The Peak Design travel tripod comes with a nice smartphone holder... haven't ever used it but it's there if I want.

Marty,
I'm in Ashland also and I have a Lowepro Lens Trekker 600 AW III Backpack that I don't expect to be using since I switched to Sony a7R4 and 200-600 gear. Let me know if you are interested.

I broke the multi-control button on my 5Div and just ordered a replacement part from Amazon (also on eBay) for only $7.99 and there's a video on opening the back of the camera and replacing it... only takes 10-20 minutes. Or you can just snap it into place but not get a full weather seal. For that price I can't go wrong unless I mess up removing the camera back... I'll try the snap-on replacement first!

I know of two other choices for lens protective coverings:
1. Tragopan - I got an email from them in the last week about their new product... they make excellent photography blinds
2. OutdoorPhotographyGear.co.uk - this is what I bought for a Sony 200-600... I think it is better quality and less expensive than LensCoat. My LensCoat covers have always frayed at the edges and the OPG cover does not.

Questions:
Did the old film cameras make any adjustments to the image?
If not, then wouldn't that be similar to a SOOC RAW image? And Ansel took his "RAW" film images into the darkroom (Photoshop) to get what he envisioned.
Just thinking out loud......

What's the word, snarky?

Hey Bill, you have one of your locations listed as Oregon. I'll show you the best locations for bird photography in Oregon if I can touch your 600 lens. I had a 600 f/4 Canon and loved it. Sold it so I could get the Sony a7Riv and 200-600. The 600 was a bit sharper but I get lots more photos with the 200-600 because I can carry it everywhere, and without a tripod. I could almost handhold the 600 and with version iii, I could probably manage it. The 200-600 is great for BIF using the zoom out to find the bird and then zoom in quickly with a flick of the wrist for the capture. Have fun with your ultimate photo toy.

Ha, the 200-600 is about 2 lbs. lighter than the 600, but you will never notice that with your wallet losing weight :-)

If you are using layers, maybe you are doing your adjustments on the wrong layer/icon.

I love my PD tripod. Light, small, and more than sturdy enough for a Sony A7R4 + 200-600. Now I can take it along on a walk just in case I need it. Before, I lugged a full-sized tripod with a gimbal head, ugh. I usually shoot handheld but it's nice to have a tripod handy for some situations. With the IBIS + OSS I really don't see the importance of a heavy duty tripod... all I need is something to hold the camera up when I'm keeping the camera ready for the next action. The price didn't seem high when all the benefits were figured in... and a ball head is included. Oh yeah, the best part is that it is VERY fast to set up and down.

Software is cheaper than glass :-)

Red-backed Junco?

I've gone back to a number of my "reject" photos that WERE taken with great equipment and re-processed them with newer software and I was very pleasantly surprised... of course, if the operator had more skills, the newer software might not have been needed :-)

Tragopan makes a high-quality blind.

Software increases the keeper rate.