BigDaddy wrote:
Just yesterday after reading Jerry's post a YouTuber I follow posted about the same thing.
Historically, this type of thing doesn't go well. Think of SketchUp, the 3d CAD program or NIK. If/When they go subscription they will lose a lot of business I think, at least they will lose mine. I personally will likely go back to PS because I think Affinity is a very close clone of PS yet still not in first place. If I'm going to pay rent (may go to GIMP) I might as well pay for the first place app.
Not being a professional, $120/year for PS is not a good deal. I just went 6 months w/o using an editor at all, and paying rent all that time would irk me a bit. I left PS precisely because of their marketing scheme and the fact Affinity was almost a clone of PS w/o the rental nonsense. Actually I was always irked by PS marketing/pricing being designed for the professional. Affinity perfectly fit the amateur/non-professionals needs both in function and pricing. I figure that is about to change.
Just yesterday after reading Jerry's post a YouTub... (
show quote)
"Not being a professional, $120/year for PS is not a good deal."
Did you ever have to buy film for an SLR? Did you ever see that as a "good deal"?
One way I see software subscriptions as a good deal is that the provider has established a steady and predictable income stream. That allows them to actively manage development and maintenance of their products. The old school model of licensing creates a boom and bust cycle that turns product development into a gamble.
There was an article in a business news journal this morning suggesting this will be viewed as threating big deal by Adobe! It is not so much about photography and photographers but more about the people that use photographs to make graphic arts things. The two key components are Canva and Adobe Express.
bsprague wrote:
For backup, I have a pair of 8TB Western Digital My Book drives that need their own power brick. I alternate backups to them because I plan on them failing. But, no they do not seem to be failure prone.
To extend the capacity of my laptop I have a 5TB Wester Digital Elements drive that uses USB power. I think the current version is called a My Passport. With the 1TB SSD in my computer added to the 5TB external, the backups to the My Books fit well with a little spare space.
My system is not fast but with the alternating backups it feels like my images and documents are safe enough.
For backup, I have a pair of 8TB Western Digital M... (
show quote)
I completely missed the request for SSD advice. Sorry I took up the space!
For backup, I have a pair of 8TB Western Digital My Book drives that need their own power brick. I alternate backups to them because I plan on them failing. But, no they do not seem to be failure prone.
To extend the capacity of my laptop I have a 5TB Wester Digital Elements drive that uses USB power. I think the current version is called a My Passport. With the 1TB SSD in my computer added to the 5TB external, the backups to the My Books fit well with a little spare space.
My system is not fast but with the alternating backups it feels like my images and documents are safe enough.
AHK wrote:
I used their current version for Noise/Sharpening. Yep, I needed to pay full price, even though I owned the previous version😒....no upgrade...just pay up.
I've got the Topaz Photo AI that has both noise reduction and sharpening. It is a few months from being the current version but, I like it a lot for many images. I may have to "pay up" but will procrastinate until it is obvious that there is a significantly large improvement.
Topaz pricing, marketing and product development always confuses me.
MJPerini wrote:
Just a reminder if this trip has a cruise component, a tripod or monopod on a ship transmits vibration very well, so sand bag or hand held.
Feisol is a good brand, as is sirui, or benro or the major brands , Just stay away from really light ones, and divide "Weight Capacity" by 2 or even 3. Get one tall enough so you can use it without the center column.
Your advice is perfect for the photographer that needs rock solid so the camera can't move for long exposures. I go the other way and like them to be light and compact, especially for travel. Any tripod will be tenfold steadier than I am, which is good enough to make a huge improvement for anything close to common shutter speeds.
One from Manfrotto folds up to almost a foot, only weighs under three pounds and costs $100. For me, that's a tripod that would actually get some use on a cruise! Big, beefy and heavy would stay in the stateroom!
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1296077-REG/manfrotto_mkeles5rd_bh_element_small_aluminum_traveler.html
Tripod selection is hard. In my view there are two major groups: (1) beefy enough to hold a camera perfectly for a long exposure and (2) sufficient to hold the camera when I can't. Then, in each of those two groups are two subgroups: (1) light weight and folds up enough to make it easy for travel and (2) minimum number of moving parts for ease of operation.
Since I no longer pretend to be making 30x40 prints and don't like heavy gear, I've moved on to a Sony RX100 VII being my primary camera. With that small size and weight, my most used tripod is not made by a recognizable brand, weighs near nothing and was under $30 on Amazon.
Rather than buying a Feisol 3443 on a single recommendation, my suggestion is to log on the the B&H website and use their selection and elimination tools to zero in on what will work for you!
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Complete-Tripods-with-Heads/ci/2635/N/4075788742
Well done and nice work. The software we have now is a joy to use!
Which Topaz program did you use?
Bill_de wrote:
Already posted if you look above.
==
Yes, you did give him the answer.
A.T. pointed out that he couldn't find it. You found it, cut and pasted the answer. But you didn't tell where he could find it or find other things he might want to know.
A. T. wrote:
Okay, well I went to the website and I can't find where it explains why they don't have phone number but it's not important. I guess I'll just make do with explaining what I want done via an email or their order form. Thanks for responding though.
Long ago I decided I was done with film. But, driven by curiosity, I looked up the website. I found the reasoning behind not having a phone in the FAQ section.
Nice work! Do you think they deserve a different background. Even a light gray might be better than a harsh white.
I'm old too. I live in a large retirement community ("CCRC"). There are lots of neighbors with a variety of mobility rigs. A good part of all this is that so many of the great parks suitable for photography have become ADA compliant.
It is not made by Logitech. Don't assume Logitech quality or design.
I suppose it is not wise to disagree with the likes of Steve Perry! Or even Jerry. But, I will.
If the small camera has an "intelligent automatic" setting, it works fine as soon as the battery is charged.
If fact, if someone knows so little about cameras, that they would ask "what kind of small camera to bring on a trip", the advice should include insisting on the use of the "intelligent automatic" setting.
If part of the excitement of a trip is bringing home images and clips, it might be the best time to get a new small camera if it can do a thing or two better than a phone.
The Sony RX100, in all of its versions, has an excellent "iA" setting. At less than half the price, my wife's two week old Canon PowerShot SX740 HS is thriving in automatic on the Big Island.
Our retirement community bought a Epson FastFoto FF-680W Photo Scanner. It works well and fast in batches. It can make an original, an improved version and make an image of any writing on the back of old snapshots.
I wish it did slides!