Thank you joehel2, fourg1b2006, Dr.Nikon, Kmgw9v, and BarryUP. joehel2 - I appreciated your comment far more than if you had simply said thanks for sharing. Kmgw9v - I have not used Portrait Pro; do you like the program?
Professor dpullum - in the future, please refrain from commenting on any of my posts. I will likewise restrain myself from sharing my opinion on posts of yours like "Turkey Egg Suicide".
The plastic strip is a likely suspect, but once I had a "new" Canon cartridge where the ink was completely dried out Apparently a vendor had some very old stock.
SnoTek is a more affordable Ariens product that is built like a tank.
Ditto on the earlier mentioned suggestion of bringing a utlity ladder for yourself. Also, one way to counteract "blinks" is to ask the group to close their eyes, and on the count of 3 open them.
I've been playing around with Anthropics Landscape Pro software to see how well it works. Still getting my feet wet and learning how to integrate it into a Photoshop workflow.
Qimage will provide size-specific sharpening of the final print image based on analysis of the file.
Qimage should work well for you. Its a great printing program that I have used for years with my Canon Pro 9000, and will easily print borderless at all image sizes.
I use a Meike grip on my Nikon D750, and it is excellent. Fit, finish and functionality are great. I previously only bought Nikon grips, but at the current rate you could purchase 4 Meike's and still spend less than 1 Nikon grip. When I used to shoot commerically, I wouldn't take any risks with non-OEM equipment. Now that I am retired, I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality of this particular 3rd party grip.
Review of the Meike grip on fstoppers.com can be found here:
https://fstoppers.com/deals/review-meike-mk-dr750-battery-grip-d750-fantastic-and-its-not-even-because-grip-59345Bill
I started with nothing; I still have most of it.
Wide angle zooms or fixed primes are helpful at the beach.
For many years I commercially photographed family portraits at NJ beaches, and never had any difficulties with my equipment (high-end Nikons). However I was careful not to change lenses while on the beach, and cleaned the cameras / lenses after as needed.
Congrats on your purchase! I also bit the bullet and bought one - it is a phenomenal printer.
Did you do the upgrades (software and firmware) that let you print 17x25? I have printed several 16x24 images, and they are breathtaking.
Best advice is to go into a camera store and actually handle the cameras you are considering. Many years ago I had the same dilemma - choosing between Canon and Nikon. In my film days, I had and loved a Canon A1 and I also use Canon printers, so I was somewhat biased to purchasing Canon. However, after handling both Canon and Nikon, it was no contest (for me) and I have been a happy Nikon user from D70 to D200 to D300 to D3s to D750).
Your mileage may vary.
Bill
I started with nothing; I still have most of it.