I concur the sh*t out of that statement. With Adobe products, I feel more like a hostage than a collaborator.

I purchased an Induro carbo fiber travel tripod about 7 years ago. It's been dropped on concrete (not by me), slammed into the sides of airport security conveyers, and still operates and looks like new. The aluminum versions used to be much heavier, and have improved but at what cost in stability do they get lighter? Carbon fiber is by it's nature much lighter. As has been mentioned in some of the previous responses, carbon fiber has an edge in stability and vibration resistance. When you're packing, .08 lbs is still a savings.

You're the only one who knows if the difference in price is worth it to you. It IS worth it to me.

I have an old Induro C014 carbon fiber travel tripod that has been overseas at least 20 times. This is one of Induro's original lineup when they were introduced on the market. It hasn't been used very often, but has been carried around frequently and used in a variety of environments and circumstances. The only real annoyance is with the quick mount ball head: the plate doesn't have an orientation indicator so it takes extra fuss to lock it in. The legs have held up very well. It's light, strong stabile and sets up within 15 seconds. When this unit was issued, it cost about 25% of what the outlandishly-expensive Gitzo weekender cost. It continues to serve me well.

The idea of the 'next level' likely comes from fixation on technique. What are your goals? Why do you photograph? If the answer to those questions is 'to impress your friends', the only path forward is augmenting your technique with more gosh-golly-gee whiz effects.

Photography without vision is an electro-mechanical-optical recording process. Period. YOU, and how you perceive life, are at the core of 'advanced' photography. Otherwise, you're more likely to become an encyclopedic reproducer of electro-mechanical-optical recording techniques.

It's imperative to be aware of how much merchandising is at the core of what you read about photography. Bigger, better, more expensive. A top-of-the-line 35mm camera capable of delivering the most precision results possible in analogue times could be had, with a couple of lenses, for well-under a thousand dollars to around $2,500. Now, equipment in that same category can put you back for $3,500-12 thousand. Has your earning power been augmented by 300 to 800 percent? I doubt it. And the photographic education industry is, other than for rank beginnings, mostly a racket. You yourself mentioned that you're already aware of redundancy.

If you're sincerely driven to improve as a photographer, as long as you have a solid understanding of the principles of photography, it's time to work on yourself. Should you come across a situation that technically confounds you, find out how to overcome that, and get back to your own view and how to improve it. Otherwise, you'll spend your life over-preparing for what will likely never really be an issue. Or, if your goal IS to impress your friends, continue with learning more gosh-golly gee techniques and effects, and enjoy yourself. There's no crime in shooting superficially for self-gratification.

Yes, that's the link. It takes some time navigating to where it sits. Adobe makes it difficult to find to discourage those who reject the idea of being digital serfs.

Phaseone, who produces Capture One Pro, offers an outright license purchase OR a subscription, depending on the user's preference.
https://www.phaseone.com/en/Products/Software/Capture-One-Pro/Highlights.aspx?gclid=CjwKEAiAq8bEBRDuuOuyspf5oyMSJAAcsEyW3Ah4sCbvYiqbmbmtM8id05WL19Ljpy6jWbr6bFchtxoCqVDw_wcB

This is a Danish company so their approach takes their user base into consideration rather than dictating the terms most favorable for themselves as Adobe does. Capture One has a learning curve, but it also has the most versatile RAW processor on the planet. I use both programs, and have processed the same file in Lightroom AND in Capture One. The difference is visible without magnification.

I still prefer Lightroom's interface, but that is likely due more to familiarity than utility.

That tiny triangle, in the middle of the farthest left edge, is very faint but it's there. As Mr Quist suggested, simply click on it and the navigation panels will expand.

Capture One has a RAW processor that is visibly superior to anything Adobe offers, offering choices and fine-tuning Lightroom curiously lacks. The interface takes some getting used to–it's unrelated to Adobe GUIs, so there is an investment in time before it's use comes naturally. It's cataloging system, I find, is as fragile as Lightroom.

Phase one, being a Danish company, recognizes considerations other than squeezing every cent of profit from their user base. Therefore, you have the civilized option of either buying a license or subscribing–a solution that seems beyond Adobe's vision of enslaving the graphics profession. It's true that Lightroom can still be purchased–Adobe's only product still offered as a standalone. Have fun finding the link. Capture One is more than double the price of Lightroom. It's a personal choice based on how important your RAW processing is to you.

Very useful. Thanks.

What aren't you pleased with?

Longer battery life? Says who? From the reports I've read the battery is as lame as ever ESPECIALLY with the extra power burden of that golly-gee Touch Bar. Apple already claimed 10 hours of life for the previous model and it WILL last 10 hours–as long as you just leave it on and don't use it.

For working professionals with considerable investment in peripherals, the idea of having to carry around a mass of dongles is very unappealing not to mention the extra time and annoyance of matching which drive or peripheral to which dongle. F•ck that.

Thin for thins sake is form over function. Omitting the ports professionals use on a daily basis for the sake of streamlining is especially dim-witted.

The 15" is about 4oz lighter than the previous MBP 15". Wow, what a difference THAT will make carrying it around all day!

Apple seems to have fallen into a 'Function follows Fashion' mindset' dominated by their chief designer Johnny Ives. I suspected as much when Apple released the thinner iMacs which, to accommodate their ultra-slim profile, dispensed with the optical drive and placed the SD Card slot behind–where's it's least convenient. Then there were changes to the OS which transformed some simple tasks into more complicated or confusing tasks, then the redesign of iTunes…

Now, discarding essentials used by their professional base, Ives once again is pissing on us so that he can 'express himself' by dictating what HE decides we need. Microsoft hardware in it's latest iteration is beginning to look a LOT more attractive than it ever has. If Tim Cook persists down this road, he may turn into the new John Scully that nearly bankrupted the company by deciding what he would give users rather than paying attention to what they needed.

You really hit the nail on the head: "a college education will get you more money." That is often, but far from always, the case. However, if one is after a genuine education in the classical sense of the word, college is by no means any guarantee.

What it definitely WILL offer, as do fraternities, is a thorough indoctrination into the acceptance of conformity and disillusion as an acceptable way of life–along with the humiliation and apathy the corporate world offers with a big smile. If money is the primary goal of one's life, then I would recommend they definitely go to college.

I've been traveling to Italy once or twice a year with an Induro compact carbon fiber tripod in my carryon, and have been doing so for at least the past 6 years. The tripod has never been an issue. The ball head goes in my camera/laptop bag.

I really enjoyed that. With the multitude of kitty videos circulating, it's surprising that there are still outstanding examples.

And if part of his plan for suicide was to get stoned first? No one who wasn't suicidal to begin with is going to suddenly become so due to ingesting cannabis, or alcohol for that matter. They CAN be used as a lubricant to facilitate the urge.