FYI:

Cokin changed ownership within the last year or two. They still make the resin filter line, but Cokin also introduced a high-end NUANCES line of filters recently.

Cokin NUANCES are Schott glass and multi-coated... but are fairly pricey.

Depending upon size, NUANCES are available in 2-stop, 5-stop, 8-stop and 10-stop ND.

NUANCES 84mm (Cokin P size) 10-stop ND is $99. The same in 100x100 size (4", Cokin Z-Pro) costs $199. And the same in 130x130 (Cokin X-Pro size) costs $330.

Of course, those prices are for the filter only. A filter holder and adapter are normally needed to use them, adding approx. $125 to the above cost (varies a bit by sizes req'd).

I'll stick with my round, screw-in B+W (equal quality, lower price, and a whole lot easier to carry around and use than the rectangular/square filters).

Every time I exit LR I backup my work on my iMac hard drive (as opposed to’skip this time’). I just realized that each backup is not overriding the last back up and I have 56 gb of backups. I need space on my hard drive.
Do I need to manually need to delete all the backups except the most recent, or is there a setting to do this automatically?
Also, I am backing my LR to an external hard drive about once a month. That means the hard drive backup is redundant except for most recent work.
Second question, how should I address my workflow relative to the back up?

Arrrrgggghhhhhh!!! Too many buttons on these cameras.........

A few weeks back I posted a problem that I was having with my fumbling and bumbling fingers moving the switches on my Nikon 70-200mm lens during the course of shooting action shots at a gym competition. I frequently moved the lens barrel settings from A/M to M, turned off the VR, and anything else I could hit with my fingers. A couple of you mentioned rubber bands and I got a pack of these Pro Slip-on Grips wide rubber bands from B&H and they work like a charm. After I slipped the blue one around the lens settings, no more accidental changes. Hooray---that problem was solved.....

Now I have another problem, again with fingers that stray. After shooting so many sessions with my D3s, I went back to my D750 for some indoor party and Christmas sessions. I can't tell you how many times I have hit the Bracket button or the Flash button accidentally. I can tell that the bracketing is on because I start getting images that have incorrect exposures, some shutter delays, etc all due to the bracketing getting turned on. When I shoot, I am constantly turning my camera from horizontal to vertical and my hands and fingers wander all over the camera body as I capture continuous action and subject movements---I don't have time to look at the camera LCD screens to verify settings before each shot; otherwise that fleeting moment has passed. Because I shoot in manual, sometimes I find that my shutter speed setting has moved also---sigh...... I am ready to get a tube of super glue and fix this problem. With all of this automation and buttons everywhere, why can't the manufacturers put a disable function in the menus so that you can disable some of these buttons? I especially would like to turn off or remove the bracket function.

Vent vent vent.....

I have the graded Cokin Z-Pro set of ND filters, I am planning our bi-annual trip to Hawaii and want to do more creative shots with the water so have been looking at ‘full’ ND filters to give the water that dreamy look. I have several questions; how are the Cokin ND filters? Cokin are signifantly less than the Lee filters is it worth the bucks? The Lees ND filters ie the big stopper and little stopper have a foam gasket around the edges to seal out the light, I notice the Cokin do not seem to have this, is this foam an important feature or gimic? . Am better off getting the Lee filters and paying the bucks for a new system? ( $610 for new Lee system or $102 for 3 Conkin ND set)

Yes I know one is plastic / resin and the other glass. ( lighter to carry and heavier to carry)

I can see keeping the numbers if you keep your photos on the cards. That way, the reference is the same. I used to do that. When I had several editing software options, i would add a word at the end so I would know which software I did the edits in, i.e.: CAG12345_PSE. Now I reformat my cards once I have backed up my images in at least three places. I should use more keywords than I do; but I am mostly interested in who is in the picture, so I make sure face recognition is current with every import. Likewise, I have tried many variations to my import system and, in fact, have about 4 import presets for different scenarios.

BTW, I have NEVER wished I still had the numbers!

I had one that was in a car fire in 2012, liberated from the trunk of a Volvo sedan after being rear-ended while waiting at a traffic light. The firemen put the fire out, squirted foam and other nasty chemicals on everything in the trunk, took out the camera bag which had the lens in it, dropped it, then the lens fell out when the fireman picked it up, then he tossed everything on the grassy shoulder.

I cleaned it up, sent it to Nikon, which replaced the front and rear elements and a bunch of internal stuff, the focus and zoom ring, and the rear barrel and lens mount ($400) and now I have a lens that is better than new.

That plan works, too. I do understand WHY people create the folder first in order to know where their photos are kept. I just find it easier to let LR do it, although I have moved pictures to other folders or created new folders and moved pictures into them as you describe. As long as this is always done in Lightroom, Lightroom can find the pictures and these changes appear on the hard drive (or wherever you store the pictures).

I really like that when I do it this way, I can have Lightroom rename the pictures on import to something more meaningful and unique, rather than keeping the numbering system generated by the camera.

A wide angle lens is probably the most difficult lens to use properly. Many are bought and then shelved for that reason. You need to fill the frame, front to back to make the photo interesting. Just using for a landscape lens the photos look empty and the landscapes far away. Check out my page here https://500px.com/martinfisher for wide angle shots. All the landscape were taken with the Tokina 11-16mm either on a DX Nikon camera or a full frame camera set at 16mm to prevent vignetting. I Just purchased the 14-24, Used but never used for a little more than half price, and plan to use now on the full frame camera to replace the Tokina.

I see that most everyone imports their pictures into a folder on their computer and then ADDS them to Lightroom. Also, most use an external card reader instead of the cord from the camera.

I also use a card reader or the SD slot on the computer BUT, I import directly into Lightroom.

This is how it works for me. When I insert the card, import automatically opens. I choose COPY (so the originals stay on the card), scroll down to the bottom, uncheck all, then pick the pictures that I want to import (click-shift-click) and put a check mark in one and all selected will also have a check mark.

Then I check the options in the right hand column. I import them into dated folders, rename the pictures (I made a preset for date, time, custom) where I can type the event into the custom box, and add keywords that apply to ALL pictures. Then I double check the destination to be sure they are going where I want. Click import and Lightroom does all the work. You only have to set this up once, then just name it as an import preset. Next time, you just have to change the custom name for your selected pictures.

I let Lightroom build 1:1 previews on import. After the pictures are imported, I rename the folder to add the event (making sure you don’t delete the date LR created), so the folder looks like this: 2018-12-25_183020_Christmas.

I made a preset yyyy-mm-dd_hrminsec_custom for naming my pictures.

It sounds more complicated than what others suggested but once you have the presets made it’s quite easy.

Looking for an answer to a question that I am sure has been answered a thousand times here. I recently purchased a new Dell laptop with Microsoft 10 operating system trying to find the best way to transfer my pictures from my DSLR to my computer. In the past I have used an older system was Windows 7 using Nikon transfer with a d200 Nikon. I know it's a very old system and camera but it served me well. the camera remains the same but looking for the best way to upload my files I do have Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC on my new laptop Suggestions???