We just had our first taste of cold fall air up here in New Hampshire and as a new retiree returning to photography as a hobby, I expect to have the time to do a little winter shooting, now. What are some tips for winter photography? I'm asking in respect to managing equipment and taking photographs. For example, I remember my lens would fog up, going from the cold outside air into a warm car. Should I clean the lens or just let the moisture evaporate? Anything special to do for the battery? As far as taking shots, should I consider any special filters when shooting snow-covered landscape? I generally keep a polarizing filter on my lens but should I add a UV filter? You get the idea.

I would also recommend Googling something like "D5500 versus D7100" as there are plenty of comparisons out there. My best friend bought a 7200 while I opted for the 5500. I like the 5500's articulated touch screen and for the most part, the 5500 has the same features as the 7200 (24 megapixels, same number of focal points, etc.). The 7200 is bigger and beefier and as someone else said, it has more programmable features...that I'll probably never need. I guess it comes down to how serious a photographer you are. I'm a "good amateur" (having won a modest number of amateur contests) and I appreciate the compact size and light weight of the 5500. On the other hand, I would think someone at "entry-level professional" would want the additional capabilities of the 7000 series. Just my opinion.

Like you, I just retired and wanted an upgrade from my 10-year-old Canon Digital Rebel, returning to my Nikon roots (used to have a Nikkormat 35mm). My best friend just did the same, purchasing a Nikon D7200 which he loves. I wanted the same but really couldn't justify the expense for a hobby item so I went for the Nikon D5500. I'm very happy with the D5500 which has all the major features of the D7200; I consider it a "poor man's 7200." One nice thing about the 5500 over the 7200 is that it's considerably lighter and easier to carry around. I'd also go with an all-around lens like an 18 mm - 300 mm or something close; it'll add a fair amount of weight to what you have around your neck but it will handle just about all your needs as a hobbyist.

I pretty much leave it on all the time when I'm actively photographing and it doesn't adversely affect my photos. However, check your manual as it was my understanding the image stabilization feature draws power from your battery if left on (and not in use) and will deplete your battery quicker. This seemed to be the case with my camera so I always turn it off after shooting.

I also have several thousand prints, 35mm slides and negatives from my grandparents, parents and my own Nikkormat FT2 days. I use an Epsom V600 scanner that can handle all three formats and does a decent pre-processing job removing dust spots, restoring color, etc. As another responder noted, the real trick is to first go through all the photos and decide which are worth keeping (depending on the reason for keeping them). As with most baby boomers, I'm now of the age where I want images that bring back memories of a glorious youth so while artsy scenery and flower close-ups were what my friends and I enjoyed in the 70's while listening to the latest Dead album, I now want to see the photos with people I knew and places I visited. Ditto for my parent's and grandparent's photos. My father flew a Cessna and took countless shots of who-knows-where from the air but they meant nothing to me so into the garbage they went. Same for my grandparent's shots of their friends whom I don't know. Seems a little cold to throw out what might have been cherished shots to them but you have to draw the line somewhere. My kids will have the same problem when they finally inherit all my digitized images but hey; I won't care...I'll be dead!

Three months ago, I switched from PC to an iMac. From what I researched, PC and iMac are now about equal for photo processing so there's no longer an iMac advantage for photo processing and an iMac (with a large, high-def screen) runs almost twice the price as a PC. However, I had to have Norton Utilities to protect my PC and that program considerably slowed down the machine. Additionally, my PC had lots of "quirks" that had built up over the years and I was sick and tired of the constant barrage of Windows, Adobe, etc. updates. Unlike my PC, my Apple product starts up within about 15 seconds, never locks up, runs fast and once through a somewhat steep learning curve, is as easy and intuitive as my old PC. I would recommend an Apple product over a Microsoft but not necessarily because of better photo processing abilities. I should also add that Radio Control aircraft is my other hobby and both my flight simulators for PC aircraft are incompatible with Apple products.

Fourlocks

I've always been a technical person with an artistic bent...or maybe and artistic person with a technical bent. My belief is that the best composition may be wasted if the photographer has poor equipment and/or a lack of technical skills with it. On the other hand, someone who's mastered a great piece of equipment will also be unable to produce a good work of art if they can't compose a decent picture. The beauty of photography is that it's a marriage of technology and art; the photographer must be artistically creative yet have technical skill with good equipment to produce a good product. That being said, a great picture may be had with mediocre equipment but the odds of obtaining a better shot go up with better equipment.