Perhaps I am just dense, but I don't understand what wanting a new camera has to do with the desire to succeed?

I got a Nikon d810 refurb from Adorama 3 years ago. It arrived in a Nikon box marked as a refurb by Nikon. It appeared to be absolutely new, and the shutter count was 26. It has worked flawlessly since then. I have been delighted with the camera.

Thank you for the work you getting unwanted animals adopted. My wife and I have two rescue cats, and I have the highest respect and appreciation for people who help get these animals permanent homes. The pictures surely help. They are nice shots and are a great promotion. Thanks again

I had the same problem. They kept sending messages with ways to fix the problem, but none of them worked. They eventually sent me a new download link that worked as it should. It was frustrating, but eventually got the program working properly

While it will take B&W jpegs, my experience is that taking the image normally (in color) and then selectively desaturating the image in post will give better results than just uniformly desaturating the image by taking it in B&W.

Very nice shot. Love the composition and use of B&W.

This is ultimately not a copyright or legal issue. It is a matter of what the local organization considers acceptable. I am president of a local arts organization, and we have rules for submission of original art work. If in our opinion the submitted artwork does not meet the requirements the work is rejected. If your wife's organization doesn't have a similar clause in its list of requirements, it should. This keeps the issue out of whether the work violates or does not violate copyright and allows the organization to determine what is acceptable in its shows.

I shoot theater plays at our local community theater, so this is familiar territory for me. I agree that shutter speed as fast as possible and lens as wide as possible, but completely disagree with auto ISO. Auto ISO will result in lots of blown out highlights. I learned this from bitter experience, because lighting varies from set to set and at different points on the stage and the camera ISO may or may not adjust to your liking. I prefer to set my ISO manually and adjust as necessary to achieve the best image. Also, I agree that shooting raw allows adjustment to compensate for shadows and lighting differences.

I own the D810, and it is a fantastic camera. The lens that stays on it most of the time is a Tokina 24-70 2.8. This is a very sharp lens, and at half the cost of the Nikon 24-70. I also have a Tokina 70-200 f4 that I use for more reach. It also has very good image quality. I suggest you at least read reviews on these two lenses. The pair will cost less than a Nikon 24-70 and you will have two very good lenses.

I have the Nikon version of this lens, and it is the lens that stays on the front of my D810 most of the time. It has great image quality (DXO Mark put it at the head of the class for sharpness) and I have never had any issue with speed of the autofocus. I have never used the Canon version, but I assume the optics are the same, only mount is different. Based on my three years of use of the Tokina 24-70 f2.8 I highly recommend it.

I own both the 5100 and 7200, and there is no comparison between the two. The 5100 is a fine camera, but many of the controls require going into the menu, whereas the 7200 has an easier to access control system. Also, the 7200 has a better autofocus system, better low light capability, and better image quality. It has a drive that will operate older lenses, which the 5100 does not. Image quality is not just the more megapixels but also the fact the 7200 does not have an AA filter, which means the image sharpness of the 7200 is better. As far as the 7500 is concerned, I was never tempted by this camera. While the 5100 is a fine camera, the 7200 is a major upgrade, and with sales it can be bought for far less than either the 7500 or the 500.

You can buy direct from Nikon, or from a Nikon authorized dealer such as B&H, Adorama, Cameta or other reputable dealers. Amazon has refurbs but some of them are "certified refurbished," which signifies to me that they are not Nikon refurbished, so be sure it is Nikon refurbished. However, unlike new cameras, Nikon apparently does not set the price dealers sell refurbished cameras for. This means different dealers may have different prices on Nikon refurbished equipment. I would look at reputable dealers for their price on a Nikon refurbished product and take the best price. And, FYI, I own a Nikon D7200. It is a great camera with very good image quality.

I am shocked, shocked, that you would suggest a salesman tells anything but the truth

I am not an expert on the refurbishing process, but on the Nikon site it says "When you buy reconditioned items direct from Nikon, rest assured that your manufacturer-certified products have been thoroughly tested and faithfully restored to original factory specs with genuine Nikon parts." I can only speak from personal experience, but I believe a factory refurbished camera from any reputable dealer would be equivalent since they are refurbished by the manufacturer. This was the case when I bought a D810 from Adorama. It came in a box marked as refurbished by Nikon with the language quoted above followed by a statement that it comes with a 90 day warranty. The camera inside appeared to be new. When I checked shutter count, it was 26--virtually a brand new camera. Others get refurbs with higher shutter count, but based on my limited experience the next camera I buy will be refurbished rather than new. Hope this helps.

I recommend you consider the Tokina 70-200 f4. It is an excellent lens. I have one and use it as the primary lens on my D7200. It is a full frame lens, but it is great on the 7xxx series Nikons. I just checked price on B&H and Adorama and they are selling it for $829.95. Read reviews and make your own decision, but for my money, this is an excellent lens, very sharp and it has vibration reduction technology.