Thanks for that input, I will update moving forward.

A couple weeks ago I set up an impromptu outdoor "studio" to do fine art dog portraits. These are the results.

My two cents. I use the Profoto B1's and B2. The B2 is extremely portable, and although I'm biased, is the gold standard. You can go to Adorama or B&H and get deals. Open box or demo. Open box comes with full manufacturer's warranty, demo with 90 day warranty. They are consistent, durable, and the light modifiers available are near limitless. You can go ttl, or manual, or a combination of both. I use them for weddings, both indoor and out, senior portraits, and even pet photography. Good luck with your decision. I, like you, also am quite unhappy if I commit to something and don't buy the best that I can afford.

What Dennis said. The brighter area is behind your subjects. So, in order to properly expose your subject, the background is somewhat blown out and the colors aren't as rich. To really compare the pictures and settings have to be identical.

The first responder that said to test your current lenses gave very good advice. I also have dogs and attend various PD1 events/trials where the police dogs compete in agility, protection, and obedience. I shoot my D500 with either the Nikon 70-200 2.8 vrii or the Sigma Sport 150-600 depending on my vantage point. For an excellent walk around that is a bit more economical but every bit as sharp I have the sigma 50-100 1.8. A great lens and have the price of the others. I like the full frames though, as I use them on my other cameras as well.

I currently shoot both cameras. The D810, hands down, gives you a lot more to work with in post processing, far greater dynamic range so you can manipulate highlights and shadows. That's great for landscape shooting. The D500 is my go-to recreational action camera (I have a D4S as well). I keep a long zoom on it and use it mostly for birds in flight or dog bite training. The D500 is lighter, in my opinion focuses faster, and meets most needs. Finally, it may be about time for the D810 replacement to come out, so if you're not in a rush, the D810 may have another price drop eventually. One last note, if you're shooting alot of indoor sports the D500 does better with a little higher iso and the file size is smaller too. Good luck!!

Please tell us about the bubble... How was it made, etc?

Is the gimbal for sale? If so, what model is it and how much are you asking?

Thanks,

Dave

Don't throw it against the wall, mail it to me!! All kidding aside, I have 3 and have only had to pair them once. Make sure that the menu on the SB 5000 where you choose radio or ir that you have chosen radio. Then, it will communicate. The only time I had a problem was when the "link mode" was set to "pin" and not "pairing". Good luck. They work flawlessly once you get comfortable. Don't give up!!

I disagree with the logic that if you take x amount of shots that you are spraying and praying. The last wedding I shot, some of the formal group shots had 15 people in them. I carefully set up the lighting prior to the group congregating, so the exposure etc was dead on. However, I took about 1/2 dozen shots to ensure that I had something to work with should I start doing post and find that some of the group had their eyes shut, etc. In my opinion, there's nothing worse than making a group wait so that you can check the back of your camera for eyes open and expression on so many people. Best to take multiples and if you have to swap heads in photoshop, that's an easy fix. Similarly, the best planned shot from the best vantage point during a ceremony or reception is bound to catch the photobomber or the unsightly background expression or pose. Technically, your images can be perfect, but if you want to supply a product that meets your own standards and your client's expectations, take more shots.

If you are using a Mac, Trey Ratcliffe (the guy that made Photomatix Pro famous) has his own program now called Aurora HDR. In my opinion, having used both programs, Aurora is far superior to Photomatix.

The most important aspect to me is calibrating your computer monitor and printer so that what you print matches what you display. That being said, if you use a gray card and the color checker you will definitely see subtle changes when you apply the profile to your photo. In my experiences, the changes from the profile are minimal if you use a gray card and the gray eyedropper in a program such as lightroom or dxo.

You won't be disappointed!!!!

I purchased Aurora last week and have had very limited opportunity to play with it. That being said, in less than 10 minutes I was able to take a single file and make an hdr image that I was very satisfied with. I did stack 3 images and play a little with that also. Everything is slider based and quite simple. I would recommend that you download the trial version. It is fully functional, I just don't think you can save or export with the trial.

There are also many capabilities that I haven't touched on, such as layers, etc.

I'm glad that you reset. What the display means is that your flash is set to "Master" mode to control groups a,b, and c. Those groups were all set in "repeater" mode which means that they would fire multiple bursts depending on other settings. They would give the effect of multiple exposure within one shot by illuminating a moving object in pulse. Imagine a bright tennis ball bouncing in a pitch dark room. If you shot in this mode the ball would be exposed each time the flashes pulsed so there would be multiple "balls" in the frame. Hope that helps.