richsimmons

<p>This is a great place to start. At the top there is a tab called Learning. You should start there. Professionalism is a process that is not just about your equipment. But it does help.<br> <br />As far as the pixelated photo, make sure the jpeg setting is set for Fine to get the best quality. RAW is like a digital negative that you will have to develop. You can download Capture NX-D from Nikon's website to get you started. Many people here use Adobe Lightroom, some Photoshop, some use Gimp, which is free.<br> The most important thing to remember is that this is a journey, not a sprint and it will become a lifelong passion if you take your time with it. <br> What lenses did you get with the camera? If you got the kit, probably the 18-55mm and the 55-200mm, yes? The former is good to learn with, the latter is actually pretty good. I've had them both. You can do landscape with both lenses. Taking the photo is only 1/2 the battle. Post processing the the other. <br> Also, I've made professional looking prints with an 8 megapixel camera. The camera has no skill, it's up to you. Welcome to PNet!</p>

<p>Oh yeah, that makes sense. You only need the one output, but you have to make sure your mics are balanced and mixed well.</p>

<p>Oh, sweet. Solves that issue then. Everything else is the same then.</p>

<p>Syncing is so easy these days. Whether you use Adobe Premiere or Apple Final Cut Pro. But, either camera will do. You may want to get something like the Zoom H4N or something similar. Tascam makes a pretty reasonable mic for about $100, but the Zoom will allow you to make adjustments on the device.<br> But since you already have the PV6 (and I'm assuming a microphone) just use the output of the mixer into the camera. L/R 1/4 inch out to 1/8" stereo in on the camera. Use channel 1 or 2 on the mixer since you have gain control on those. The PV6 isn't USB, so what were you referring to?</p>

<p>Good points, spending the time to learn the craft is paramount, but I will say that when I upgraded to my D7100, it brought out every flaw in my kit lenses and really gave me a lesson on buying good glass. </p>

<p>Perhaps you just need better lenses?</p>

<p>A quick fix. Like five minutes quick in LR.<br> WB:<br> Temp: -13<br> Tint: -25<br> TONE: (top to bottom)<br> +.10, +14, +15, +32, +19, +72<br> <br />Clarity: -8<br> Sharpening: 19, 1.3, 59<br> Noise reduction: 45, 62, 0, 0<br> Profile correction: LR picked up Sony DT 18-200 3.5-6.3</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks. I went with the 28-105 and yeah, that hood is funky! I should have it in my hand tomorrow.<br> Thanks again.</p>

<p>And BTW, what about a portrait lens?</p>

<p>Considered that, thought I'd leave it alone. </p>

<p>@Patrick: 37? That's great. But 8800 clicks is only about 6% of the life cycle, so that's still pretty new to me.<br> Thanks for the suggestion on the 28-105 and the 24-85. I'll look into those. </p> <p> </p>

<p>No regrets, but some people have asked, "Why would you do that?"<br> It certainly wasn't my intention.<br> I wanted to have a backup body for my D7100, was thinking of getting another one and set it up the same way, looked at the D600 which is basically the same as the D7100 with a full frame sensor and same control layout. D800 was out of my budget, but I saw the D700, which has a D3 sensor, auto focus and 12 really good megapixels. Plus I have a couple of full frame lenses I'm using with the D7100. The 70-200mm f/2.8 VR1 and a Sigma 70mm f/2.8 macro. I also bought a 50mm f/1.8D on the cheap. Best part, the camera had a shutter count of 8800. Like brand new. <br> I didn't think shooting full frame again (haven't since film) would be such a difference, but it really is. Especially now that I'm getting older and the eyes are starting to strain. The colors straight out the camera are amazing. Heavy piece of equipment, especially with the battery grip and 70-200mm on it. File sizes are manageable, but I keep in mind that my framing should be better because I don't want to crop so much as I would with the 24mp D7100. I think it'll be a great portrait camera. Focus is quick, startup time is almost non existent. It's a sweet piece of tech. <br> So the question is, do I add a 24-70mm f/2.8 or maybe the 24-120mm f/4 for general photos? Maybe a prime for portraits, like an 85, 135 or a 200mm? <br> Someone get the Pepto, I think I got G.A.S.</p> <p>Thanks.</p>

<p>No expert, but if you're using natural light, I'm assuming a window. That window should be as clean as possible. The other thing is that natural light is always moving, so you need to know the best time to make your capture. You could still use a reflector to readjust as the light is moving. Charcoal paper usually has a lot of tooth, so I believe the texture should come through pretty well. But why don't you want to use lights?</p>

<p>D7200. Great camera, I have the D7100, totally happy. But why the 16-80? Isn't that 2.8 - 4? Why not get a Tamron or Sigma 17-50 f/2.8. I did. I don't miss the other 30mm. I got the Tamron non-VR, by the way. My go to lens for walk around.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, companies thrive on the seemingly obsolescence of their products so you'll buy "new and better." But if the camera took great shots before, it will continue to do so. I think the only time you need to upgrade is when the equipment can no longer fulfill your vision or it is not performing to your standards.<br> That being said, I've always owned cropped sensor bodies. I've had the Nikon D5100, which took excellent photos, but the menu system drove me crazy. I think you may experience this as well with the D3300. The one glaring advantage Canon has over Nikon is in the entry level cameras, because Canon keeps the controls on the camera and Nikon puts them into the menu. Slows your process down, IMO, and I got tired of it. I bumped up to a D7100 and love this camera. Got it a month after it came on the market and didn't look back.....until yesterday when I got a used D700.<br> What? Why would he get an 8 year old camera? Few reasons. I would have loved a D800, just wasn't in the budget, even used. I already have a couple of full frame lenses. The D700 has the D3's sensor and auto-focus and even at 12mp, it's still quite good. It has pro control layout. Also, the camera only had 8800 shots taken, it looks and handles like it's brand new. And, I needed a second body. I could have gotten another D7100 and I probably would have been happy, but wow, what a hefty beast the D700 is to hold in your hand. <br> I know event photographers that still use D300's successfully. Met a guy over the weekend who used a D800 and D300 combo for a job. The end result is if you'll be happy. <br> I don't think you'd go wrong with the D800 and I don't think it's technology is going to fade anytime soon. I'd go with the D800 and build your glass from there. 36 megapixels is a lot of leeway to crop around with. I don't think you'd regret it.</p>

<p>According to HP <a href="http://support.hp.com/ca-en/document/c02838702">here</a>, your RAM is maxed out. You have 512mb of VRAM, you might want to consider upping your video card. But like it's been said, clean up is a must. Check your startup folder for things that load automatically. Check the registry too for those things. </p>

<p>I'll 2nd Hector, I bought a used Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VR 1 and it's really good.</p>

<p>Nice Printer. I would still use Lightroom, but that's me. It allows you to keep your workflow within one program, create virtual copies without adding disk space and you can print contact sheets, photo packages, etc.</p>

<p>What you have should be fine, but how are you printing? I've been printing banners since 8 megapixels. Viewing distance does make a difference, but who is printing? Are you having a professional shop do it for you? They can enlarge with no discernible loss of quality.</p>

<p>If Affinity keeps going the way it is, I'm pretty sure they'll have some kind of bridge component. Soon, I hope. Meantime, there's ACDSee, which has been around for years if there's a need besides Bridge.</p>

<p>I bought both Affinity Photo and Designer. Caught the sale, $80 for both. Very well worth it. Learning curve is not bad if you use PS, but they have a ton of tutorials on the web. IMO, Designer is the killer app. If you're an Illustrator person, you'll really like Designer. AND, both programs can swap files natively, so you can begin in one and jump to the other with all layers intact. Designer has a great way of masking. Really simple, literally, dragging one layer under another and pushing right. They're making an page layout program to compete against InDesign as well. I'm glad, competition is good for business. Serif, the company that makes it, began and still is a Windows software company, but when they created these, they started from scratch and it shows. The programs really don't bog down your machine and they work really fast. Like really fast.</p>

<p>Same process, just move to a new canvas. But an example might help.</p>

<p>1. use a mask, 1/4 the photo one piece at a time (use guides) and just move it with the selection tool. or better yet, select and cut to a new layer</p> <p>2. Do you mean make all 9 images the same size? Select one image, then Ctrl+T on PC or CMD+T on mac, then you can resize manually or on the toolbar, you'll see width and height that you can change.<br> By default it's in percentage, but you can type in inches by putting inches Or whatever scale you're using, after the number. example: 24 inches. <- space after number is necessary.Make sure aspect ratio is turned on and other side will scale.</p> <p>3. Create the color you want with color picker and in same dialog box, click Add to swatches.</p>

<p>That'll work, but spend the money on an external monitor, a good mouse/trackpad and you'll be in business. But find out how much ram the laptop has and max it out. At least 16 gig.</p>

<p>You will enjoy it. I think next time I will go FX, but my D7100 is pretty awesome still. I have the 70-200mm AFS VR1 as well. For wide angle I found a great bargain on keh.com for a Tamron 10-24mm. Not the best wide angle, but outdoors at F5.6 to F8, it's pretty sharp, but it's made for DX. There is a Nikon 14-24mm/2.8 you could use or the 16-35/f4. KEH has a <a href="https://www.keh.com/shop/tokina-16-mm-28-mm-f-2-8-wide-angle-zoom-lens-for-nikon-f.html">Tokina 16-28</a> for a good price.</p>