and the pens. The "standard" Intuos is basically the replacement for the old Bamboo line, so it looks like there are fewer pen options - according to the website, the Airbrush isn't compatible. <br /><br />The Pro is the successor to the Intuos 4 & 5, and uses that line's pens. Glancing quickly at the website, I can't tell if the new non-Pro tablet pen supports replaceable nibs or not. Their website's a bit of a mess.<br /><br />I bought a small Intuos 5 as a Wacom refurb through Adorama a couple of years ago, happened to hit it when they had some and the price wasn't bad. I use it mostly for photo touchup (film / slide scans, and print scans off a flatbed). I generally use the grey "hard felt" tips, gives the pen a bit more resistance on the surface, which I prefer.</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure - having done three in-place upgrades, and a number of fresh installs for testing - that during setup you do get the option to opt out of OneDrive syncing your Documents folder and the rest when you set up your Microsoft account. I'm trying to think back - you may have to click on something to see the options, though.<br /><br />I've been using it for a couple of years (I have an Office 365 subscription that gives you 1TB each for up to five users), and it does behave differently on 10 than on Windows 8 (stub / placeholder files, you don't have to actually copy down all OneDrive files and folders to be able to browse them from Explorer) and 7 (not built in, you select which OneDrive folders to sync when you install it).</p>

<p>Worst case, you can use it with Vuescan, if the Minolta software won't work. Should work fine with either USB or Firewire.</p>

<p>I've been using a Scan Elite II under Windows 7, 8 and 10 (all x64) for years. Works fine under USB. Mine has USB 1.1, and that's slow. I've been using FireWire / IEEE 1394 instead, since the Elite II supports it and it's about twice as fast. The only time Vuescan has given me trouble is with negative scans that have little besides blue sky in them. Getting the color right can be a bear. And Cosmic C is correct - once you've got it set up with Vuescan, there's a good chance you can also use the original KM application.<br /><br />The Dual III and IV both supported USB 2.0 - the speed should be reasonably good. </p>

<p>Also take a look at the Benq SW2700PT - I picked one up earlier in the year. It's a nice display, and it comes in a bit below the PA279Q. Great color calibration out of the box, it's the same resolution as the PA279Q, and it's also 10-bit color.</p>

<p>I've seen OnTrack used in a professional setting as well - they really know their stuff. But it isn't cheap. I'd agree with Henry Posner - if you are thinking of going the professional route, don't mess with the drive any more than you already have. <br /><br />In general (for anyone else finding themselves in a similar situation), the one thing you never want to do if you can avoid it is to write changes to the drive in question. Testdisk - which I've used to recover data from formatted memory cards on a couple of occasions - at least writes it to a new location. Any additional writes you make to the drive runs the risk of overwriting data you want to recover. <br /><br />In general, if you can make an exact copy of the damaged drive (a block by block copy of the entire thing, including all the "free" blocks), it'll at least give you the ability to try more than one technique against the copy. </p>

<p>The V700/750 were in production for nearly a decade, I seriously doubt either the V800 or V850 are going away soon. It's possible that some component is depending on an Epson facility in the region around Kumamoto - southern Japan was hit with a pretty severe earthquake in mid-April, and it's caused some component supply issues for Nikon, Canon, and Sony among others. <br /><br />There also have been times when they do run low on current products (I've seen the V600 go backordered from time to time). It may be nothing more than that.</p>

<p>Vuescan will operate this scanner on either a Mac or a Windows system. I'm using the (even older) Scan Elite II (the F-2920) with Vuescan - firewire currently, but also USB, and it's fine.<br /> <br />That film holder - the FH-M10 - is going to be tougher to find. Which is a little frustrating - after all, as scanners fail, the holders can be sold even if the scanner isn't salvageable, and there were likely "new old stock" holders sitting around in stockrooms. Besides needing replacement parts, it wasn't uncommon for buyers to order a second set of holders so they could be loading one while scanning the other.<br /><br />BTW, the part number for that holder was <strong>7890</strong>-<strong>240</strong>. Don't know if that would help you find it, but it could help you confirm that it's the right part if you get a lead on one.</p>

<p>One thing to note - for Lightroom to handle certain video file formats on Windows, you have to have Quicktime installed. At least the January 2016 update removed the browser plugins by default. If you associate the usual quicktime files with a different app, like VLC, it should reduce the risk further.</p>

<p>Assuming Windows 7 or later, use the Windows memory diagnostic tool - just click Start and type "memory" - it should come up.<br> It'll restart your Thinkpad with a diag boot of windows, start the memory testing tool, and start systematically going through the RAM with different operations and patterns. If there's an issue, it should trip over it.<br> http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/diagnosing-memory-problems-on-your-computer</p>

<p>Perform an exhaustive memory test on the computer in use with a piece of diagnostic software - recent versions of Windows and MacOS have them built-in.<br /><br />The OS allocates RAM to use as a file system buffer, and during large transfers you could be hitting a defective area of memory. Depending on where it is, and what kind of problem, it may not be the sort of thing that would crash a computer regularly, but it could be enough to flip a few bits in a file during a copy.<br> <br />I was seeing something similar a couple of years back, and when I tested it turned out that my second (the higher address) memory module had developed a fault. I replaced the RAM and it fixed it.<br /><br />As a side note, this is why business-class servers and workstation-class microcomputers usually require more expensive ECC RAM. It allows the computer to detect and report - and if the problem isn't too severe correct on the fly - certain memory areas. </p>

<p>Impossible has reached out to Fuji - and I believe they did when the FP-3000b was discontinued as well. The response was pretty much "no way" in terms of transferring the production line to another entity. Fuji's just not interested in bothering, it seems. <br /><br />Impossible could make the film - I believe they've made 8x10 peel-apart. The problem is making the packs, and having an efficient way of making and folding the inside materials.</p>

<p>As a side note, a handful of Minolta film cameras supported SSM/SAM lenses - the Maxxum/Dynax 7, 5, 70, and 60 supported them out of the box, and the Maxxum/Dynax 9 and 9ti supported them with an upgrade (no longer available) done by Minolta authorized service centers. <br /><br />The full-frame Sony SAM lenses should work on any of those cameras (I've tested a mode4rn Sony APS-C SAM lens on the 7 and 5 just to see if the autofocus works - it does).</p>

<p>Yeah, I had a few minutes and checked - looks like the V600 is "fixed" - the V700/750/800/850 have two lenses, each focused differently to get better results (I'm assuming flatbed vs. holder). Generally, Vuescan is really good about only displaying options that make sense for a particular scanner.<br> Looks like betterscanning.com sells adjustable height MF film holders for the V600 - I've never used them, but raising/lowering the film would certainly allow you to tune the focus a bit.<br> <br /><br /></p>

<p>Yes, Vuescan allows you to select a focus point if the scanner supports it. IIRC, you have to set it to manual focus (on the input tab), and then there's the "Focus X/Y Offset" option on the crop screen if you have the Professional version and the current scanner supports it. There's an indication on the preview screen when on the crop tab to show you what the current focus point is. </p>

<p>Is it a Samsung display by any chance? I've seen this happen if you've got a Samsung monitor and you actually install the Samsung-provided monitor INF file. Used to happen with my old Samsung CRT monitor, and I saw the same thing (and under a couple of versions of Windows) with my newer Samsung LCD panel. Haven't tried again to see if it's still an issue - I just set the monitor up manually.<br> It wasn't visible in anything except Photoshop - Elements or full. </p>

<p>Looks to me like it's the color balance, curve low/curve high settings that are off. If you look at it, it's actually a pretty good scan in terms of detail, etc. You also don't say what the Color tab's current Color Balance setting is in Vuescan.<br> I usually do minimal corrections in Vuescan - maybe set the white point off an area if the colors haven't faded or shifted too much - and then either correct the contrast and curve in lightroom or (for something that's in really faded and I have to duplicate a layer and multiply) Photoshop. If you're looking to do the whole thing in Vuescan, you're going to need to start experimenting on that Color tab in "Professional" mode. <br /><br /><br /></p>