I suggest you reset your approach to photography and use your equipment the way it was intended to be used. Also, there are many resources, including equipment manuals and aftermarket publications, that will probably provide you with better photography advice than your mother.

If you are using ON1 v.2023 and your computer has a NVIDIA video card, that’s where I ran into the most serious issues. For that entire year, ON1 was almost entirely unusable, even after countless emails with tech-support. It was through those emails with tech-support that I found out that they “strongly recommend Apple.” To their credit, ON1 v.2024 is MUCH better, but can be intermittently dysfunctional, particularly when editing an image with several filters in the effects tab.

I left Adobe four or five years ago and replaced it with ON1. Compared to my experience with Adobe, it's a no brainer; ON1 provides a better overall experience. While ON1 is not without its issues, I would rate it an 8 out of 10. Overall, I am very happy with the program, and it certainly improves with the annual releases. There are countless YouTube resources, many of which are very good. Scott Davenport also publishes an ON1 book that he updates regularly, which is available in PDF and bound formats. You can even hire Scott for one-on-one Zoom training sessions, which IMHO, is money well spent, particularly if your time is worth more than your money. Also, one other thing to consider... I am a Windows user, so many of the most significant problems I have had involve compatibility issues. There are both Windows and Apple versions of ON1, but ON1 is optimized for Apple. When I fully retire, I will probably switch to a high-end Windows laptop, because most of my computer use will be for photo processing, not business applications.

Made me smile too; glad you all enjoyed it!

A fascinating, relatable and constructive application of AI is at https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Christmas-History.mp4?_=1. Many of us are concerned about the potential impacts of AI on photography. While we can only speculate on the possible outcomes, 40+ years of experience with computer technology tells us there will be both good and bad consequences, many of which are unforeseeable. Whether we like it or not, that's the ride we are on, so we may as well try to understand it. Hope you all find this of some interest...

For birds and wildlife, the Olympus M4/3 provides similar long lens equivalents. For example, the Oly Pro 300mm prime is a 600mm equiv., and of course, longer equiv. with 1.4x teleconverter...and in a small, light package. For M4/3 zoom lenses, there is the 40-150 f:4 Oly Pro (80-300 equiv.) and 100-400 f:4-6.3 Leica-Lumix (200-800 equiv.), also in a small, light package. Importantly, there is the Oly Pro-Capture feature, although I don't know if the D500 or other Nikon offerings have a similar feature, but it is often essential for birds and wildlife photography, to capture the critical moment. I live in an area where I am often shooting birds and other wildlife (e.g., Elk, Moose, Bears, etc.), so the zoom lenses provide shorter focal lengths for large animals and longer focal lengths for birds, without having to switch lenses.

If you like the crop sensor, have you considered M4/3? I shoot both Sony FF and Olympus M4/3. I also have a Nikon APS-C that I never use any more. IMHO, the APS-C crop sensor is the worst of both worlds. It lacks the image quality and other benefits of FF, and lacks the compactness and weight advantages of a M4/3 crop sensor camera.

This question makes no sense to me. There is no such thing as an unaltered image, except for raw images. IMHO, raw images are not intended to be shared; they are intended to be processed, primarily because they retain the maximum amount of available digital information. (BTW, “processed” is not “altered”. “Unaltered” and “altered” are prejudicial.) Also, raw images do not purport to be an accurate or even close representation of the subject. The term SOOC as a term of art, which should not be confused with “unaltered,” because every camera processes images, with the exception of raw images.

Raw

I learned photography in the 60s, using 35 mm and medium format cameras. Recently, I was feeling nostalgic, and bought a few old film cameras, namely, Speed Graphic, Rolleiflex & Hasselblad, for a relatively modest amount of money. I bought them to display as art, and they changed the feeling of the entire room, sitting on floating glass shelves, on both sides of some of my photos. Below are a few pictures of the display. Getting back to the original question, I can’t resist taking out the Hasselblad and shooting some landscapes. I will take the same pictures with my Sony A7R IV, and I am looking forward to comparing the images from each camera, after having the film digitalized and running the shots through post processing. I am not suggesting I’m going to shoot film to any significant degree. But sometimes it’s just fun to break out of my comfort zone and experiment, even if it is “inefficient” uses of time and money. At the same time, I did some “interior decorating“ that has a uniquely personal touch and appreciation for past experiences. Hope some of you find this some interest…

Human interaction to resolve problems that don't lend themselves to written communications is a trend across companies that use the internet to sell goods and services. Perhaps one of the best examples of this for UHH is post processing software. I switched from Adobe to ON1 about 5 years ago. ON1 is generally responsive to online service requests, but I have found it impossible to talk with a human being or have a remote session for complex issues. I have even suggested to them that they charge sufficiently so customer service doesn't become a loss leader, and may even be profitable. Speaking for myself, I would rather part with some money than spend hours tearing my hair out over software snafus. If any of you have post processing software that has telephone and remote-session support available, please let me know!

This may NOT be “Murphy’s Law;” it’s probably the lesser-known “Peter’s Law,” which is “Murphy was an optimist!”🧐

Which Nikon(s)?

I am 77 and I use MFT and FF, depending upon what I am shooting and how long I have to tote around heavy gear. There’s no question that there is a quality difference, but my Olympus cameras with Pro lenses are still excellent. As to APS-C, if you’re looking to downsize, IMHO, APS-C is the worst of both worlds.

I don’t disagree with many of the comments, but I would frame the issue differently. Adobe’s photo processing software, particularly Lightroom, is poorly designed and laid out, which makes it more difficult to learn than it needs to be. Several years ago, I switched from Lightroom to ON1, and it was a good decision. Of course, there is a learning curve, but once you understand the software design structure, the learning curve flattens out quickly. They have several online resources. Scott Davenport’s book also helps. You can also hire Scott Davenport for one-on-one sessions, which really expedites the learning process and, in my experience, was money well spent. Hope this helps.