Cameras and Street thieves in Barcelona

I have learnt a new (for me) method the Street thieves use. I have traveled extensively and im very aware of the normal tricks they play,. However this one was new for me. I had just come out of a shop and was looking for my wife when a youngish guy got in my face and started furiously tap dancing. I looked down and with that my gold chain came out of my shirt and in a flash he ripped it off my neck and bolted. I have worn this constantly day and night all around the world for 30+ years and it never entered my head it was a risk. I wear a thief proof backpack, cheap watch, button up trouser pockets etc.
Immediately following his escape 2 more tried the same stunt. I also had my camera on a strap round my neck so I think that was the second point of attack so fortunately I realised something was up and screamed and swore at them. They took off.
The point of my tal ine, when someone starts Tap dancing in front of you don't look down, and scream at them in a very loud voice so everyone in the vicinity will hear.
The police in Barcelona were fantastic.

Made in China or Japan

Do you find a quality difference from products made in Japan aposed to made in China?
Would you rather buy photography products made in Japan rather then in China to save a few dollars?
For instance xt2 Fuji was made in Japan, xt3 is now assembled in China.

Eastern Sierra Scenery.

Scanned from film.

To 'upgrade' or not . . .

Sent virtually all my 'old' equipment (including some very nice canon 2.8L glass and 6D body plus Lumix G1 and glass and Sony NEX7 w/glass) to Adorama for trade-in value with thoughts to upgrade to FF Sony A7 III and 24-70 2.8 G lens. Problem is their offer came in way short of the total amount needed to move up even with their 'discount.'

Here's question: With very capable and handy Oly 5 MII and several Oly 'pro' lenses, do I ditch my FF dreams and use the $$$ to upgrade within the Oly system, perhaps to an OM-D E-M1 MARK II and a wide 'pro' prime? Can a guy, with a couple of additions now and then, ever be happy with what he already has??

Fall Alaska Cruise Lens Questions

I'm taking an Alaska Cruise Sept 2019. I will be in a balcony unit on the 7 day cruise. I am trying to decide what lenses I should take. I have a Canon T51 camera. Lens are Sigma 18-250 EF, Tokina Ultra Wide 11-16 Pro, Canon EF 100-400 Pro and a Canon EF 70-300. Space is limited so I only want to take 2 lenses. But never having been on a cruise before I don't know which 2 would be best. The ship does go into Glacier Bay which is one place I really want to get good photos of. Also I plan to take a helicopter/glacier walk tour in Juneau during the port stop there.


Thanks,

Suzanne

An Interesting Observation

Color Cast

Over some time now, I have been noticing in my processing and other's photos posted here that color cast is an issue. Sure, we set our camera's White Balance to what some believe to be the correct setting. But, that only takes care of something called White Balance, supposedly. What I have noticed is that the scene itself lends a cast to the image depending on the predominant color of the scene we are photographing. In an open area, the blue of the sky may be prominent. In a forest setting, a green cast can be seen. In desert scenes a beige cast is present.

It would seem that this cast affects the vibrant colors we had hoped to capture. It tends to reduce contrast and obscure subtle color variations and details in a photograph. Fixing that issue results in a truer to life image with all of the vivid colors we had intended to capture. So, how do we determine if a photograph is biased toward one color or another? It's pretty simple.

Open a photograph, I use PS so the instructions are for that program. Simply click on Filters, then Blur, then average blur. This effectively averages all of the R, B, and G pixels in the image and produces a single color image. If all is balanced, the result should look gray. Otherwise, the result will appear colored. That color is the cast that is predominant in the photograph.

Although I use this step to determine the WB of photos I process, a good many of you know that I use a somewhat unique WB setting in my camera. So, I'm not going to post any photos I've taken to avoid the diversion from this topic. If some of you would care to let me use your posted photos to illustrate this observation, I'd certainly appreciate it.
--Bob

Nikon lens selection assistance

I am new to the universe of Nikon lenses. I just bought a d3400 which is an APS-C, DX, camera. So ideally lenses would not be FX. That's because the APS-C sensor will only use the central part of an FX lens, exaggerating any defects it may have. At least, according to Tony Northrup in a video titled "20 Things Most PHOTOGRAPHERS Get WRONG", at about 18:15.

Anyway these are the lenses I have coming.

macro: Nikon AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G
50mm prime: Nikon AF FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D (oops, FX lens)
35mm prime: Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens
kit lens: 18-55 VR
kit lens: 70-300

Questions for a Nikon Noob:

Is [ Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR ] my best option for getting a wide angle?
Is there a prime 10mm for DX?
Is there a 50mm prime for DX?
Is the 50mm prime, above, about 75mm on a DX?
What would be some interesting discontinued lenses to consider?
Should I avoid CX lenses, unless I don't mind a recalculated focal length?
When a lens is advertised as FX/DX, are they assuming one will recalculate the focal length for DX?
This one looks promising: [ Tokina AT-X PRO 11-16mm f/2.8 SD MF DX IF AF Lens ]


Thanks for your comments!

Mountain Gold

This is my favorite shot of Aspens this year. Sometimes some of the best shots unexpectedly show up.

Rowedean

Some People Will Buy Anything

Seen at the 2018 Gaither Fall Festival, Alexandria, Indiana

Honey, I just have to have this.

Apple's "Photos"

Hello all,

I recently started using "better" camera in DNG mode.
I don't do very much post processing, just basics.
Apple "Photos" is installed on my laptop.
It looks pretty easy to use...............before I take the plunge.....
Can anyone share their thoughts about using this software?

Thank you.