In case someone didn't read the previous link given I can corroborate it. One of the main problems with 3rd party inks is they have the potential to clog heads. It has happened to me on a 3rd party ink system I tried. With my own eyes I saw that when air touches the surface of liquid ink it tends to create a film on top. This film eventually turns to a gummy residue and when it gets down to the heads it clogs them.
OEM printers have intricately designed cartridges (I've taken one apart) and probably proprietary formulas to help prevent this from happening. Maybe this added technology adds to the priceyness of the OEM ink, but for my money, time, and paper I've decided to pay for it.
A picture is a poem without words.
Hey, this is a new era of photography. Look around as to what you think the best photo artists are doing. Several years ago it was fashionable to sign on the print with a metallic gold or silver paint marker. You don't see that anymore. There is a category of fine art prints, mostly wet darkroom prints that are signed in the margin of the print, not on the mat. I wouldn't sign ON the mat, especially for those type of prints because I don't see that in galleries.
I would not disagree with Steve Perry especially on wildlife.
The new 400mm is a little lighter, more expensive but makes a great sports lens too.
IMO, The 400mm F2.8 is the King of Nikon lenses (the 600mm and 800mm notwithstanding). The 400mm F2.8 is no doubt designed to take extenders and becomes more versatile than the other two for it. If you can afford it and carry it, to me, it is the ultimate.
Fine, except the Raw Editor in Elements is the same engine as used in Photoshop. Lest we forget, the full name of Elements (PSE) is Photoshop Elements. With that said, the Adobe Camera Raw Editor version in Elements has only 4 or 5 tabs while Photoshop has 10. I hardly ever use all of them to get the same good results but they're there if I need them. That's the way the relationship is between the two programs all down the line. You can still get all the good stuff you want done but in Elements you might have to find workarounds a lot. For example, in Elements you don't have Curves so you have to do all of your exposure work in Levels.
Workflow Options looks like a hyperlink in blue type at the very bottom center of the CS6 Raw interface. Click it and the dialog box will open.
Check the image sizing field under Workflow Options in your Raw Converter and adjust it for a larger size. Don't worry, your files can't be harmed in Raw with whatever happened.
Everyone says their program is just as good as Photoshop. Why not use Photoshop? There are more online tutorials for and users of Photoshop then any other photo editing program in the world. You don't have to learn everything in the program to use it.
Buy an older copy of Photoshop CS4, 5, or 6 online for a hundred and fifty bucks or so. Google a tutorial on what you want to accomplish. Use Photoshop when you need it and you are all set for the foreseeable future with no more expenses. (Of course, you must use proper file handling with your Photoshopped file so you don't destroy pixels. Also google: nondestructive editing.)
If you buy a camera, you are a photographer. If you buy a flute, you own a flute.