d_ponce

Ok - this going to sound really silly...but here goes. I have been wanting to start printing / framing my fine art images for 'ages'...bought all the equipment needed - but then life got in the way and it was put on the back burner. Recently, I was thinking about getting back into printing again but realized that 'the look' may have changed over the years. I personally still like a fine art image to be wide matted - but I am seeing more and more images with no matting. Is that the preferred look now? You may think: do whatever pleases you - but I was gearing up for selling fine art prints, not for personal use - so I feel 'pleasing the masses' is more important. With 17x22 paper - what framing size should I focus on? Thanks!

Thank you, Mark - and paddler4! I'll check it out.

Shun - you worked for Lucent in NJ in 1997?! So did I! "Retired" in 2001 after 18 years with the company (AT&T Communications). What building did you work in in '97? I was in Basking Ridge at the time of the spinoff from AT&T - went to Warren, Small world.

I want to start printing and framing my images again. I recall, in the 'old days', if you made your own (kit form) it was quite reasonable - compared to sending the image to a framer. I've just spent the better part of the day searching for such a place - but the prices are really expensive for a large frame (I'm looking to purchase 30"x24" frames). I'll probably cut my own mat, coreboard, and glass so I only really need the frame itself. I even considered making wooden frames - but I do not have the space to get into that - and also, I'm quite talent-less when it comes to hand tools. I also went to some sites that offered to frame your photo (download the image) but I could not figure out if they just sold a frame - separately (I have my own printer). I sent an inquiry, but so far, no response. My guess they have limited employees at this time. So, rather than chase my tail any longer, I thought I would check the folks here to see if they have a favorite source for frames (narrow metal or wood). Thank you!

$6500 for a 20mp camera - I don't think Nikon was too forward thinking on that. But from what I saw in the advertisement it does seem impressive - but I think it still should have come with at least 36mp.

UPDATE: ok - curiosity was piqued :-) and now I see what the issue is! I set the D850 to "on" and practiced on my two black dogs sleeping on a light colored couch - I did not see any difference compared to when it was on "auto" (but I'm not sure why it was on 'auto' because my D810 was set to 'on' -- hmmm...did I miss a setting -or did I forget to do the compare after it came back from the shop??) I admit - I don't think I realized, after years of owning Nikons, that the illumination (from black to red) only happens for a split second. Because I never had a problem with seeing the illuminated square with my other Nikons I never realized how quickly that red illumination occurs! Anyway, after no change after the setting change I then put the same lens on the D810 and went back to the sleeping dogs -- now I see the issue! The D810 screen has a thicker line width!! At least twice the width of the D850! The line width on the D850 is super thin - combine that with a split second of illumination - I can easily see why it is a challenge for me - especially when I am doing event photography (I do not notice the challenge as much with other types - presumably because I am using a tripod, and nothing is moving so I know exactly which focus point I want to use -- and have time to put it in position). I guess someone with super good vision designed the screen on the D850. :-( :-(

I hope you are all correct -- I'll try it with "on" -- it really can't get any worse. lol!! I'm almost certain that when it came back from the shop that I put the D810 and D850 together and made sure all settings that were on the D810 were replicated on the D850. When I am carrying two bodies at an event I like it that both are basically the same so no thought is required :-) Thanks all!

Even when there is dark and light objects in the scene (for instance a person in dark clothes in a room with light walls)? I wonder about the broken part -- since I only had it a month when I slipped on ice and busted the battery compartment; sent it and the lens (had focusing issues) to Nikon for repair. I do not recall if the illumination issue had been there before the fall - since I did not get much chance to use it prior.

ok -- I'll give that a try; I thought that "on" was supposed to make it more difficult [Nikon: Depending on the brightness of the background, the selected focus point may be difficult to see] -- but I'll try. It is most problematic when I do event photography - which I'll be doing next week. I'll see how it works. Thanks!

a12 is set to: Focus Point Illumination = Auto; Manual Focus = On; Dynamic Area = On

I've searched the settings on line to find out how to improve the illumination of the focus point on my D850 - and I think I have what is suggested as the best -- but I am getting so frustrated with the focus point illumination. I hope I just have a setting incorrect -- because if I am stuck with this I'm going to be mighty upset. I do not have the problem with the D810: once I depress the rear-focus, the focus point is bright red and easily spotted. With my D850 I have to move it around hoping it finally comes into an area where there is enough contrast to actually see the red square -- then follow it back to where I want it be --- very annoying! Any suggestions? thanks!

I can guarantee that B&H never had the price for the D850 more than the $3297 USD -- same price as it's been on the Nikon site for this camera since day one; and that was even during the pre-release date in late August. It seems the non-US retailers were the only $4k and over prices -- so no, there is no sudden "price reduction". Perhaps if you saw the price over the $3300 mark in the US it is because that retailer knew the supply was almost non-existent for months -- and they decided to take advantage of it -- and I guess if someone wanted it bad enough, they would pay the price rather than wait. I know my patience was wearing thin as the weeks turned into months waiting for my pre-ordered one from B&H -- and they never asked me if I would pay more to get it faster; they shipped it without a word when 'mine' became available.

Although I carry most of my lenses when shooting an event, just in case -- I'd have to say my 'go-to' lens for events, and mostly everything else lately is my 24-70 f2.8 VR (Nikkor; although I secretly like the Tamron better :-) -- second go-to, always in my bag, is my Nikkor 20mm f2.8.

Good to know! Thanks, Sandy!

Hi Sandy - yes, I am aware of this -- but thank you! I am looking for feedback from you guys as to which repair center has the best reputation, based on your own experience.

No, I have not, heimbrandt -- do you know the location for that?

Thanks for your thoughts, rodeo_joe - always appreciate them! I actually did not think there was anything wrong for awhile -- since most of my photography at that time was architectural - probably on the same plane, so everything looked in focus after taking the image and zooming in to check. I thought I dodged a bullet and did not give it much further thought. The 24-70 lens had a little dent on the rim, but I was able to straighten it enough to use the filter threads again perfectly - I was a happy camper. Then I did some event photography -- something I do 'all the time' -- and usually do zoom in and check the focus to ensure it was captured after a shot [probably from about 15' away]. That's when I noticed a lot more out of focus images then what I am accustomed to with this camera -- and was concerned. Then my D850 came in and I tried that 24-70 lens (thinking it may be the lens that was damaged) and everything was tack sharp at the focus point. hmmm...I began to wonder and put it back on the D810 and shot the same subject (my dog's eye from about 5') -- the eye was soft but his fur about an inch away was sharp. I am critical of my images, for sure -- but I do know what I have become accustomed to with the D810, and anything less would be unacceptable in my book - so I'm not suddenly becoming overly critical - since I always have been :) - and have clients that expect the best. :-) Besides, it is way too frustrating to live with, so it is going in for repair. :-)

My Nikon and I took a tumble on some slippery rocks :-( - a little bruised, but ok. The D810 seemed ok at first, until I noticed that the auto-focus points were mis-aligned by about an inch. So I'm looking to you guys for suggestions on an authorized Nikon repair shop to send it to. Thanks!

@joseph -- thank you!! lots of good information! I initially considered the NX-i until I read it will uninstall any older version of NX during the install. I thought perhaps the way to go was to uninstall NX2, install the NX-i, then re-install the NX2 -- so both would be resident. This sounded risky - since I don't know for sure what is used by both, etc, so that is when I decided to go back to my 'go-to' source: the guys at Photo.net to get their advice. :) @rodeo_joe -- "...with tens of thousands of large image files, surely the collection spills over into multiple hard disks?" -- I use 3 redundant 3T external drives (from three different manufacturers - to reduce the chance of a bad design that could wipe out all three at the same time [just my luck ;-) ]. Very little is ever on my actual hard drive on my laptop -- with the file size that these cameras have, if I keep more than 2 or 3 months of work on my HD, it will tell me it's too full so I just delete them, unless I plan to do any post-processing with them -- but by 2 or 3 months, that is already done and I'm just being lazy keeping them there. :-) As soon as I get home from a shoot, the first thing I do is transfer the files from the camera to my laptop, update the "log" file, then copy the files to the 3 external drives. When they get 90% full, I will buy another 3 sets. I'm totally with you regarding the cloud - your images are only as safe as the least trustworthy employee. Most folks who use the cloud say it is for convenience -- but my system is so simple I can't even use that excuse. :-) Thanks, all!!

Sandy, did you actually say 'shred' and 'your images' in the same sentence?? :) Although all of my digital images are stored on redundant drives (in folders by category and date shot), my challenge a few years ago when I realized those thousands were turning into tens of thousands, was a way to find them -- as opposed to my thinking I could find them simply by date (like who forgets when they went to a certain location -- or looking for a fall foliage picture? look at every shoot in October! hah!) So I came up with a system that is simple - but archaic for most -- but extremely effective, for me. I know most photographers use tag words etc in LR, PS or other cataloging software -- but even that seemed like a lot of work after every shoot. I simply use a spreadsheet -- with enough fields (columns) to ensure I can find what I am looking for -- with each shoot as one single row. Then when I need to find an image of a certain thing/place I filter the columns and do a quick search. Of course 'consistency' of the words used to describe something is important -- otherwise your search gets too unwieldy - as you need to do with any catalog software. But changes can be quickly made by filtering and replacing. It took months to set up, but now it only takes a minute or two to update after every shoot -- and the best part, it does not become obsolete at every whim of the software developer -- Excel has been around since Windows 3.1 -- I guess it's going to be here for awhile longer. Anyway - I digress -- this is for another topic -- still would like to hear of other transfer programs that you guys are using! thx!

That is exactly what I am looking to hear about, Wouter! I've been using the same software for 'ages' -- I'm open to new ideas. :-) Whatever transfer tools that you guys use, please pass it along! thanks, much!

And that I have, rodeo_joe -- but over the years I have also incorporated the transfer process as a key element to my filing and organizing. Sure, there are always more than one way to accomplish the same thing - some things take a bit longer. When the transfer step takes up some of the tasks, I found it really helped with work flow at the end of the day's shoot. But, of course, totally agree -- you need a good folder and record keeping system when your thousands turn into tens of thousands. :-)

This sounds good, Dieter -- does it allow for automatic copy write information? (set it up once and it's good to go -- except changing the year every year)? Any issues that you know of regarding the transfers for D850 files?

Thanks, Sandy. My naming/filing convention is utmost critical for the organizing of my images. I don't mind changing slightly for a new camera -- but the customizable date (not necessarily the date it is downloaded) is critical. I prefer to have the unique 'counting' number automatically generated by the software as well -- but if another format was in place in the software, I could live with that. And correct, the only way NX knows if you downloaded the file already is if you only use NX - which is also fine with me -- I prefer to use one program (per camera) and no other software -- keeps everything organized. :) One of the nice features of the NX is that it enters the copy write - or any other information supplied - to the image automatically during the transfer process. That is a feature I would not want to loose. :-)

I did just that, shun :) my thought process also the same; since I heard several of my friends (out of state) were getting theirs from their local camera shops pretty quickly. So after placing my order at B&H a few days after the announcement -- and waited, and waited -- I decided to put my name on the wait-list at my local shop. At that time (mid November) they said I would be #13 on the list -- had no idea how far down the bottom of the barrel I was at B&H -- and was not sure how they were determining who would get the first ones after the 'Nikon members' were taken care of first. Well, like a couple waiting to have a baby and deciding to adopt - only to find out they are pregnant - within a few days after placing my other order, I get the notice from B&H mine is on its way!! I can't report how it is yet because I then had look through the manual in order to buy approved memory cards and all the other essentials. :)