Mike D

<p>I would like to pre-announce the D6 just in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Of course I will still be waiting for the D400 to be announced and still using my A77II although the Sony A-mount will have discontinued the A-mount 2 years prior. </p>

<p>Check out the Camera Quest web site for the best looking old-new lenses. Awesome.</p>

<p>After shooting, I always move all the images to my computer HD, charge the batteries, format the SD cards in the bodies, and set the camera settings to ISO 400, aperture priority, F8. There is always a lens on each body so each combo is ready to shoot after being turned on straight out of the bag. </p>

<p>Tomek, I use both but I am unable to give you a detailed analysis of their performance. I do find that Focus Magic also does a lot of sharpening that sometimes brings out grain in my images. Shake Reduction in Elements 14 is hit or miss. Sometimes it does a great job and other times it's less effective. You just have to try it on an image to determine if it works or not. When it does work, I've had some pretty impressive results. </p>

<p>B&H has Pentax 40 MP 645D on sale new for $3,711. Lot's of Pentax, AF lenses in used market for sale in excellent condition. You may want to reconsider your strategy if you want medium format quality. </p>

<p>I still use CS6 with some plugins and just added Elements 14 for solving "shake reduction" issues if I need to. This was one of the really attractive features in the rental version of Photoshop but now it is available in Elements 14. It down't always work but when it does, it's a miracle. You just have to try it on an individual image and cross your fingers that it will work. </p>

<p>I know you want a Nikon combination but for about $1,000 you can get a Tamron or Sigma 150-600 which are both proven birding lenses and will be sharper than almost any lens with a TC. The zoom range is also 4X.</p>

<p>Just picked up a USA D7200 body from B&H for $1096. Had a $45 credit on their gift card program and got another 4% on another gift card for a future purchase. No sales tax and no shipping costs. Got a couple chotchkies such as a 16 gig SD card and camera bag. (Gave to my daughter.) Except for the 6 FPS, the sharpness and dynamic range are pretty awesome. </p>

<p>There was also German company that had a prototype digital back that you could theoretically be put on any body. Since it was so early in the digital camera cycle, it was low res and didn't gain traction. </p>

<p>I always thought Cosina was in the best position to slap a sensor on the back of their cameras and make them digital RF bodies. They could have done this from the start of the digital age. The Fuji XT1 has kind of taken over from where Cosina left off. Too bad. Definite lack of vision bu Cosina. </p>

<p>Bob & Ellis, that was the point on my post while trying not to be "Mr. Obvious". </p>

<p>AAA just announced the winners of their 2015 Westways Magazine photo competition. I have categorized the cameras used to take the 14 images shown in the article. <br> Rebel XS: (1 image) First Place <br> EOS 1DX: (1 image) <br> i Phone: (2 images) <br> D610/800/810: (3 images) <br> 5D Mark II/III: (5 images) <br> EOS 7D: (1 image) <br> A77: (1 image)</p> <p>I have a couple observations: <br> 1) There was a lot of expensive equipment used to take these images.<br> 2) The iPhone holds its own against the high end equipment. <br> 3) Canon is dominant representing half the winning images. <br> 4) I own an A77. <br> <br> </p>

<p>It absolutely was a point & shoot compared with what most of the news media was using in the 1950s....Speed Graphics. (4" x 5" negatives)</p>

<p>Luis, I had a related problem. On a recent trip, I needed to make a 2 minute time exposure but I quickly found out that the D7100 won't make an exposure reading or focus with a 10X in front of the lens. The only way to do this is to manually focus and take an exposure reading before placing the 10X on the lens. Then put the camera in "bulb" mode with a remote release attached, calculate the new time of exposure, and take the shot manually on a tripod of course. This process makes using "Variable" ND even more difficult because you don't know for sure what F stop it is really on, especially in the field with gloves on. As a result, I just use a fixed 10X ND filter. I would be really interested in what other people do. I know there is an App for smart phones.</p>

<p>Ingemar, why should I have to learn anything about windows? It should just work in the background. However, I should have to learn how to use Photoshop, Photo Mechanic, and about 20 other application programs that I use on a regular basis. (The more intuitive they are, the better.) I don't have to learn how the engine in my car works in order to drive it, but I do have to learn how to follow directions to get to where I want to go. My objective for using a computer is not to learn how to use a computer but to post-process images and post them to my web site. Everything else is just a waste of my mental resources, which are getting older and less tolerant. (humor but true)</p>

<p>I had my Contax IIIA totally overhauled by Henry Scherer several years ago. It's a beautiful piece of precision equipment but is not cheap. He also had a couple year waiting list when I signed up. It may be shorter now. It was well worth the time and expense.<br /> http://www.zeisscamera.com/contact.shtml</p>

<p>On my cropped frame Nikon bodies, I use a Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 C macro. It seems like most photographers ignore this lens but it is not too slow, very sharp, competitively priced, and focuses to 8.6" which is far closer than any other similar zoom lens on the market. Do an internet search on this lens and check out the reviews and comments. In my opinion, this is the best general, walk-around lens you can buy especially when you need to get in close. After re-reading this comment, sounds like I'm becoming a Sigma fan boy. Uh Oh.</p>

<p>I figure that if I've spent my own money. that I worked hard for, on a piece of equipment and that equipment doesn't meet my expectation (legitimately) in some respect, I am "entitled" to whine. It's the same for cars, kitchen appliances, or anything else I've paid for. </p>

<p>In a perfect world, the operating system should be invisible. I only really care about the programs that I use that operate on top of the operating system like Photoshop, Photo Mechanic, Office Suit, and numerous other programs that unfortunately rely on their shared code with the Windows operating system. I'm in my mid 60's and I really get a little miffed at having to learn another operating system. What a waste of time, remaining mental resources, and extremely inefficient. </p>

<p>Jacob, I had exactly the same problem several years ago with my D300 and pokey focusing 80-400 VR. This setup just didn't cut it for capturing peak action for college football although pro surfing was acceptable. There was no Canon 7DII at the time and since no one was sure Nikon or Canon would ever produce a high FPS cropped frame body, I went with the Sony A77. The A77 is a DSLT with a pellicle mirror that can shoot 12 FPS with a lens at maximum aperture (8 FPS closed down) with a 52 image jpeg buffer. The Sony 70-400 II has a piezo electric auto focus and is 4 time faster than standard in-lens auto focus. These bodies run around $800 and sport the Sony 24 MP sensor that is in a number of other camera manufacturer's cropped frame bodies including Nikon. The one down side to a DSLT is that, while shooting, the image in the digital view finder is the last image you captured so you are little behind the action but not so much if you are shooting at 12 FPS. The benefit of this kind of viewfinder, is that you get what you see unlike the optical view finder. While this body is significantly different than a D7000 series body in the way it works, once I got used to it, I ended up with 3 A77's, a Tamron 150-600, a Venus 60 mm 2X macro, and Venus 15 mm 1X macro all in Sony mount. </p>

<p>I think I have to go with the Nikon selfie stick introduced a couple months ago as the accessory of a generation.</p>

<p>Thanks for the memories. I still have my Pro S, that I used in the 70's, along with my 50mm wide angle, 150 macro, and 360 telephoto. It's in a nice, but heavy, pack next to my much newer digital gear so I can use it for strength conditioning. (humor) I used to hand hold it with any of the lenses all the time and I'm only 150 pounds. </p>

<p>I love the comment by some people who are upgrading to WIN 10 that they won't be doing it on their computer they use for image processing. That's not really a vote of confidence, is it?</p>

<p>Eric, I have the same issues with Nikon and while I have traded up to a D810 with 24-105 and D7200, instead of moving to Canon, I added a couple Sony A77 II bodies ($800 each) with Sony 70-400 and Tamron 150-600 lenses (for Sony). I also added a Sigma 150-600 S for my D7200. These are all purchases that are not from Nikon. I also now have absolutely no need for a 200-500 or 80-400. I am now resigned to the fact that Nikon won't produce a D400 but that's OK because my A77IIs rip off 12 FPS, 24 MP files, with a buffer of 52 high quality JPGs. Even the new Canon 7DII can't do that and DXO reports that the sensor in the Sony is better although I do worry about the future of the A-mount. I just got back from Iceland and Fuji is certainly making inroads into the Nikon user base but I don't think it is quite there yet although I'm a fan of professional cropped frame cameras. </p>

<p>Thanks William & Shun. Over the past year I've printed what seems like at least 100 - 10x14 inch prints and I'm just now beginning to run low on some inks. Amazing. So far no clogging. This is a pretty awesome printer. </p>