I love the Nikon precision numbers down to a single digit in 40,000. I have not found my speed lights to be that consistent...maybe within a couple hundred at lowest settings...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Some people can drive a race car and some struggle with a bicycle. Each has to determine what is right for them.
I think some people would be better off starting in manual, but it also depends if they want to learn and understand photography or not.
That is why most people use cell phones and tell each other that their photos online are "Great".
Some people can start at a level others may never reach or care to reach.
I think a lot of people by a starter kit because it is relatively inexpensive, their main reason and probably because they may lack knowledge otherwise.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Good point Don as I encounter this if I go to the local camera store here in Charlotte. They have a limited selection and some of the people have their bias and the store itself may even be biased as to what they make more money on. That said I do spend some money there and they are trying to genuinely help people I believe. But the world of photography is so massive that no store can carry everything, not even B&H or Adorama.

My feeling is there are really great gimbals at high prices new, very nice ones at prices and features a bit lower and mid to lower end ones with minimal features. If you buy a $250 gimbal you are probably not going to put $10-$15K worth of gear on it. At least I hope not. If you are putting mid range gear on it you might be fine, provided it has the features you need. Of course if you have never seen or experienced those features then you might never miss them.

It reminds me od something I was told early on it my woodworking hobby. There is no point in putting a $125 saw blade on a $200 contractors saw. A $2000 cabinet saw yes, definitely. I find in most things that the components come together and must function as a system. Generally they will never be better than what the weakest link in the system. My son's race car may have a 3,000 hp motor but if you don't have the convertor, transmission, rear end, wheels and tires to get that power to the track you will not be successful. Sometimes it is important to have all the components at a consistent level and get on with it where you are at the time.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Yes, that sounds like a good deal...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

To me it is a decision based on the look you like and what you want your image to be. What really gets me is portraits where the skin is smoothed to the point of looking like a china doll... Especially when I know the person is in their 50s.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Exactly!!! I was thinking that Photoshop used to have a watercolor selection and a posterize selection. Maybe I am thinking back to Photoshop 3.0...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

I my opinion consumer cameras with all their different modes only cause more confusion and slower learning. I would rather start people out with an older advanced or pro level camera that has P, Tv, Av and Manual modes. If you must start with a consumer camera then ignore the other modes if you really want to learn photography. Once you learn about exposure you will be set for life. Often learning costs a little time and money...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

I shot my daughters volleyball games from high school through college. My go to lens was an 85 f/1.8 Canon on my 1.3 crop body. This gave me an equivalent field of view of 110mm. Some lens that gets you into the 100-135 equivalent range is good if you are close. The Canon 85 f/1.8 is also fast focusing. That combo worked very well courtside in the first few rows.

I would lower your shutter speed and ISO down to 1250. Slower shutter speeds can freeze most motion. Where the motion will show up is in the arm and hand movements of hitters. I found if lighting was bad I could live with that. You should be able to remove a lot of the noise in Lightroom if you shoot RAW.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

I use Eneloops from B&H. 4-8 AA and charger is $20-$30 IIRC...
I would just put the flash on your camera and try ETTL mode to start.
Then you can try Flash EC, called FEC on Canon, play with that. Then you can work your way into the other modes and controls...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Burk, I have had the 50gb on iCloud for over a year, but I don't use much of it, maybe 10-20 percent. I probably should be saving that money toward my $10 a month Adobe bill...LOL. The expense as I see it today is mainly the cost of moving data to and from smart phones. Some people are careful enough to do this when they are connected to a home or business network, but many just upload and download as they please. At least that is what I seem to notice around me. So the cell company is charging you to move your data back and forth each month. Maybe I am overblowing it but thats what I see as the situation.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Thanks for sharing that info TriX. I will look it up on the B&H site tomorrow. I have been reasonably satisfied with the slave mode on the Alien Bees. I do in a way wish the slave optical was on the top of the unit like the Digi Bees but the rear location seems to work fairly well... I like the price...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

The LensMaster seems to be a very simple gimbal. I don't see any way raise or lower the camera/lens platform. It seems to be fixed in place. Maybe that is not an issue for many shooters but I would prefer to have more adjustability. Your mileage may vary of course.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

And if you put a RRS spike on your monopod it makes a fairly good weapon too... Even a Rock Claw is not bad...