I salute a life well lived and stand in awe of Stephen Hawking's ability to persevere and contribute to the betterment of us all in spite of challenges that would defeat nearly anyone else. That said, I am reluctant to embrace his every opinion as the final and absolute word on a subject. Especially a famous one such as:
“I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” That may have worked for him, but just because he said it, does not mean I have to accept it. I do not have to believe in fairy stories or be afraid of the dark in order to believe in God.

This is not meant to start a theological discussion or to show disrespect to a great man, so please don't assume I intend either. I simply note that even a great man's opinion is still his personal opinion, no matter how well considered it may be.

Yes. And the salesman was right on target. More pixels are for flexibility in cropping and fine detail capture for viewing at relatively short distances. You can make a very large print from as few as 6 mp, because the corresponding viewing distance increases and you simply cannot see the fine detail anyway, even if the image was produced from a 42 mp image.

For landscape, the extra pixels will minimize detail "clumping" which would make the higher mp camera better.

When viewed at 100%, the smaller pixels of a higher mp camera will be noisier, since individually they capture less light. But the image will be substantially larger. For a proper comparison, however, you would need to "downsample" the 42 mp image to 24 mp, which will produce an image with similar noise and slightly better fine detail, provided the cameras are in the same generation. Downsampling is merely resizing an image to a smaller pixel count, using interpolation. Noise is averaged among adjacent pixels, and the net result is less noise.

From the rumors I've found, they are skipping the D6. Actually, it's more like scrapping the D6 step, as the improvements on the model to be released after the D6 came along quite well. FX sensor with 53MP color mode selectable modified CMOS-v. Apparently, a lot of copy/print houses were requesting a native CYMK RAW compatible output, as opposed to converting an RGB capture. It's also going to feature a voice actuated assistant, currently named Nikki. This assistant will be able to answer questions regarding settings, composition, point of focus, etc. The communication, which is satellite based, is intended to use the built in speaker, or can be used through iPhone earbuds and mic, for more private guidance. The camera also features a color analyzer which will detect the type of light and automatically set WB programmatically. The sensor is divided into segmented regions for WB. This will allow the regions of the scene to be individually balanced depending on the color temperature of the light source illuminating that portion of the scene which is projected onto a sensor segment.

Additionally, and this is still not clear, the camera will also suggest the appropriate lens to use based on its onboard subject analysis software. The rumor also has it that the camera will be priced in the range of USD $8,000-$8500. Of course, they are also co-releasing a compliment of lenses specifically designed for the new sensor. Due to its dual usage now as photographic and graphic, lenses will have specific coatings for the intended end use of the camera. The anticipated date of release is supposed to be later this year, in time for Christmas.
--Bob

Started with a Canon F1, added an AE1. Then newer Canons came out and I couldn't use my collection of FD lenses on the new bodies. Ouch! Investigated Nikon, found much better lens compatibility between models, traded my Canon gear for a Nikon F4 and some lenses, and haven't looked back. Not dissatisfied with Canon, just the inability to upgrade bodies without losing use of all my existing lenses caused me to flip. Yes, I know Nikon has some new lenses that don't play well with my old cameras, but I'm now up to a D800 and can still use all my old lenses with the new bodies. Not ready to go to a D850, I'll wait and see what the D900 brings.

I am looking to purchase equipment for the following types of pictures that I take. Up close shots of jewelry for my jewelry store (for posting online), landscape shots as I live next to Glacier National Park, indoor gymnasium shots as I have children that are active in sports. I have a budget of approx $6000. I do own a Nikon d300 with 18-200 nikon lens and 35mm 1.8 lens and a nice larger tripod. I have never really liked this camera body and not sure why so am considering trading/selling it. Thanks for any suggestions.

Just returned to U.S. from Costa Rica bird shoot via LAX for connecting flight to Hawaii and was very surprised to have my bags singled out from the scanner by a TSA agent calling out "photography equipment"! I had 3 Nikon bodies and 4 lenses in my camera back pack and they took the pack to an inspection table and took all bodies and lenses out examining each one in detail. Even had to remove caps from both ends of the lenses so they could "see if they can see light through them". My question to traveling Hogs is has anyone else traveling recently through U.S. airports been subjected to this time consuming and detailed exam? Is it part of the new "getting tougher on security" policy announced late last year or have I just been lucky before not to have encountered such a probing inspection?

I purchased an 85 f/1.8 lens from KEH late last week; it was set to be delivered by FedEx on Saturday but never was due to the dreaded "customer wasn't home or business was closed" message. Mind you, I WAS home and I never saw any FedEx vehicle drive by on my street. I called FedEx up and talked to a CSR explaining my issue. I filed a complaint and was expected to receive my delivery on Tuesday (today).

Fast forward to today. Following my package via FedEx's tracking page, I see that it was on its way. As it became later and later in the day, I wondered what was happening because once again, I saw no FedEx vehicles on my street at any time. Well, I checked the tracking page...and lo and behold, it wasn't being delivered to Address A where I was, but to Address B where I have a PO box 10 miles west of there. Let's just say that I wasn't happy.

I called FedEx again to complain and to ask why was my package not delivered to Address A like I requested; the CSR took my phone number and would have someone call me back to explain what happened (yeah, right) and I said that it had better be a driver supervisor. Furthermore, I sent an email to KEH's sales department telling them about the situation and to see what they say or what they can do to mitigate the problem. It's not the fault of KEH, but I wanted to let them know what was happening with my order.

I have noticed that it seems like most camera vendors seem to be using FedEx for shipping instead of USPS like I would like to use preferrably because I have a PO Box for a reason. Any thoughts from anyone concerning FedEx, or want to share their own experiences?