steve_bingham

<p>Opinions - and needs will vary. I use the Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 OS because the optical stabilization enables me to use slower shutter speeds. It pretty much stays on my camera but I have 3 other lenses I love. My main criteria is all-around sharpness.</p>

<p> . . . they have Geoffrey . . . only they call it Photoshop. :) Seriously, that's why some pros (myself) love it. LR was invented for a different reason - although a ton of photographers use it for photo editing.</p>

<p>LR uses a converter identical to Photoshop PROVIDING you are using an equal version as the sliders, etc are slightly different as you update. But ACR and LR, as used, are simply converters. Once it is converted to a tiff or jpg it can be manipulated to your hearts content in your version of Photoshop. If you have PS CS6 there is a "temporary" version of ACR available that handles your camera. (ACR 8.7)</p>

<p>Sigh. I shot sports for a living many years ago (San Diego State University and the San Diego Union). <strong>We learned to anticipate action!</strong> I am puzzled why a D7100 would cause a problem. In football you usually have one great moment . . . and then you wait around for the next. Ditto for most other sports. :) Am I missing something? 4-5 fps will almost always cover most situations. You shoot 300-400 shots and use 2-3 . . . if the editor likes you. Just an opinion.</p>

<p>I can't see the images in flicker. I get "bad, bad panda" message. I will check layer. Sorry.</p>

<p>Very interesting comments by Michael Chang and Bob Atkins - two people who I greatly respect. As I was very early in Phillip's project, it saddens me to even think of losing these two great voices - <strong>and many others.</strong> Will I hang around? You bet. Photography is undergoing a huge transformation at this time - everyone is a photographer and few care about magnificent 2' x 3' prints. I do, and will continue to support photo.net - regardless of structure.</p>

<p>Pretty clear, Ellis . . . and pretty basic too. :)</p>

<p>Why not use masking? On this image it would be pretty easy. Might I suggest Topaz ReMask 4 or Vertus Fluid Mask 3 (my usual preference). You can use the Polygonal lasso tool for the tricky areas (use it like you were stitching) or the magnetic lasso tool (careful - this takes practice). Here is my tutorial where I mask single hairs.<br> <a href="http://dustylens.com/masking_tutorial.htm">http://dustylens.com/masking_tutorial.htm</a> Then you can open the shadows on the selected area and change the background to any color.</p>

<p>I guess we would need to see the original - or at least the troublesome part.</p>

<p>I have used the 85mm f1.8 for dozens of shots. I never have had any focusing problems. I use a single focus point, half depress the shutter, and recompose. Old fashioned but old habits are hard to break - and it works. :) The Nikon D610 has many focus modes and some can absolutely lead to missed focus.</p>

<p>The Nikon D5300 is as light as the D3300 . . . and it does more. It weighs about 1 pound with battery. Throw on a lightweight 50mm f1.8 or a 85mm f1.8 and you have one light DSLR.</p>