When all else fails...read the instructions. Get an owner's manual, and use it properly. You missed something the last time around.

I woke up from dead, in a morgue, and nearly gave the attendant a heart attack. I had died of a brain injury, had out of body experiences, was sent to the morgue, and revived there. Death is a change of form, and location...not an ending. While Out Of Body, I walked around the hospital and saw much. It was a trip.

The last non-Nikon battery, and charger, I used for a Nikon camera did not work at all. Using such also voids your warranty if your camera is damaged thereby. I spend the extra money, and get brand name items these days. I just bought a new battery, and new charger, for two of my Nikon cameras. The price was "the cost of doing business". Live with it. Saving $20.00 on a battery / charger is not worth it if it wrecks a $1,000.00 camera...or even just a $300.00 one.

Get food, drinks, etc, a few days before. Find a place to stay...a hotel, a campground, or whatever, and get there days ahead. Be ready to eat, sleep, etc, where you are until after it is all over. I live in Salem, Oregon, which is supposed to be in the path of totality, so I will just stay home, and look up. I don't see why you could not use a solar filter to photograph the sun during non-eclipse periods. Solar flares, sunspots, etc, can be worth photographing. Instead of having a filter on my camera, I am putting one on my astronomical telescope, and then connecting my camera to the telescope with a T-Mount, and Adaptor. Of course, this being Oregon, the whole thing may be covered up by clouds, and so not be worth the effort. Time will tell.

I like my 35mm lens, but to each his / her own.

Curved screens make some sense in movie theaters, where you are sitting yards away from the screen, and yards off center. They make less sense on computer monitors you are sitting inches away from, and directly in front of. They will distort your photo images, too. Curved screen computer monitors are a generally useless, faddish, gimmick for milking more money from suckers who have more dollars than active brain cells. Aren't you glad that you asked?

There are usually a certain number of Plague outbreaks in the USA, each year, usually amongst animals in the wild. Stay out of the wilds, or avoid animal contacts while in the wilds. Most fleas ride about on furry animals....rabbits, coyotes, bears, etc. If you come down sick, after a trip into the wilds, get to a doctor...especially if you have flea bites. A milligram of prevention is worth a ton of cure.

It could be light leakage from an improperly fitted cover...on three cameras...or ionizing radiation from something the film was stored on / under, or something else. Take a Geiger Counter to the area the film was stored in, and see if the area is radioactive. If it is not, have your camera examined for improper fittings. Perhaps the film is just so old that it is degrading chemically. Buy new film from a new source....or switch to a digital photo system.

Forget "think."

I know that all Canons have AA filters, and less Dynamic Range than Nikons.

Nuff Said.

Have her sign a model release. Set up a second camera, far enough back to show the whole studio set up, to video the entire shoot, so she can't claim you did anything you did not. If she tries, you have the video to take into court as evidence.

Consider a Billingham bag. The F1.4 might work.

The 35mm is generally used for Landscapes, and Street Photos, though you can do more with it. I shoot birds, and squirrels, in parks, with it and then enlarge the images. I tend to get close to semi-tamed critters, in ways I can't with totally wild ones. It is not the ideal Wildlife lens, but can be used for wildlife. Some people use 35mm lenses for portraits, though it is not ideal for such. Try using it for anything you want, and see how you like the results. Photography involves Creativity, and Creativity involves Imagination, and Experimentation.

The Canon may seem more familiar to you, but the Nikon 1 J5 would be: smaller, lighter weight, easier to use, and have more options in burst rates, etc. With a Nikon FT-1 lens adaptor, the J5 can use nearly any Nikon F-Mount lens...those made for the DSLR cameras. The J5 has a 2.7X Crop Factor, so a 100mm lens has the field of view that a 270mm lens would have on a FF camera. A 35mm lens has the FOV of a 94.5mm lens. This lets you spend less on lower power lenses, but-in effect-get longer reach out of them. I bought a used Nikon 1 S1, and an FT-1 adaptor, awhile back, to see what it would be like. I liked it, and will soon be getting a J5...unless Nikon releases a J6, or V4, in their Nikon 1 line soon....in which case I will get one of them. If you are interested in the J5, get one soon. It may be discontinued before long. The DL line was discontinued, and the Nikon 1 line has not seen an update yet, though it should have. I won't wait past Christmas. If I get a J5, or an updated item like the J6-if one is released-and the line is then discontinued, I will still have a great working camera, and be able to use my F-Mount lenses for my Nikon DSLR with it. If we wait too long to get a J camera, and it is discontinued before we buy, we may not be able to get one. A Sony, Olympus, or other brand-in M4/3, or whatever-won't have as many lenses, flash units, etc, available for it as will the Nikon.

Even Chevrolet cars are 40%, or more, foreign made. The speedometers may come from China, the Odometer from Italy, etc. Get used to it. Globalization will continue as time goes by. If a Spanish tripod has a head from Poland, or a leg lock from Germany, such is life. Even Chinese made products for Chinese based companies, may have seals, or paint, from Thailand, or wherever. Anyone who thinks they can always "buy American", or whatever, is deluded. Even our US President imports his shirts, ties, suits, etc...his wives, and mistresses, too. Welcome to The Real World. Live in it, or die.

An 'Entry Level' camera-such as the Nikon D3400, or older D3300, or such-would be a good choice. A better choice would be an 'Enthusiast Level' camera, such as the Nikon D7200....which will cost more, even used / refurbished, but have more features, and capabilities, which you can grow into as your skills progress. The Nikon D7200 has a built in motor for auto focusing, while the D3300 does not. That means that you can use older, and sometimes less expensive, 'Legacy' lenses (non-AF-S lenses) on the D7200, and auto focus with them, but not do so on the D3300. If you have the money, you could opt for a used / refurbished, or even new, 'Pro Level' camera such as the Nikon D810. That would provide even more features / capabilities. Canon consumer cameras have OLFP filters, which make all of your images somewhat blurry. Several Nikon cameras-such as the D7200, and D810-do not have such filters, so they produce sharper images.