In my experience, errors that are flagged when reading from a Digital Card....are nearly all due to inadvertently rotating an image while it is ON the card, but in the PC reader slot.....and has not been off-loaded to a hard drive. Usually those can be corrected by reversing the 'rotate' function and trying again. It is for issues such as this, that I make it my practice to never 'mess with'...(technical term..!)...images that are on my digital card. This means that I don't delete, rotate or do anything else to my shots until I have all of the images safely on my hard drive.
Have I ever made this mistake?? Do you REALLY have to ask....

Update...@ MT Shooter..thanks for your pointer to the Ricoh...and other similar cameras. After looking at the many various models, I have just ordered an "Insta360 ONE" to use for my project. I had a good time....and an interesting education, looking at all the specs. and watching a bunch of YouTubes...both the "Instructional" ones and some of finished photos and videos. One of the 'features' of the Insta360 that I liked a lot...was what they call, the "Invisible Selfie Stick"...some of the shots taken with this mode were very impressive...as if the camera was floating in the air..with NO visible support.

I'm looking forward to experimenting with this new device....

You would have problems using one of these "Old School, but Still Cool" bulb releases as they connected to the camera shutter via the 'cable release' screw fitting...(cable release??...another reference to olden days...!!)...I don't know of any current cameras that still have this threaded coupling on the shutter button.

My preference for group shots, especially those with me in them...is to spend some time BEFORE the group is assembled, testing the camera set-up, making sure the tripod is not an anyone's way, looking through the viewfinder to make sure there is room for all of the people...(plus some extra room...just in case..cutting off body parts is illegal in most states!!)..making sure that the focus is in a manual mode...then firing off several test shots from the location where I will be standing in the final shot with my remote release...(I prefer the simplest 'gadget'...an IR remote such as the ML-L3 for Nikons...)..then....and only then, do I issue the call for the group to assemble.

NOTHING is more frustrating for your subjects than to wait and fidget while the photographer fiddles with the camera....ask me how I know...!!

When everyone is in place, I double check through the viewfinder...making sure that everyone is in the frame. I find that telling the group, "Get where you can see the camera....if you can't see it clearly, it can't see you...!" I know this might sound basic, but how many times have we seen a photo with just a sliver of someone's head in the shot...? Maybe they think my camera has "X-Ray" ability?? After I am satisfied with the group arrangement, I take my place and continue to converse with them...small talk, bad jokes, "I've been told you are all Professional Models.." etc...trying to keep everyone smiling...or at least not going to sleep...! When ready for the actual exposure, I tell them to watch the 'count down' light on the camera and that I will take a few shots in quick succession..., I count to three, to allow everyone to get their eyes open and looking pretty....then the shutter "Click"..[Grins]...! Most of the time, I will have the camera set to take 2-5 shots each time, so people should be aware of this series of shots.... If using flash, this won't work unless you have fast recycling studio strobes...but, for available light, it gives a few 'insurance' frames from which to choose.

After this first series, I will take a moment to go to my camera and quickly 'chimp' the results, especially checking focus on someone's eyes in the middle row, just to verify that "Murphy's Law" has not been enforced...! After I am satisfied with what we have taken, I will return to the group and repeat this a few more times...it only takes an additional 30 secs or so....time well spent...

I should also mention, that the more people in the group, the greater the chances that someone will have a 'bad or goofy' expression, be looking at something else in the room...etc...etc... Keep in mind that many photo editing programs make it easy to move portions of one photo to another one...so you can do some Photo Surgery to get great expressions in your final output and make everyone happy....

EDIT....as I post this now, I see that quite a few others have expressed excellent thoughts on the same topic....good to have all of this input in UHH...!

Thanks MT Shooter for that pointer to the Ricoh, I was not familiar with that model. I'm wondering if that is what is used by many realators to do their spherical shots of homes for sale? I knew of the GoPro Fusion and the Nikon Mission, which look similar...but I'm wanting to use the gear that I already have and to save the $400...

I have a project with a VERY limited space and the client wants a 360 spherical pano done. I have done lots of pano work, but always something like a landscape or similar scene. This involves a vintage bomber airplane cockpit....and I've been thinking of using my GoPro on a small pano base to take the required images and still be both compact enough and capable of the quality necessary to carry this off. I do have PhotoShop 2018 and have used the Photomerge for many applications. It looks like PS should be able to handle the circular images from a fisheye...so I think I am good in this area, but I'd like to hear from anyone that has done any of this work with a GoPro...!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and experiences in this specialized field...

My Foto Fhilosophy ...is that if the picture is worth taking, it's worth stopping for...! Now I DO understand that this is not always possible...(Interstates, for example)...but there really is no substitute for pulling off the road and taking the time to explore and compose a few shots. Lots of times, I even double back for an interesting scene, activity or a longer look at something that caught my eye.

Don't take ANY advice.....including this....!!!

[quote=Haydon] My only issue with velour is the price and default width.

A less expensive alternative to velvet is a material called "Penne". It's very similar in appearance but about half the price of velvet...it's around $4-5 a yard, comes in widths up to 60", has a nice 'look' and 'draping ability' so it works for many photo purposes. I have found nice colors in grey, black, and my favorite, a red/burgandy....that looks real 'rich'. Actual velvet is about twice the price..in the $10 range.

I've found a good selection at JoAnn's Stores...but other large suppliers will have this fabric, too...

OK....first of all, there are NO guarantees that this will solve all of your problem, but I have had some similar experience with folds in backdrops. I bought a few from an eBay source...and the seller gave a 'heads up' that they would come folded and would need some time for the wrinkles to come out of the fabric. SO...time and patience are your friends... This is what I have done...and have been pleased with the result.

Stores that sell carpets will have a lot of empty rolls of various sizes and most of these places will give you a few rolls free....or at low cost. In my case, I needed 3 and they were good enough to give them to me at no cost. It's going to be easier if you get a roll that is a foot or so longer than the narrow dimension of your fabric....in your case, a 9 or 10 foot roll would be ideal.

I taped one edge of the backdrop along the side of the roll and then rolled my backdrop onto the cardboard roll. While doing this, I used a drapery steamer on the folds...steaming and manually pressing the material down as I slowly rolled it up...all the while being careful to not get the backdrop too wet. After the backdrop had been completely rolled onto the carpet roll, I used some masking tape...painters tape might work too....to hold the free edge in place... At that point, I just left things alone for a few days. A few days later when I had some time, I unrolled the backdrop and reversed it...(from the front side to the back side, so the folds are now 'reversed')....on the carpet roll...and repeated the steam treatment. Depending upon the nature of the backdrop material that you have.....and how 'set' the folds are, it might require repeating this operation a few times.

While this can be done by one person for smaller backdrops, it is very helpful to have a second person to smooth the fabric as much as possible. You don't want to introduce new folds and wrinkles during this time.... With each treatment, you should find that the folds become less visible and storing them on the carpet tubes should keep them nice and flat for later uses....

Hope this helps...

Yes, Jim...that is my history as well with this subject. I have used Photomatix a LOT, but always with jpegs....and use ACR for both RAW (actually NEF files)...and jpgs...no issues there with either. Now it looks like I have both options....!

Jim, has there been a problem with the Canon RAW files? Being a Nikon user, I was not aware of 'issues' with any other RAWs, other than Nikon's proprietary (?) NEF...

Jerry....I'm not sure about this, but if you don't have your "License Key" now, but DO have rel. 6.0, Photomatix might send you that info, so you would have it for next time... I've had/used Photomatix since about 2.0 and they have been very accommodating...

When trying to do some HDR work with Photomatix recently, I found that I could not use NEF files created with my D750. A bit of research turned up the info that my Photomatix was back-level at 5.1. The current level is 6.1...and after I downloaded that, the HDR worked as expected. There was no need to mess with any sort of TIFF conversion, etc. Also...the level 6.1 has a lot of new features, many more preset options...etc.

The "Help" dropdown has the option for "Check for updates"...and that should get you on the right path.

Be aware that depending on what level of Photomatix you might currently be using, you may be asked for your "License Key"...always good to keep that info....I was lucky to have mine...just a word to the wise..!

While the link to a very detailed "How To" guide would be very helpful, in this case, merely removing the mirror from a DSLR is pretty much a 'seat of the pants"...and "basic shop skills" project. If you can't get the link to work, be sure you have a pair of long nose pliers, a small chisel, a few screwdrivers and, just in case, a ball-peen hammer. The whole project should only take about 1 3/4 hours...you WILL be filled with pride...and a few other emotions, when you are done and can show the results of your handiwork to the next meeting of your camera club.
Be prepared to really 'stand out' with the other members...!!

The Popular Science subscriptions were/are meant to replace and fill out your remaining issues of Popular Photography. I agree that some of the issues are very interesting.. As a kid, many, (don't ask) years ago, I subscribed to Popular Science, Mechanix Illustrated and Popular Mechanics. I think I overdosed on science and technology. I am still waiting on widespread use of Aerocars and Jetpaks, however....!!