richsimmons

<p>Blood moon through the trees in my backyard</p><div></div>

<p>First thing I would do is delete the Normal.dot file. This is the base file for docs. Word will rebuild it automatically. Do that first. Reinstalling may not overwrite this file and you'll have the same issue.</p>

<p>Which Tascam are you using? I'm curious because I'm about to get the <a href="http://tascam.com/product/tm-2x/">Tascam TM-2X</a>. Is this what you're currently using? I like that it has x/y configuration and it has a removable neck to extend the mic over the lens more.</p>

<p>Did you have a contract? What did it say? That's where you need to begin.</p>

<p>I haven't used the Spyder in years, but just for a reference, I use the i1 Display Pro from x-rite. I like it very much. They have two flavors. One is, I think, $179 and the pro is around $250. Very simple, but customization can be extensive. The device is licensed so you can use it on as many machines as you want. Not sure if Spyder does that or not.</p>

<p>I use a Xeon PC with 6 cores and 12 gig of memory. Gets the job done. I use Premiere on my Macbook pro too. Video requires a lot of space. A lot. I shot an event over the weekend. I did four videos, 27 minutes,that took up about 7 gig. There's a design element that comes into play when doing video as well. Not just the color grading, editing, and other effects, transitions, etc. that you may want to add. Video is very time consuming. </p>

<blockquote> <p>Now, please suggest a good normal zoom lens that is sharp and has less chromatic aberration so that I don't have to post process much later.</p> </blockquote> <p>Post processing is part of the process. To minimize this, you need to know your equipment and what works best for the look that you want. Very rarely will you see posted work that has no processing done to it. And if you shoot in RAW, which you should, you will always be processing your photos afterwards to get the best out of them. This is a journey, not a sprint. With that said, I like my Tamron 17-50mm 2.8. It's a great walk around lens. You can get them used for a decent price. Probably under $300. New is like $500. Sigma makes a good one too.</p>

<p>I"m curious about the current PC you're using. A gig of Ram and a 2 Gig processor should be "adequate" for the most part. What operating system are you using? Have you done any maintenance on the machine (disk cleanup, remove bad files, close down other programs, remove programs that stay in memory, did a virus check/clean)? An i3 is ok. An i5 would be better. 8 gig is sufficient, but not exemplary. I use an i7 Mac, Late 2011 model, with 16 gigs of RAM. I have no issues.<br> You can find some good used Macs here: <a href="http://www.macofalltrades.com/">http://www.macofalltrades.com/</a>. They have some iMacs that will do what you want for under $200. Comes with a 90 day warranty.</p>

<ol> <li>I have the 35mm 1.8. It's a great lens. On the 3300 it will give you a "normal" view of about 50mm, which is a good thing. Sometimes it's good to learn with a prime because you have to move your feet to "zoom" and you will get a better understanding of framing quicker. But, the 18-55 gives you versatility. I had the VR1 version. It served it's purpose, but overall it was modestly good when you got down to it. The 35mm is much brighter and will be better in low light situations.</li> <li>There's only one dial on this camera and a lot of things are menu driven, so it will force you to slow down and learn. I know, I had a D5100, which is similar in style. Have you held this camera, because it is quite small. You can get a battery grip to help compensate. You will be able to learn a lot with this camera and it will take fantastic photos. The sensor is very good.</li> <li>Live View is slow, IMO, in terms of how responsive the camera becomes, but it works well when you need it. I use it with a remote so I don't jar the camera. A 3rd party remote is $9. </li> <li>You didn't tell the specs of your computer, but the camera will come with software (also free to download) called Viex-NX1 and Capture NXD is free now too. View is the basic software, NXD is more robust. Download them and try them out. Don't know where you're located, but stores will have open box and returned merchandise equipment that you can get on the cheap.</li> </ol>

<p>I had great success with Manfrotto, but the <a href="http://www.dolica.com/tripods/">Dolica</a> line works very well for inexpensive tripod with a ball head. I bought this <a href="http://www.dolica.com/tripods/gx650b204-65-professional-aluminum-tripod-with-upgraded-ball-head">one</a> and it's very versatile, light and good for hiking. Price went down too, it's only $65. I bought their monopod too. </p>

<p>Upgraded two laptops from Win7 with zero problems. Edge is not a bad browser actually. I'm still exploring what Win10 shares with Microsoft though. A lot of it will come from your use of Cortana, which is like Apple's Siri or Google Now. It's not bad though. Both machines are running more smoothly now than they did with Win7.</p>

<p>Going cheap on ink can be a dangerous game to play. I'd stick to genuine OEM products. I get mine from A.I. Friedman.</p>

<p>Actually it was version 8, but 7 years on a PC could be kind of outdated for current software demands. You didn't say what is in your machine. You might be able to up the components without having to buy a new machine. PP a good suite of tools, but I found using Lightroom with Portrait Pro Studio, Perfectly Clear and Nik as a nice combo, but now PP is at version 9.5 maybe I'll check it out again.</p>

<p>I've used onONe with my Late 2011 laptop with 16 gigs of ram and had no problems, so I would think today's laptops would be just fine. What I don't like is the single port on the new laptops. No internal optical drive either (if you still use disks). I don't know why people consider Mac the dark side. I've had 99% less problems with a Mac than I've had with PC's. I still use both every day, but I always prefer my Mac.</p>

<p>Most of the time, I actually lay the camera body in the bag with the lens across the top because the grip doesn't allow the collar to reach the surface unless I let the camera body lay off the surface and all it needs is one spin the bottle swipe from someone not paying attention for it to be all over. I'm super cautious with my stuff. </p>

<p>@Farooq - Thanks. I've been plugging away for the last few days with it. Last night I tested it for fine focus and it seemed spot on. I do have a grip on my D7100, I have good size hands, so I prefer it. It's a great lens so far.</p>

<p>RFK Bridge from Randall's Island</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks Diane. The owner's dismay was that he felt it sometimes missed focus. I haven't really seen that yet and he has the ability to just buy anything he wants so he just replaced this with the VRII version. I could take it to Nikon and have it checked, they're literally 15 minutes away, but I was wondering if the FX was the factor. Thom Hogan had said this lens was better on DX than FX, so I'm hoping that could be it. If not, I got for such a bargain that I"m not complaining. </p>

<p>Thanks guys. Good advice. @Hector, I was looking into the fine tuning with <a href="https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/51633/~/how-to-use-the-af-fine-tune-function">THIS from Nikon </a>and I found the Dot-Tune on another website. I'll have to give it a try. </p>

<p>I have gotten the ridiculous good fortune of being able to get one of these for practically nothing. One owner and he was very good about taking care of it. I have a D7100. He used it on a full frame and was somewhat dissatisfied with it. I would like to know if anyone uses a DX combo (or similar) and what do you do to get the best out of this lens. From what I've seen so far, wide open at 2.8 it's a little soft. Stopped down to f/4 and it really starts getting sharp. When I changed to 1.3 crop mode, it seemed to pop even more, but does anyone use this indoors without a flash? If so, how do you get the best out of it? It's quite heavier than I expected, just takes getting used to, and the VR is supposed to be able to compensate for 3 stops, but not too sure about that.<br /> I'm thinking that the middle of the glass is where the magic is and the rest is compensation for that.<br> Thanks for the advice. Always appreciated. </p>

<p>Yeah, that book is a monster, but very thorough. I have it, it's a great reference, but a really good book to start with is Nikon D7100 Experience by Douglas J. Klostermann. His metering section is only 12 pages long and it's pretty good. I think it's about $15.</p>

<p>I really like my D7100. I've had it for 2 years now. It's fairly light, I don't really need to burst my shots, so I don't really have buffer issues. If I put my 35mm on, it's a nice compact piece to walk around with. Even with my 17-50mm is ok. Even though you don't want to rely on it, Lightroom does recover shots very well. I actually prefer LR over PS these days. It's not a "pro" camera per se, but as a matter of course, it's very, very good. I find no reason to bump up to a D7200.</p>

<p>How much do you make a day? Sounds like they're going to give you "a paid day off" from your regular duties, but still give you a little extra for your skills. Does that add up to your normal charge for shooting? I would definitely get a release that says you can market your work.</p>

<p>Thanks Pete. The used one has an 8+ rating too. I like B&H, never had a problem with them. </p>

<p>The problem with the D5X00 series is that it's mostly menu driven and for me, it got frustrating after awhile, which is how I ended up going to the D7100. With the battery grip, the D5100 wasn't bad to hold, but compared to the 7100 with a grip, it pales in comparison. But even using the quick menu on the 5100, it just got on my nerves when I wanted to change something. </p>