I love my Z8. The Z8 has enough in common with my Nikon heritage that buying it made a lot of sense. Familiarity with controls, terminology and most features as well as owning compatible lenses made the decision to buy it a good one. If I already owned Canon I would seriously look at staying with Canon. Many UHH members have strong brand loyalty and even stronger opinions. For most skilled photography enthusiasts, I am of the opinion that all of the upper tier mirrorless cameras will take excellent photos, irregardless of brand. The same is true of lenses. I would get to a camera store and take a good look at the Canon mirrorless line and look for near future Canon releases before buying a Z8. If you still decide to buy a Z8, you will get a great camera.

Thank you for the reminder. I have gotten lazy and not calibrated for a few years. That will be very important in PP. Again, an excellent suggestion.

Canon is holding a sale, as is Sony. Nikon has Z 7 II on sale. Good time to buy new.

Thank you. This is all volunteer work. The media will be for educating potential donors about our projects. I want it to look professional. All of your help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you James. Great idea. I will take a grey card for calibration.

Which brand and model you choose depends on why you are switching. The focus and metering systems have improved significantly over the last decade, as have the pixel numbers.

I switched to mirrorless because of decreased weight and increased focus capabilities. The major weight savings came with the lighter mirrorless lenses. I have shot Nikon for a few decades and stayed with Nikon and bought 2 Z lenses. I will use 3 of my old lenses with a converter and sell the rest. I think Sony cameras are phenomenal as are Canon. You can’t go wrong. I seriously considered switching brands. Olympus is making a strong showing and has years of mirrorless experience in the 4/3 format. Fuji also is in the race. Visit a store and hold them all. Good luck.

Thank you. I have noticed in many of my photographs previously done at the hospital that there is a surprising amount of reflection off of the darker skin and that the green hue and marked reflections distracts from their beautiful skin and smiles. The medical students and residents that I teach in Tanzania are a very attractive group. I plan on using reflectors and diffusers to help with the harsh reflections. I appreciate the help with the coloring.

When asked by friends, I tell them to pick 5-10 things in the Louvre they want to see and then leave. The place is a maze to transverse with areas closed, blind hallways and moved or absent masterpieces. Paris is rich with other wonderful things to see. I agree with a Ste Chapelle visit. Spectacular. I have been alone there many years ago. It was considered a lesser site when you entered through the Ministry of Justice. Now I would suggest getting there at opening or at the days end. It is always crowded.

I have many photos from the Louvre. The ones I treasure most are the antiquities. No flash, no tripod, no monopod. I use a Nikon 50 1.8 with an auto ISO, 2.8 to 5.6 f stop depending on desired depth of field and speed of at least 60-100. For hung art I use 2.8, for statues 2.8-5.6 to get good overall focus and desired DOF. Get tickets ahead or use the Paris museum pass. BTW, I much prefer the Musee d’ Orsay. I also really enjoy the Rodin Museum for the photographic opportunities.

I need advice on overcoming lighting problems. I will be photographing media content in an African hospital and clinic setting. First, any advice in setting up lighting for photographing the very dark black skin that is most common in the area. The tone is striking and beautiful. In regards to lighting, is the skin handled like any other skin? I will be photographing patient care in the OR, clinics, and lectures in classrooms.

The location creates a second problem—green everywhere. The facilities are all painted with the putrid green color that used to be so common in hospitals in the US. It is everywhere inside. The green cast creates unusual coloring that can be pulled out in post processing, but I would love to diminish the PP need. Previously I was only taking memory photographs of my friends with natural light, nothing for internet use. Now it’s for publication. I will be using a couple of flashes, diffusers and foldable reflectors. I don’t own and can’t logistically get any strobe reflective lighting to the location which adds to the challenge.

On my 850, I use Nikon: E series 24-70 2.8, 70-200E 2.8 (my favorite), 200-500 5.6 for wildlife, Macro 105 2.8, 20 mm 1.8 and 50 mm 1.8 primes. There are plenty of great lenses, but I have never felt short changed with this collection. I have a 17-35 4.0, which is great, but I don’t like the distortion below 20mm so I went light weight with the 2 primes.

Basal cell of the skin is rarely very invasive, but it can spread locally. There are books and books on closing defects from Mohs surgery skin deficits (holes). It can be frightening sometimes. But the body is amazing and surgeons at a large teaching hospital will routinely manage cases like yours with complete return to normal function. If you are worried about basal cell invading your eye socket, that requires a massive tumor which is very very rare for basal cell CA. Best wishes.

I would consider a bridge camera. Which one depends on how much you want to spend. They have the look of a small DSR, tend to be light and have extensive zoom capabilities. They sacrifice on lens speed and edge sharpness. Otherwise a rented canon body sounds inviting.

I use Backblaze. I have a small internal hard drive of 1Tb on my MacBook Pro. That is obviously inadequate with a high megapixel camera. On Backblaze I can backup my 8Tb external hard drive each time that I turn on my laptop and connect the external drive. Very fast and convenient. They send me Email reminders when I have been on vacation for 2 weeks and failed to download. I have never had to recover, so I cannot comment on this part of their service.

If what she is after is vlogging, I would look at the Sony line up. I am a Nikon guy, but Sony has a great line of vlogging cameras at different price points, the ZV line from around $498 to $898. She will blow all of her friends output away with this setup.