Hi, Photogal, welcome to UHH.

In order to get a meaningful answer to your inquiry, I think you may need to be more specific about what you are referring to by the term "presets". I suspect that you may have in mind specialized editing software such as Topaz Sharpen, Topaz Denoise, or any of several other packages sold by Topaz. So far as I know, these are not generally thought of as presets. I think of presets as one or more editing steps which have been established and "saved" within an editing program (such as Lightroom) and that can be applied quickly, perhaps in a single step, to subsequent photo files or batches of photo files.

If it is software such as Topaz, etc. that you are referring to, you would need to research the specific item(s) that you are interested in to determine compatibility with whatever general editing software you may use or plan to use.

If you are seeking advice about "broad" or general editing programs, Lightroom is so widely used that it is the one that usually first comes to mind. I use it and, frankly, I would want it for its file management and organization capabilities, even if it should not happen to be the best available for editing. And since Adobe offers both Photoshop and Lightroom in a "bundle" that typically would cost no more than either alone (if you can even get them separately these days), most people purchase the "bundle".

As others have suggested, take it slow. Learn your camera and its capabilities. Ease into basic editing. Then you can use that knowledge foundation upon which to build more advanced editing techniques.

Assuming that your items are replaceable--that is, that they can be replaced by items available in the open market-- then "fair replacement value" would seem to be equivalent to the legal term "fair market value". The latter is generally said to be the price at which a willing but unforced seller would sell and at which a willing but unforced buyer would buy. I know that with respect to the more common film-era Canon lenses, you can get an idea of the range in which they trade by looking at fairly recent sales on e-bay and checking prices at used dealers such as KEH. I would assume that you can do much the same with your Nikon equipment. Possibly some buyers--again, like KEH--might even give you their "expert" opinion of the value of your equipment, which should carry some weight with your insurance adjuster. A word of caution from my occasional experience with adjusters--be realistic and don't set your expectations too high. In any event, best wishes and good luck!

[quote=imagemeister]At 75, you need to be thinking Sony RX10 IV ....

Completely agree.


(quote=imagemeister)Staying with Canon, look at the mirrorless M6II and the smaller/lighter 70-300 IS II nano and crop your way closer and use pixel enlargement software for making larger prints if needed.

I don't recall having heard about "pixel enlargement software" before. Is that something different from up-sizing an image in photoshop? If so, could you give a specific example or two, please.

I had a similar problem about a year ago when I bought a new desktop computer (Windows/Android type) and began transferring files, etc. to the new machine. I do not utilize the "cloud" to any significant extent, and the new (to me) "One Drive" feature caused me all manner of confusion in trying to place my files and data in the locations of my choosing, that is, into the "normal" C-drive, D-drive, and any external drives which might be attached. I do not know how to explain correctly what was happening, but in effect the "One Drive" feature was "grabbing" data--like image files that I was trying to install on the new computer--and flinging (uploading) it into the cloud. "One Drive" does not seem to be a drive that actually contains data like other drives, but rather it is in a certain sense an index of links to data that has been stored in the cloud. When the data is accessed, I suppose that it actually "comes" from the cloud. Ultimately, I found that this behavior could be stopped by finding and choosing appropriate options by checking certain option boxes. I had to spend considerable time searching out the necessary default settings and disabling the options within the computer that allowed my data to be thrown into the "Cloud" via "One Drive."

BTW, if you do not effectively disable such behavior by "One Drive", and if you have only limited "Cloud" capacity, you will likely soon hit your limit on cloud storage, and begin receiving notices that you need to purchase more storage--or unlimited storage--in order for any further items to be uploaded to the "Cloud".

I apologize that I am not more computer literate, but I hope that this may be of some help.

Agree.

[quote=jerryc41]I got an email from MyHeritage. They found my name in several searches,...

Hi, Jerry. I am currently a subscriber but only because I have been working on a couple of projects for which their products/services are helpful, though I would not say indispensable. If you happen to be interested in more information regarding what is available, even if only just for giggles, I think they periodically offer a 30-day free trial which can then be cancelled or converted into a full paid subscription.

[quote=CHG_CANON]You'll probably be most happy walkaround with the EFS 18-135. ...

I'm sorry, I should have told you to look under the "View" menu, not a non-existent "Tools" menu. Under screen mode in the view menu, you find the choices of "Full Screen", Standard Screen, etc. I found also a pop-up message that said "In full screen mode, panels are hidden; they can be accessed on the sides of the screen or revealed by pressing Tab. While in full screen mode you can return to Standard Screen by pressing "F" or Esc."

I think you want to go to Standard Screen; I think you are in full screen with mode panels hidden; if you simply press Esc, that should put you in standard screen with the Tools panel revealed vertically along the left side of the screen. Or, I suppose that simply selecting "Standard Screen" from the choices under "Screen Mode" would have the same effect.

Best regards,

I had the same problem. My screen showed the clone tool to be open with sliders and options, etc displayed across the top of the screen but no vertical display of tool icons on the left side. I finally found, somehow, an option for displaying (or not) the tool icons. I cannot remember where/how I found it, but it had to do with searching around in the "tools" menu on the screen that is displayed like the "file", "edit", "layers", "filters', etc menus at the top of the screen. You have to find and click/enable an option to display the tools vertically on the left side as you prefer. I think you will find it quickly if you look under the tools menu--if not let me know and I will open PS, try to find it again, and try to be more specific with directions.

Best regards,

Though I am basically a Canon person, several years ago I bought a Sony a6000 and at one time or another have used (with an adapter) Canon ef-s 15-85, Canon ef 24-105, and Canon ef-s 18-135. All were perfectly acceptable (to me) in terms of image quality and suitability for an everyday/walk-around lens. I did not use a 200mm lens other than the Sony 55-210 kit lens, but I feel that 200mm is a bit long for a walk-around lens. To be brief, among the three focal lengths mentioned, I like the greater reach at the long end of the zoom range, and would recommend the 18-135. The Sony SEL 18-135 would give you faster AF performance than the adapted Canon arrangement that I use, and should be very nice and relatively compact. Also, if you should find that you are really in need of more reach, you can switch your Sony to Clear Image Zoom and capture images at 200mm range or greater with little or no image degradation, though such images (on my older a6000, at least) can only be captured in JPEG format.

Addendum: I see that while I was typing my reply, Wingpilot beat me to the punch regarding the Clear Image Zoom option. I didn't really intend to be heedlessly redundant.

Great line, Paul. If there should be a search for a motto at UHH, it would get my vote!

[quote=dyximan]I am considering a road trip to Tennessee to experience the fall foliage ...


The most significant fall date for many Tennesseans is the third Saturday in October when Tennessee and Alabama meet to renew their football rivalry. IMHO, the best combination of viewing weather and fall color usually occurs between that date and mid-November. After that time, both weather and color tend to deteriorate, the rate varying with the weather, until "viewing" essentially bottoms out by the end of the year.

The hardwoods are the trees that provide the color--especially the large species like hickories (yellow), poplars (yellow), sweet gums (red) and oaks (various shades of mostly brown, depending on the species). The oaks, generally speaking, do not turn as quickly as the others, but hold their leaves longer. The hardwoods do not thrive at the highest elevations (like Clingman's Dome, for example), but are more generally found from the valleys, creek bottoms, and hillsides up to the mid-level slopes. Look for overlooks along the highways--or the trails if you are hiking--at the mid to higher levels that provide wide vistas of the lower terrain and its colorful hardwoods. The views and the photo opportunities can be thrilling.

Best regards,

lhardister

Same here.

Thank you selmslie. The article was very interesting and helpful.

Double response--sorry.