Lots of ways to set up for gemstone photos. I have been cutting for 38 years (UltraTec) and working on photos of the finished products for almost that long. Go on eBay and look for light boxes, available in several sizes and led lights. One of the things overlooked by many photographers is the Kelvin temp of their light source. As faceters know, the apparent color of a gemstone is largely controlled by the light source lighting the stone. Hence, so called color change gems are in fact just the light source that is illuminating the stone. If you are using a light box, it is unlikely that you will need a Circular Polarizer. Buy a good Micro (Macro) lens, NOT a wide angle lens. More like a portrait lens. Wide angle lenses tend to distort your subject up close. If you are familiar with the company Rio Grande, jewelry supplies, etc. The sell a product called the "Clour Dome" take a look. Research, try and research again. It will come to you as you practice this art. IMHO

Go on eBay and do a search for the battery Model and the Camera Model. I have found a variety of both, and even rechargers that permit me to recharge batteries that do not have an out of camera charger from the camera manufacturer. I have used these for years without problem. IMO a solution that is excellent.

P900 will be great for a travel camera. No changing lens, less problems with dust and wind. It is not only a very long lens, it also does well up close for nearer items. It even will do macro (as close as .5 inch!) Built in flash and every thing will fit in a very portable case. Major draw back for me is it does not do raw. I will keep looking for the next version hopefully with raw capability. If you want to photograph something a good distance away, this camera will get it. Hope you have a good trip.

P900 will be great for a travel camera. No changing lens, less problems with dust and wind. It is not only a very long lens, it also does well up close for nearer items. It even will do macro (as close as .5 inch!) Built in flash and every thing will fit in a very portable case. Major draw back for me is it does not do raw. I will keep looking for the next version hopefully with raw capability. If you want to photograph something a good distance away, this camera will get it. Hope you have a good trip.

I change batteries in my flash and various other devices when I see that are slowing down or getting dimmer.. I buy my AA, AAA and 9 volt batteries on eBay in bulk. There are several different major brands available. I have also bought some Asia brands and got good service from them. If the batteries are in something that I do not use every day I remove the batteries until I need that device. Duracell, energizer, etc. are available. Savings are quite good. For example, I pay about $0.31 each for AAA and AA Procell (Duacell) or Energizer with fresh battery dates (good until 2023, 2024 etc). Usually in quantities of 50 or 100.
Check closely and you should find some US sellers that offer the same goods with very good prices. If the quantities are too much for you, you can usually find friends club members or work partners to buy some from you. I also buy off brand batteries for my Nikon cameras (D700, D200,P200, and S9300. Also I have read frequently on UHH that users that have tried the other than OEM brands of camera batteries have had less than the usual time that they have from OEM batteries. Remember that if you are paying one third the price of OEM and get one half the usual time with your OEM you are still ahead of the game price wise. I have found that I usually get about the same use on Asia brands as the OEM batteries. HTH.

I use live view on my Nikon D700 when I want to use a remote LED viewer made by Polaroid. I can walk around to check my composition and even be in the photo if I so desire. There are also some large LED screens that attach to the hotshoe. No specific information only some ads that tout the 7 inch screen usable in bright nlight. I think it has a sensor that fits on the camera led. Not sure about that. Look around on amazon and ebay and may just a search on line.
Hank

If you were using corel Paint Shop Pro you could use the thinify (sp) command to take some of wideness off! Just a thought.

I also ordered a Neewer Foldable LCD Optical Viewfinder S1(latest model seems to be S6) for use with the Nikon P900. It comes with sticky tape to glue to the LCD viewfinder and blocks out ambient light so you can see the LCD screen. It has 3.0 magnification mode, 1:1 Sunshade hood mode, and +/- 3 adjustable diopter. I cannot find my bill for it, but I think it was about $20 including shipping. Works OK but you will need a larger camera case when this is attached to the camera.

Hank

Bought this one for my P900, works just fine.

67mm Tulip Flower Lens Hood for DSLR Nikon Sony Canon Camera US Seller

ITEM PRICE:
US $5.75
Free shipping
ITEM ID:
272931344890
SELLER:
highflierusa (1264)
99.8% positive feedback

Simple question. Will my post processing software be available no matter where I travel? Will I have access to my photos (hiding in the clouds) when I am on a dream trip, and want to upload my daily take and keep track of my photo library? I do not own any of the software on my computer (all commercial products) but the programs are useable as long as I want them to be, and they are always available because I have them on my computer. Buying is better IMO.

you might want to take a look at the inexpensive computer microscopes. You can buy for less that $80 and have a large picture on your computer screen that is from 10X up to 60x or so. (You can buy much higher magnifications with a much higher price) I bought one on eBay for $60 and it is well made with good quality work. I use it to check gemstones for flaws and faceted faces for potential re-cutting and/or re-polishing. Most come with software and very easy to setup and use. A standard jeweler's loupe does not show enough area to be useful. You can also take a look at map makers magnifiers that are on legs the right height to focus on a map (or other printed matter). Hank

You might want to take a look at the Microsoft Surface Pro. I use the Surface Pro 3 and have never had reason to regret my decision. I can run all of my desktop programs, MS Office, PSP 18 Ultra, Google Earth, etc. I see no reason to run more than one Operating System on my computers. I do not use a smart phone. I want a cell phone to receive calls, make calls, voice mail, and I do not text anyone. If I want to watch a video, work on a spread sheet, send/receive emails, and use other Windows programs that is right at hand using the Surface Pro. I am using Windows 10. touch screen, mouse, stylus and attached keyboard, and an external dvd player. Such a small case and easy to take with you. To lighten your load even more, take the attached keyboard off, just grab the key board and pull it away from the Surface Pro, you still have a keyboard that can be called up on the screen. Battery runs Surface Pro for several hours (6-9 for me most of the Time). Check it out. Many other things it can do, but just takes to much time here. Check out the reviews. Surface Pro4 is out and it may not be long before 5 arrives on the scene.

You might want to check eBay for quick release plates. I purchased PL200 type for about $6 each (Manfrotto charges $17.50 each + shipping) I bought 3 for $18.00 with free shipping and no sales tax. The plate looks exactly like the Manfrotto same color, same controls, etc. If you lay them out side by side with the Manfrotto you cannot tell the difference and they all work in exactly the way.
Check it out.

Take a look at the Nikon P900. Fixed lens but focuses from .5 inch macro to 2000mm (83x). Has 16mp so you have a decent amount of pixels for larger prints or cropped image. If you use a computer, go to You Tube and look for P900. Lots of videos of the P900 in action with reviews by users.. Lots of fun to use but for me it has several drawbacks, does not do RAW and does not have a hot shoe. It does have a built in flash. This camera/lens is light enough to shoot all day with little problem. No changing lens in the field (or at all!). It has a ton of video choices if you decide you want some action in your photos. Has electronic view finder and rear moveable LED (LED is turned in for protection when camera is not in use. The LED turns off when you move your eye to the view finder and turns back on when you move eye away. Official lens designation Nikkor 83x wide optical zoom ED VR 4.3-357mm 1:2.8-6.5. This camera is what is known as a "Bridge" camera. I think this might be a good introduction to digital cameras without a great deal of expense. Have it at your front door for $500 refurbished (by Nikon) or $600-700 new. As a comparison a Nikkor 2000mm lens goes for about 25 grand, a better lens but the size of a small barrel. Lots more information on you tube and you can call B&H photo or Adorama photo for questions. Final statement "is the image quality as good as some of the higher priced DSLRs probably not, but sometimes that becomes moot if you are not into the "best quality, best cameras, best lens, etc. Hope this helps.

Always shoot raw as this will have all of the metadata that the camera can provide. This way you can make whatever changes you desire in PP. Makes life a little simpler.