Actually this probably figures more into Emotional Intelligence, which is the key factor in determining success in life. If he had just calmed down, thought about it, it might have come together. But I must agree, in my experience of world wide travel photography with groups from 6 to 40, there is usually 1/8-10 that have significant personality disorder or just don't have "it" together in organization, skill, or ambulation; oft slowing the whole group down with their disruptions. OMG.

I would like to offer another suggestion to the list of "possibles" in as much to point out that some folks focus so hard on getting it "right" that they lose sight of the bigger picture. Clearly he is a beginner and all of this can be overwhelming, especially if ones brain is clogged with fear of doing it wrong, or being surrounded by people obviously much more knowledgeable than himself. He needs a lot of friendly encouragement and maybe a little more familiarity with the process but that is what he was there for isn't it? Then again, maybe he needs to find another hobby as well. Early dementia, means early and who knows?

Good morning and my I salute your commitment!!

Yes, just Sunday, the pano function of my LR took over an hour to put together a 7 shot pano. The initial review went quickly, but rendering was the problem. Did all the same moves, no help. Stopped it the first time when I noticed it was stuck about 40% of the way through, no help.

I haven't contacted adobe yet, but clearly a problem.

Thank you very much for that errodite review. Very informative, and probably would have appreciated that info 2 months ago. LOL.

Let's remain civil here, calm down. First, looking up a medal of honor recipient is not porno, really rash assumption; I pay computer experts for the right advice, performance is what it is or was, and no one should have to be a computer geek to use a product successfully. Let's be clear, windows had huge problems with these issues for many years, hence the constant advancement of their software until according to most, Windows 10 might finally be working. No product is perfect, just say'n since Mac, no more invasions. That could change.

Ford vs Chev and all the models, Nikon vs Cannon etc. One place to save money is on the RAM. I recently bought the IMac 2019, 27 inch (to replace an old one, so old I couldn't get parts to fix it,) with 8 GB of RAM until l could install my own 64 GB purchased from B&H for $395.00. Hugh savings. Mac is VERY proud of its memory and charges accordingly. Another consideration is the world of viruses. Mac only has about 5% of the market. When I was on Windows, even with the latest anti-virus software, it was constant issues with new strains, Trojan horses, software performance issues, lockups etc. Obviously, its been a while, but I don't have to do a restart very often on the Mac. The thing is, get what you need so you enjoy to the PP. Fighting speed, etc is always difficult. Another consideration is using a calibrated high end monitor for better detail, color and space.

Costco is a great service provided you don't need anything other than Premium Luster paper. They have the Epson 44 inch for anything larger than an 17 inches and the Fuji for smaller
prints. Not much paper choice, hence the lower prices. Just make sure to use the right color profiles that you can down load from their site. Fast and inexpensive. Don't count on any advice either. They are for the most part minimally trained techs. I asked the Twin Falls, Idaho manager a question about color profiles. He looked at me blankly and said he didn't know any about it. There you have it.

I have a Epson 7000. On the week after the warranty expired, it thought it died when it spayed ink all over the place and ran down on the floor. Turns out that it was a fluke (maybe malware in an internet image) and nothing was found. What I learned was that since I had purchased it with American Express, they added a year to the warranty. If you buy the Epson extended warranty, it costs about $1,000 a year. So, original 1 year by Epson, another year by Amx and from then on, its cheaper to just buy another printer if repairs are too expensive. Running a nozzle check once a week also keeps it from clogging as well.

Great discussion on the Epson/cannon. In the lower end printers, you can certainly buy a new cannon for the price of replacing a very expensive print head unit. There is no question, the Epson has difficulty with that. I have had both the 3800 and now the P7000 24 inch. To keep the big boy clean between prints, I just turn it on once a week. I print about every 3 to 4 weeks. But, it is a lot cheaper to clean/fix than the larger cannon printers. Both companies are great, just different strong/weak points. The thing is, you need to print to learn and enjoy.

These are wizened words of advice, clearly from experienced users. I would like to point out that "printing" has a purpose that is more than making a print. It is, ,to quote Ansel, to take the negative, refine it into a fine piece of art that expresses what you saw and experienced at the time of capture. There is no substitute for this final work. It takes time and effort to learn the art of printing, the various papers and to learn how your post processing is helping. The process forces us to rethink how a shot is composed, what we might plan to do in PP to enhance the vision before we shoot. Understanding the metamorphosis motivates us to persist and not quit in discouragement.

The thing is, whether in Africa, or in our back yards, we need to remember, the shot has to be in Focus!! Often we get obsessed with low ISO quality issues and try and squeeze an F stop/shutter speed to fit. The one thing I have learned in shooting wildlife around the world is that the secret is a very fast shutter speed, ie, greater than 1/1000 at the least, up to 1/3000 if at all possible. These high megapixel cameras are very unforgiving of movement, even just breathing. Shooting from mobil rig just compounds the issue. If the image is not in focus, its no good and your trip is wasted. Use whatever ISO you need to get there and adjust the F stop accordingly. These inexpensive new variable lenses are great, but by definition they require more light than say the 200-400mm, my goto lenses for these trips. You can rent one if you need to, but after spending all the money to get there, take the best lens you can afford.

A hunting analogy is to pay for a big game hunt, bringing your favorite rifle and a cheap scope along only to miss "the shot" because your scope got bumped in the trip and is no longer "sighted in."l Not good.