I moved up from a 5300 to the 750 at Christmas and bought it with the 24-120. Buying the pair as a kit was a cheap way to get the 24-120. My prior setup was the 5300 w. 18-200 and I kept wondering if I could get better IQ with a reduced zoom factor. I can't tell you exactly how much of the improvement I have seen is due to the new (and FX) body and how much is due to going from an 11x zoom to a 4.3x but my shots are decidedly better. I too decided against the "holy trinity" 24-70 largely because of cost but also because I often shoot in rain, sand and dust and want to avoid changing lenses as much as possible. Furthermore, I rationalized that the money saved could be put into an inexpensive 14mm for star photography and a teleconverter to get more reach out of my 200-500 lens.

SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB. I've been using them since my primary camera was a Nikon 5000 and I was shooting a video for our local river improvement organization. Now I use a D750 and these work just fine. I have 8 of them and don't reformat them until I have backed up any downloaded images at least two times.

Two of my favorite places and I just got back from CA this week.

Be sure to bring your CPL in the Sierras. Those granite walls will play hob with your shots without one and you will want to capture the deep blues in the high altitude sky. I personally love the short hike over the ridge from the Tioga Pass entrance station into Gaylor Lakes. You have to be in decent shape as the air is thin. If you have time, get above Upper Gaylor. There is a great old stone miners cabin with a view of the entire Cathderal (?) range in the background.

Re the San Diego-Phoenix drive: I just got back from 3 days in Anza Borrego Park. Fonts Point at dawn is a classic. Arroyo Salado is also great. The "roads" are quite dry now but you will need AWD, good ground clearance and PATIENCE. I rented a Ford Explorer from Avis in SD and it worked beautifully. I also spent an evening in the Algodones Dunes Wilderness east of the Salton Sea. North of Rt 78 is Wilderness, south is the off-road vehicle area. Dunes waves at sunset are great and a long lens will catch the dune buggies both during the day and at night. You can't park on 78 but you can do so at the Osborne Lookout Park about 3-4 miles in from the west side. Happy shooting!

In in the midst of a 2 week trip to Calif. with a LowePro Photo Classic carrying a Nikon 750 with 24-120 and 200-500 lenses, assorted filters, Speedlight, miscellaneous items and a Manfrotto 055 tripod. That's about all I want to horse around in airports and on planes.

1. I agree with Bob. Filters are part of the optical system. Why buy an expensive lens and then stick a cheapo filter in front. Hence my stock of B+W filters.
2. Within reason, good equipment is a lot cheaper than the cost of making the trip again to get pictures done the right way. I came to that conclusion years ago in the film age when shooting another roll was a lot less expensive than getting back to Yosemite.
3. Having good equipment means any failures are your fault. As the old cross country ski coach said, "Has not to do mit de vax. Has to do mit the technique." Only you can judge whether you need an equipment excuse.

I've learned photography like I learned to sail - episodically. Years ago I actually took a week long sailing course because I knew there were blanks in my knowledge. I think the same applies here and will happily visit a newbie site to find out what I don't know that I don't know!

I'm headed out to Anza Borrego State Park in Southern California next month. Over the years I have become quite familiar with the park but on this trip I'll have more than the usual short window of opportunity. As a result, I've spent some time looking over the maps and came across the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness just to the east. Has anyone done any shooting there? Could you suggest some sites where the dunes would not be marred by off-road vehicles? What is the best time of day - dawn or dusk? I hope to get Avis to find me an AWD vehicle but that is always uncertain. Thus, sites near paved roads would be good but I may be able to deal with hard sand washes if Avis comes through.

I recently bought the aluminum version of the Manfrotto 055 and paired it with a Benro KB2 ball head. They work like a charm, even with my D750 and 200-500MM lens. A bit heavy, but the $170 difference for the bare tripod between aluminum and carbon was one step too costly.

Until I got a D750 for Christmas, I was using a D5300 and my walk-around lens was the 18-200DX That rig worked fine with a light (and suitcase packable) ProMaster XC525 tripod. I could get reasonably close to flowers and I had plenty of pixels to shoot soccer games and crop the resulting pics. However, I too lusted for both a macro and a big tele, seeing myself wanting to increase capabilities on both the art and sports/wildlife sides. I opted for the 200-500 FX. It takes great pictures but has several downsides: If you plan to carry it any distance, you will need a rig like the Black Rapid Sport Breathe ($82). It completely overwhelmed the ProMaster and forced me to buy a much heavier (harder to carry and impossible to put in a suitcase) Manfrotto 055 tripod with a heavy Benro KB2 head (total $360). Finally, if you are in the field and want to shoot anything landscapy, you will probably need to change lenses as the big gun's angle of view is just too tight. I don't regret any of these decisions, but going the macro route would have been much less expensive - though much lower on the testosterone scale!

I'm at much the same stage and would second everything above. Emphasis however on actual shooting combined with critical reviews by others. In my city there are several options: (1) private tutelage that may be more directive with assignments to do certain things; (2) courses (really tutorials) at local high schools/community colleges that can be more free-form but include field trips followed by critiques of your results; and (3) informal critical review groups sponsored by galleries. Several of our galleries hold competitive calls for portfolios. If you get into a show that way, the psychic reward is great. However, the experienced feedback on your submission is well worth the entry fee..

I'm a newbie at this and a little knowledge is dangerous. Thus, I will only venture two suggestions: In a morning class I just took we used a Yongnuo 622 wireless trigger/receiver set. With additional receivers, it can control any number of flash units and do so from your camera without having to run around adjusting each flash. Amazon sells a trigger with one receiver for only $73; by far the lowest cost I have seen. In the course, the instructor also tethered the camera to Lightroom on his laptop, giving much better feedback on the results than the small screen on his camera. If this is really a "one shot" assignment, why not rent the gear?

Thanks Rick. Much appreciated.

Sedona is unquestionably beautiful. However, my opinion is colored by having been there 40 years ago before it got so crowded. Just a suggestion since you seem to be driving a fair distance anyway: Check out Canyon de Chelly in the northeast corner of the state on the Navajo Reservation. Stay at the Best Western in Chinle if you want to avoid the Anglo tourists at the Holiday Inn. Go to the Visitor Center and hire a guide and horse. The photography will blow you away! When you leave, go out by the north rim to Tsaile, then Indian Route 12 south to Window Rock. Good photo spots all along there.

I used top be very familiar with the Blue Ridge and Skyline Drive from Peaks of Otter north. All beautiful and well worth travelling. Last month (January) we were driving from Nashville to Ashville and thought we would take in the Smokies by driving Rt 74 from Cleveland, TN to the intersection with Interstate 40. I would not bother to repeat it. The road runs down in the valleys for the most part and is pretty junky. Perhaps if you had time to explore around the Nantahala Gorge, you might find something worthwhile. My advice, however, would be to stick to the mountaintops along the Parkway itself. If you get near Ashville, by all means spend a few days at the Biltmore. That was a highlight of the trip, even in January.

I have a 4 year old Phottix Mitros (not Mitros +) flash unit and a Phottix Strato II trigger/receiver set. They work well except that the flash must be set to manual and any changes, such as power setting, require that I leave the camera and run around to the flash setup. In a recent course, I used a Yongnuo 622N trigger/receiver which allowed changes to the flash unit settings from the trigger. (Don't know what the flash was, though I suspect it was a Nikon SB800.) Has anyone tried to pair the Yongnuo trigger/receiver with a Mitros flash? What was the result?