I won a Canon Pixma Pro 100s in a photo competition over two years ago and I've been extremely pleased with the results from it (overcoming my Nikon bias to all things Canon). I use it to print my competition entries for my camera club and consequently there are times that I might not use it for a couple of months. When I do print I tend to wait until I have a batch of photographs to print as the printer goes through a cleaning cycle if it has not been used for 48 hours. Also as the printer uses dye inks rather than pigment based inks I don't think that there are as many problems keeping the print head clear on a printer using dye inks. I will only use original Canon ink in the printer and I believe that this helps also.

I've used back button focusing for two years now thanks to Steve Perry - link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzqQskGoURE
It took a little time to get used to it but there is no way that I would return to shutter button focusing.

AI Clear is only available in Topaz Studio.

I use Topaz Detail as a Photoshop plug-in on a separate layer. I normally select the level of sharpening that I require (usually light) and then use the option to invert the mask and then paint in the detail that I require locally leaving areas that don't require sharpening, e.g. the sky untouched.

I've had the Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X AF pro D Macro for some time now and I've found it to be an excellent lens, not just for macro photography, but also for portrait photography. It's well built and is about half the cost of the Nikon f2.8 105mm Micro lens.

Thanks billnikon. As you say the 300mm f4 PF lens would be the perfect combination with the D500.

I know a number of people with the Nikon 200-500 and they are very happy with it. I did consider it but after looking at the Nikon 300mm f4 PF lens I bought it. It's a prime lens and is no larger or heavier than my 24-70mm lens and because of this it's always in my camera bag. I use it on my D800 and this gives me the scope to crop the image if required. I may buy a 1.4 converter which would give me 300 to 420mm.

I know a number of people with the Nikon 200-500 and they are very happy with it. I did consider it but after looking at the Nikon 300mm f4 PF lens I bought it. It's a prime lens and is no larger or heavier than my 24-70mm lens and because of this it's always in my camera bag. I use it on my D800 and this gives me the scope to crop the image if required. I may buy a 1.4 converter which would give me 300 to 420mm.

I

I have 17 Topaz filters and find that I use Clarity, Detail, Impression and Texture Effects on the majority of my photographs. Once you have bought a Topaz filter upgrades are free for life. To edit in Lightroom click on Photo / edit in and the Topaz filters will be in the drop down menu. I use Topaz on seperate layers in Photoshop and the important thing to remember is that when using the filters the presets that come with the filters are a good starting point but you usually need to make adjustments with the sliders on the right of the panel along with selecting the blending mode and opacity required for the image that you're working on. Once I've applied the filter and returned to Photoshop I'll very often use a layer mask to apply the filter locally rather than globally, e.g. with Topaz Denoise I would paint back in detail lost with the noise reduction.

I've done three firmware updates on my Nikon D800. The only problem was with the last one when it left my Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art lens without autofocus. This was solved by buying the Sigma dock and upgrading the Sigma firmware.

I have the 70-200 VRII and I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love the performance of this lens but absolutely hate the weight of it and because of this I tend not to take it on every shoot. My most recent lens is the 300mm PF f4 which I absolutely love it's about the same size as my 24-70mm and about the same weight which means that it's always in my camera bag. Re the 70-200mm I very rarely shoot below f4 so if I was in the market again for a 70-200mm lens I would probably opt for a 70-200mm f4.

I've had an OpTech strap on my Nikon D800 for nearly six years. It's the most comfortable strap I've ever used plus I can connect it to my Op Tech wrist strap should I need to use it using the quick release clip.

Although it's not on your list of lenses, may I suggest that you look at the AFS Nikkor 300mm f4 PF ED lens. It's about the same size and weight as my 24-70mm lens and consequently is always in my smaller camera bag and goes everywhere with me. It is also super sharp.