According to B&H, "In Stock Order now to ship tomorrow Free Expedited Shipping"

Rongnongno, Thanks for the phone number. I just got off the phone with Customer Service who told me I can cancel the order and purchase from someone else, but Amazon doesn't have the item in stock and doesn't know when they will have it available. When I pointed out that many others now have the item in stock the lady told me that Amazon doesn't have it and I ordered it from Amazon. I knew who I ordered from before I called so this information was not helpful. It appears Amazon will continue selling a product that they don't have in stock (back ordered) and they may not be interested in completing the transaction when the back ordered item becomes generally available in the market place. The lesson I learned is to order from B&H, Adorama, your local camera store, or other reputable seller and don't be seduced by the promise of a good price and fast shipping. I placed 93 orders with Amazon (Prime) in 2017 but there will be fewer in 2018.

We’re that my photo it would be a 30x40 print and on the wall so I could look at it every day. I’ve come back to look at it several times and like it more each time I look at.

Maybe it is just me, but I spent more time online trying to get to customer service (without success) than I could afford to waste. The frustration of the nested menus that get you back to where you began is far worse than not getting a product at the advertised price. I’ve used Amazon a lot in the past few years, but this isn’t a return and this time I couldn’t get customer service of any variety.

Since Lexar dropped out as a supplier of XQD cards the price seems to have gone up. Last November I ordered a Sony Professional XQD G Series 128GB Memory Card that Amazon offered for $139.12 with free two day (Prime) shipping that is still back ordered. It is now listed for $217.84 + 24.95 from a different Amazon Seller. I'm beginning to wonder if Amazon is going to honor the order or keep it on back order indefinitely. B&H offers the Sony card at $189.95 with free expedited shipping.

Great photo!

I marvel at those who can take a photograph that looks like what they saw without post processing unless it was a very simple scene. The mind and eye function together in a manner that far exceeds anything even the best modern digital camera can achieve. That leads me to wonder if they have truly remarkable cameras or don't see very well. ;-)

Great photo which I just voted for. I'm curious about the color as I didn't see or photograph color like that where I watched the eclipse in eastern Wyoming.

Jennifer, I took the photography courses that were available at my university when I was in college and think I benefited greatly by seeing other peoples work and contrasting it with the professor's. Personally, I learn a lot faster when I can learn from other peoples successes and failures rather than just my own. A number of years ago, I took a one week course with David Ziser that focused on an off camera lighting system that he had perfected. That course saved me a lot of time in learning his system and modifying it to fit my needs. One disadvantage for a beginner learning on line is that there is a remarkable amount of bad information on line and picking the good from the bad is difficult if you don't yet have a knowledge base to begin with.

I agree with most of what you say, but I'm not convinced that my D850 has better low light performance than my D500. The D500 seems to have less noise at any given ISO and has a native ISO one stop higher than the D850. I'm up in the air as to which camera I'll use at a concert I photograph every year that frequently has (to be polite) sub optimal lighting. that said the D850 is far superior to my old D3 in every way.

Welcome. You picked a good forum with many excellent photographers. As a suggestion, ignore the curmudgeons if they respond to a question in a less than helpful manner. For the most part, those who take the time to be unhelpful are still trying to figure out where the shutter release is on their camera (assuming they actually have a real camera). ;-)

As a result of this thread, I pulled the Maha Powerex Imedion 2400 mAh AA Low Self Discharge batteries from two Nikon SB900 strobes and ran them through a "Refresh & Analyze Mode" (charge, rest, discharge, rest, recharge) on a pair of MH C-9000 battery chargers to see what capacity these 8 batteries are still capable of holding. They have been used professionally since December, 2011, for fill flash in outdoor shoots, indoor portrait shoots (using shoot through umbrellas so the strobes were having to put out substantial power), and for many events where light weight and portability are important. Not only have they lasted through 6 years of professional use, each of these 8 batteries still has a capacity slightly in excess of 2100 mAh. I have a second set of these batteries that I carry as backups and rotate with the ones I just tested, but I've never had to swap out a set of these batteries during a shoot. I do also use Nikon battery packs (each with eight similar 2400 mAh AA batteries) for shoots where very heavy use (shooting 30 or more family portraits) or the fastest recycle time is needed. I also have great respect for Eneloop Low Self Discharge batteries and carry a set of them with me as added back up. Six years ago when I purchased these batteries, the Maha Powerex was fine tuned for high drain uses like SB 900 & 800 strobes and knowledgeable battery experts that I trust gave the nod to them over the Eneloop for use in strobes. I've never been disappointed in their performance and am ordering some new Maha Powerex Pro 2400 mAh LSD batteries from Thomas Distributing today because I never want to miss a shot because something as cheap as a battery let me down.

I waited a year for the D850 to be introduced and am glad I did. It was worth the wait. My only Nikon regret is that I waited a year after the D500 was introduced before replacing my D300s with a D500. These cameras are a quantum leap forward in technology and not just in the sensor.

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I almost always use off camera flash controlled by Pocket Wizards for all of my out of studio flash photography regardless of what lens is on the camera. If I don't have the ability set up off camera strobes, I'll bounce the light off of a wall or ceiling, preferably using the flash's diffuser to broaden the area reflecting the light. If neither of these alternatives is available, I'll use natural light. this gives better modeling as well as avoiding a shadow from the lens.

Matthew 10:29