Sounds like a great bargain. I would say, "Go for it!" Normally you can get 1 months trial for free, after that it's $10.00 per month plus tax.

Make sure your get a book on lightroom. It's a great program but it does require some thought to set up. I recomment Lightroom by Scott Kelby. The copy I have is for Lightroom 5, and the current version is Lightroom 6. However, if you really read and study the first chapter first, and in detail, it will really make you life easier.

A good starting point would be:
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/100
Aperature F/11

The sunny 16 rule says that on a front lit subject in the sun the correct setting is f/16 at a shutter speed of 1/ISO. So with a front lit subject in the sun at ISO 100, the correct exposure would be f/16 at 1/100 sec. If it is a hazy sun lit subject, open up to f/11.

This should give you a starting point.

When I was shooting film (either color slides or black and white) I could carefully consider every press of the shutter because of the cost.

Now I have a DSLR and I find myself often taking several shots, when before I would only take one.

Now, I can experiment with settings and get almost instant information on what works, and what doesn't.

All of these added features are free once you pay for the starting point.

I used to have a lot of money invested in film equipment: the camera, the lenses, the darkroom equipment, etc. I use my computer for much more than photography. I spend $10.00/month for Lightroom and Photoshop. Now I have no expense for film, developing, and waiting for the results of my my experiments for days, perhaps weeks, and forgetting what I was trying to do in the first place.

Is Digital Free? Of course not. However, when you consider the alternative (film), I can take lots of photos which only cost me time (I'm retired so time is cheap).

If I were able to add up the cost of my SLR film equiptment, including the B&W darkroom equipment at todays cost, I believed it would far outweigh the cost of my DSLR and 3 lenses.

Free, no, nothing is free. Economical, certanily. Less expensive that film, I believe it is, especially if you use a versitle computer for thing other than photography.

Enough said.

I appreciate a light camera when traveling, however, a couple of years ago I moved from a bridge camera (think super zoom) to a D5100 DSLR. It would take a lot to go back to a bridge camera.

I bought a kit from Costco that included the 18-55 and 55-300. After a year and a half I bought the 18-140. The 18-140 makes a very good general purpose lens. It is a moderate wide angle with a decent telephoto capability. It's now the lens I use the most. I still like the 55-300 for birds and wild life.

Now the 18-55 mostly sits and I seldom use it.

Think hard, make your decision, and go with it.

Storm clouds over the Tetons make dramatic mountains even more than dramatic. Your possibilities during less than sunny days are endless, just make sure you have a good tripod.

Don't try to compare your screen size to a photographic print size. A good print will usually be between 240 to 300 pixels per inch. While a typical computer screen will show about (it varies a little) 72 pixels per inch.

What this really means is that you have to consder pixels, not dimensions.

OK, I'm an Old F_rt who has been interested in photography for about 60 years. I have used numerous film cameras, point and shoot digital cameras, a couple of bridge cameras, and finally a DSLR (brands don't mean anything!)

I will have a hard time using a camera that doesn't have some type of eye level view finder. I also have a problem with a camera that uses a digital screen in the view finder.

I have a hard time with a camera that I have to hold about two feet from my eyes. I also have a hard time using a camera that has a digital image in the view finder, even though I used one for many years. When I finally took the plunge to get a DSLR, I was not only satisfied, I was amazed! By the way, when I upgraded to a DSLR, I also looked at the Nikon 1 system (mirrorless).

Frankly, I have a very difficult time understanding why a mirrorless system would displace a good DSLR. Of course, someone's personal preference may be appropriate in some cases, just not mine.

You really need to back up your entire computer hard drive using Time Machine. It's part of the operating system and works great.

First, as someone mentioned, Brian Petersons book is excellent. Despite what you may read here, there is nothing wrong with auto. As you progress, you will understand that the aperature perferred setting us very useful under certain certain conditions, and shutter preferred is also useful under certain conditions, Manual us also useful under certain conditions. Depending on what I'm shooting, I will use aperature preferred, shutter preferred, manual, and (gasp), even auto.

My reccommendation is that you start with auto and concentrate on composition, read the Peterson Book, only then should try other settings to see what happens to your photo.

I became interested in photography when I was about 10. I've been in and out of it for about 60 years. Going from film to digital was a major experience and took some time (also some advancement in the technology). Now, I love digital photography and developing the image on a computer.

Good luck and don't rush your progress. Take you time and enjoy the journeys.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

I have scanned thousands of old photos. What you have can be fixed by using Photoshop elements or Photoshop, perhaps even Lightroom (I used Photoshop Elements).

Just remember that you are scanning a relatively small photograph and the quality of your scan is strongly impacted by the quality of the photograph. Also, you will not be able to enlarge the jpg much beyond the original.

First I have been a Mac User for a long time, but I have also used PCs. My opinion is that a Mac is worth the extra money. If you make a true comparison, feature for feature, memory, processor speed, etc., you are likely to discover that a Mac is not more expensive than a PC with the same specs.

My advice, go with whatever you feel comfortable.

Only you can decide the preferred mode to shoot. Depending on what I'm shooting I will use Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Programed, or Manual.

For example, if I am shooting a sporting event birds in flight, or anything where I want a fast shutter speed, I will use shutter priority.

If I am shooting portraits, or anything where depth of field (or lack of depth of field) is important, then I go to aperture priority.

Sometimes, I will use the Program mode when I have time to make a decision when I shoot.

For Close Up photos, and when the camera is on a tripod, I will typically use Manual mode.

I think there is no one answer, It depends on you, what you are shooting, and the effect you want in your photograph.

You've received many replies, both positive and negative. My recommendation is that you follow the replies and spend some time at a camera store (not WalMart) and hold several cameras of as many different manufacturers as possible. Then select the one that feels best for you. You can't go wrong with any on them.

Don't panic on test results. That is probably the worst way to select a camera. If the camera doesn't feel good in you hands it will just cause you a lot of frustration in the future and probably impact the quality of you photographs.

According to Scott Kelby's book on Lightroom 5, you can have Lightroom save the entire book as a PDF, or have Lightroom save a JPG of each page. The command is in the top panel under Book Settings.