I’m in Health care, high risk health care. I’m grateful to have missed out so far on the joys of no taste, deep cough, overwhelming fatigue and severe body aches at a minimum.

I will get my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine Friday morning. Can’t get it soon enough.

Could help but make a comparison. Well done.

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My Nikon 70-200 E f2.8 is my favorite lens. I don’t have a 14-24, but I do own the 24-70 E2.8 and enjoy it as well. I use the 70-200 for landscapes, portraits, some wildlife, travel, family weddings for candids, and especially grandchild shots from a comfortable distance to not interfere with their spontaneity. Sharp as a tack across the entire focal length, quick to focus, built like a tank. I have discovered it is a great vehicle for strong landscapes, much to my surprise. I use my wide angle lenses less and less. One of my best gear purchases. It is the one lens I wouldn’t even look at another brand in the same focal length.

Right now the newer Olympus Mark III looks like a great option with slight improvements over my Panasonic G9 in dynamic range and quick focus. The lens is a significant part of camera weight and torques the hand if the lens is long. That is the chief advantage of the 4/3 system over other mirrorless: crisp, light, sealed, image stabilizing, quick focusing lenses.

I love Micro 4/3 when weight is an issue. My hands were too big for a Panasonic GX9, but it takes great images and is feather light. I shoot the DC G9 which is still very light and is more substantive in my hands. You wouldn’t go wrong with either. The lens selection is extensive with high quality options. The image stabilization truly opens up 2 additional stops. Either will last you into your late 90’s.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1317756-REG/really_right_stuff_13720_tfa_01_ultra_pocket_pod.html

I have an older version of this tripod. Like all RRS equipment, it is pricey but exceptional. It has been on countless rocks, park benches, walls and garbage cans with a D800 and D 850 mounted. Solid as the rock beneath it. An amazingly stable and well engineered piece of equipment. It is in my travel backpack at all times. Wouldn’t leave home without it, even when I take my larger sturdy tripod. The size and stability has saved me in unexpected circumstances too many times. It will likely pass to my one child who loves photography when I’m gone in a decade or two or maybe three.

Great thread. I needed this today. Much better discussion than all the canon vs Nikon mirrorless vs DSLR and full frame vs Dx discussions combined.

One thing I would include is a list of web sites. From those that I know, I would include UHH, DpMag, Digital Photography School, Ken Rockwell, Dp Review, Thom Hogan, DxOMark. I’m certain there are many more great ones people can recommend, but those were good ones off the top of my head. I would also give them a list of famous photographers with a link to Getty Images. Many of your students will explore no farther, but someone will get inspired and want more.

Ansel Adams
Dorothea Lange
Robert Capa
Richard Avedon
Andre Kertesz
Diane Arbus
Alfred Steiglitz
Edward Weston
Steven McCurry
Joel Meyerowitz
Mary Ellen Mark

Are some I would include. Good luck.

Beautiful shots. Simply amazing. Can you use a canoe or kayak in the refuge?

Good luck on your next ‘hunting’ trip. Please post the results.

A side note for further exploration: There are some nice Birding areas along the Bear River on the other side of the Wellsville Mountains too, and also outside of Montpelier Idaho as the river leaves Bear Lake.

If those dimensions were for a soft rolling case or even a mildly compressible hard side you would be fine. But a Pelican is like a tank and the 10.2” height may not fit if you have to place it in a bin with the 22” length facing out the opening. I barely get in a 9.5“ case. You can, I would think, lay it side ways across the bin without a problem.

You need to tell us which plane and which airline as well. The problem may be the 10.4 inch height on several planes. Some airlines, like American, are filling the planes so you may not be able to fit it on with the dimensions and be forced to gate check.

For around $300, I would save the money and just encourage cell phone use, assuming it’s one bought in the last year or two. Between $500-600, there are a great list of cameras. Panasonic FZ1000 as a great bridge camera, refurbished Nikon and Canon Mid level consumer DSLR, Panasonic and Olympus micro 4/3, and consumer Canon and Sony mirrorless cameras. Oh, and Pentax, but I don’t know much about the capabilities. Can’t go wrong with any of them, it’s just a matter of choosing priorities.

You make me wonder if you have seen a Van Gogh in person. The Mona Lisa is an icon but can’t compare artistically, in my opinion, even to other works by Da Vinci. In the Louvre, crowds gather around the Mona Lisa while ignoring the works of Titian in the same room or stunning works by Raphael and Da Vinci out in the hallway before stepping in. Van Gogh’s are amazing in person. Just like a Michelangelo, in person it has characteristics that make other works around it seem inferior.

I generally have found Dell monitors are inexpensive and excellent. If you charge your MacBook via a USB C cable, get a monitor that connects and charges with the same cable. It makes for a very clean desktop. I have bought several monitors for my office on sale from B&H.