I would definitely take it to an expert. They have their magical ways of making things you thought were gone forever, appear. That is as long as nothing was saved over it. I once had 2 years of family vacations on a memory card and I went to delete one photo and accidentally deleted them all. I put in a new card for the rest of the vacation. When I got back, I gave the old card to my nephew, who promptly restored all the photos with a program on his computer. He said if I had saved even one photo on the card after deleting them, I would have lost them all forever.
I guess the question is are the photos worth the expense?

Lol. He was probably standing there wondering why someone was standing outside looking at his window.

I live relatively close to an Amish community. When I was younger(35 yrs ago), a farmer would take a group of us kids there when it was time to auction off his livestock. We would go several times a year and spend the day. On one of the trips, I had my little hot pink, 110 film camera. As I was taking a picture of an empty horse and buggy, a little Amish boy came over and started talking to me. He told me to make sure that I didn't take a picture of anyone's face. He said that the Bible talks about not making a graven image of yourself. Then his father came over and asked what we were doing. After I told him, he invited me and my 2 cousins to share a picnic lunch with his family. He and his wife answered all of our many questions with such patience. Afterward he put me up on one of his horses with my cousin and let his son take our picture. I still have it somewhere. When it was time to go, he let me take a picture of his children but the boys pulled their hats low in front and the daughter turned her head so I could not get their whole faces. After that day, I would seek them out everytime we went to auction. They would often send me home with jars of gooseberry and strawberry jam, honey, and once I was given a small crock with sourdough bread starter to give to my grandma. In return, I would give the kids little watercolor paint sets and paper, and homemade play dough. My grandma sent some fabric along one time, as a gift for a new baby. I was surprised when the next time I came I had a bonnet made for me out of the leftover material. Two years later, I could not find them at auction. I walked to their farm but it was empty. I was heart broken. I had come to love this family. I later learned that the father had an accident that left him disabled and they moved to a different community with the mother's family.

I may not follow their beliefs but I will always respect them and their culture.

I do not have advice on settings, as that will vary depending on conditions. I will say that what helped me, when my son was in football, was to go to the practices. While they practiced, so did I. That way when it was game time, I felt comfortable and had an idea of what shots I could get.

I agree with you. This was posted in the Main Photography Discussion section, not the Photo Analysis section. If it were posted there, then by all means critique the photo.

I highly doubt the kit lens is the issue, as the OP stated that he has tried other lenses with no luck, which is why he is questioning the camera body.

I do not know if the eraser will damage the contacts or not. I would advise you to call a camera shop in the nearest large city, rather than depend on the people here. Posters here may be well meaning but it can be difficult determining whose advice to follow as they often contradict each other. Maybe you will get lucky and the shop will give you advice over the phone. At the very least they will tell you how much they will charge to look at it.
Good luck.

I was taught how to clean my sensor by a gentleman at his small camera shop. I went in with questions and to ask about the price. He proceeded to show me how on an old, non working camera. He said he will stick to what he knows to be tried and true. Sensor swabs. He said some off brand gel sticks can leave residue and that many people press too hard and damage the sensors.

I don't think a person would get in trouble or violated any laws taking the photo, with the dog in the background.

However, I think this was totally wrong and disrespectful to do so. This dog was working. It needs to be completely focused on its training. The person taking the photo seems like he is an ass who thinks he can do what he wants regardless of those around him. A friend of mine has a service dog trained in detecting seizures and gives emotional support for anxiety issues. Everytime they go somewhere, people ask to pet the dog or attempt to talk to him, despite his vest asking people not too. Some even try to pet him without even asking. She ended up having cards printed up that she hands out with service dog dos and don'ts printed on them.

I think I spoke too soon. Running anti virus didn't help. It's popped up three times in the past few minutes using Chrome. Guess I won't be coming back for a while.

Yeah, everytime I look for this thread, it's gone. I hope that means the administration took care of the problem.
I use Chrome on my tablet and it popped up once and I ran my anti-virus and it hasn't popped up since. I hope it says that way!

I would advise changing your passwords. Do it from a desktop and make sure it is the actual site and not a ploy to get your info.
It seems like the actual UHH home base may be infected with a virus, worm or whatever you want to call it. If so, it is possible for hackers to remotely access your personal info. Kind of scary. I just wish it would be taken care of quickly but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I use Chrome and have had no issues.

Those are beech blight aphids

I'm sure you are looking to buy one and I can't help you there. I keep a roll of painters tape and card stock in my bag. I have made my own and just taped it on. Adds virtually no weight and if you are good at folding, you can fold it flat and unfold when needed. I've also made a lens hood when I have forgotten mine. The tape won't hurt the camera.

It was the solid state drive that won my son over. He spent almost 2000 on a gaming laptop that was supposed to be "so superior" to everything out there. It ran great, for a month. Then he had to replace one of the two fans. It was under warranty but it took them almost a month because the fan had to be special ordered. Three months later, the same fan went out. They again replaced it. The third time it went out, his buddy replaced the fan and a heat sensor. It lasted almost 2 months before it failed. He gave up and started saving up for something else.

He loves the solid state drive. He can't say enough about his new Dell. He wishes it was bigger but for school it is the perfect size. At home it's hooked up to his 4K monitor.