Be sure and test every function ASAP. I bought a refurb D7100. Everything works perfectly except the button that releases the built-in flash and the backlight for the top control panel. Unfortunately, I didn't discover either of these until long after the return period was over.

Brent

Definitely T-Fal for price and performance. Took my wife over five years to scratch the coating on the frying pan, and no, she doesn't read my posts here.

The Lottery is really a tax on folks who don't understand mathematics. The easy solution...don't play!
In California, the voters were led to believe that the Lottery proceeds would augment the education budget and that schools would never want for funding again. After the Lottery was voted in, legislators cut the school funding from tax revenues and the schools are worse off than ever. Somehow this is not a surprise.

I like to slice the uncooked cauliflower in 1 inch thick pieces, season to taste, and pan fry in coconut oil.....

Bob, I liked the idea of back button focusing, but I had difficulty using my thumb to make it work.
Instead, on my d7100, I was able to assign the focus lock function to the preview button on the front side. I can easily focus with the middle finger on my right hand which falls naturally on this button.
...z

I was there 5 years ago. There is plenty of room for shooting at Pima. The windows on the bus were fairly clean...maybe a polarizer would cut the reflection some. The only A/C I saw flying around Davis Monthan were a couple of Warthogs in formation. Plan plenty of time. There is much to see and shoot.

Beautiful first effort. Try going to the darkest location you can find. Wait several hours after sunset, your camera can find residual light you cannot see. Figure out the infinite focus setting for your lens in the daytime, then use a flashlight(with a red lens if you want to preserve your night vision)to set your focus at night. Remember to turn off image stabilization when shooting on your tripod. If your camera has a 'mirror up' setting, use it! If you have a remote shutter release use it. Set your aperture at the sweet spot for your lens/camera combination. Don't trip and fall in the dark. Don't fall asleep driving home. Have fun!

Lovely piece of work, Graham!

Backstory.....she was 'changing oil' in ex-boyfriend's car!

Hi, Luki! Are you still looking for ideas on your B&W images?

I recently faced the same issue. Love my D90, but wanted to step up. I chose a D7100, refurb, body only. It is a wonderful camera, with many cool bells and whistles, but comparing the two cameras, side by side, for 90% of my photos, there is little difference in the images. One thing that surprised me, because I failed to do proper research first, is that because of much smaller pixel element size, the D7100's resolution is diffraction limited starting @ f8. Effective resolution drops quickly at smaller f-stops. For me, that means when I am shooting landscapes, and want to use a smaller aperture for maximum depth of field, I give up true resolution. I might have looked more closely at the D7000 or the D610 had I realized that cramming all those pixels in a DX sized sensor was only fully effective over half the f-stop range of most of my lenses. Also, the D7100 is heavier and larger to grip. I have smaller hands and a bit of arthritis in my thumb. The new camera is not as comfortable to hold as the D90. Bottom line, I love the capabilities of the D7100, and I will keep it for now, but I might have made a different choice if I had looked more deeply. Hope this helps!

I have U1 set up for easy lighting/JPEG situations, and U2 set for basic Raw shots. In both cases, the User settings give me a known starting point. Then if I just need to change one or two settings for the conditions, I am good to go. It is so easy to set up, I find that I am using them all the time. When I have changed a setting for a particular shooting event, if I click off of a User setting, then back on, I am reset to a known starting point. This has saved me from forgetting that I have set some random mode, then wondered why the image wasn't what I expected. Try it. If you don't like it you can always quit. :)

Aspen Creek Photo does a fantastic job on metal and if you order with a mounting block, you can hang 'frameless' easily. Get on their mailing list for weekly specials. I hade a gorgeous 18 x 24 made for $79.00.
...z

B&H is selling a Class 10, 64GB, 90MB/sec PNY card for $39.95. Mine arrive on Friday

Try setting your camera to under-expose by about -2. Your colors will be much deeper and richer. Your camera will see the sunset differently than your eyes. Don't be afraid to experiment. Good luck!