I don't subscribe to UHH to get English lessons. I subscribe to learn about photography!!
TJ, Hardening the grid is an impossibility so forget it. We'll have to live with whatever we have-but I don't think that the whatever will be as bad as the doomsayer say.
I went digital 10 or 12 years ago, admittedly late in the game. I wanted the digital arrays to produce film like quality. They finally did-but I still have a dozen rolls of HS Ektachrome in the freezer. Whether I will be able to get them processed is a different question. Ektachrome should be OK; obviously Kodachrome is out the door.
Been using HughesNet for about 20 years. It's the only thing we get out here (Delaplane, Va). It's not great but it's better than twisted pair. It's not cheap either. We get Internet and cable TV via HughesNet. No other choice.
Boy, good luck sorting all this horseshit out!!
Well, it looks like you have more advice than you can absorb, but ...... Here's another tidbit. When you get to the Washington, DC area, head out to the Piedmont region of Virginia--towards the Shenandoah Valley. Before you get to the Shenandoah, there is the northern part of Fauquier county that is just rolling hills that are magnificent. Lots of scenic photography opportunities. Too say nothing of historic areas. Have a good trip. John
It's in the dictionary and has been for decades. Doesn't mean that it's a nice thing to say in mixed company.
A couple more things. Take a good tripod. And I'd almost go for a 500mm and maybe a doubler. I was in Tanzania a couple of years ago in the Serengetti and there are a lot of really long range shooting opportunities. I used a 150-500mm alot. And occasionally a doubler. Best of luck and good shooting.
Welcome. I think you'll enjoy this forum. There are lots of experts ready with good advice here. Personally, I'm a Pentax freak because when I started lo those many years ago, I couldn't afford Nikon either. I've found that the OEM lenses give better quality so I'd stick with them. But it is a function of what you can afford. The after market lenses don't give crappy results, it's just that the OEM's are a step higher quality.
I like no. 2 but they are both gorgeous pictures. I'd loved have them framed. Are they available online for download?
John
If all else fails--go to your local wrench, borrow a large pair of vice grips, and gently unscrew it. Never fails.
Depending on your altitude, you're already outside the need for escape velocity so if you fire the bullet, it will just keep going and end up in orbit around the sun as another piece of junk. And gunpowder has its own oxidizer so no need for an atmosphere.
I wouldn't spend any money on a UV filter w/o looking at the spectrum absorption curve. Glass absorbs most of the UV spectrum so the lens itself is a UV filter. A simple plane glass filter (high quality) is all that's needed to protect the front surface of the lens excepting anything other than a catastrophe.
Frankly, I like it the way it is. The haze adds something to it. Like reality.