My semi dilemma all started with the current incentives from Canon, Tamron, and Sigma with their 24-70 offerings. A tickle of GAS had me tempted to jump on the Canon. I have no particular disregard for the Tamron, but found myself mainly comparing the the non IS Canon f/2.8 vs the Sigma OS version (which I've soured against because a common criticism seems to be softness at 24mm with the lens wide open). Then, I paused and considered the lenses I own that I mate with my 6d2 and 7d2. Those EF variants being the Canon 16-35 f/4, original (?) 24-105 f/4 IS, 70-200 f/4 IS, Sigma 100-400, and Sigma 150-600 C. Given that, I started questioning what my need for the 24-70mm in the first place. Obviously, if I can't justify a need, there's no reason to buy, not that it's been an issue in the past. But, I do have to wonder why the popularity of this particular range? Is it more than the concept of a "holy trinity?" Or perhaps, it's simply a useful walk around or portrait lens? Seems to me that the extra range of the 24-105 would be preferred even tho a f/4 rather than 2.8? Bottom line, I'm looking for some personal enlightenment.

I took advantage of the Nikon 30 day free trial
I’m a bit disappointed with the construction
I’m glad that I got the FTZ adaptor for $99, on sale.
I like the weight,and the 11 FPS
I was upset that it wouldn’t let me use my Tameron 18-400 lens
I got it with the two lens kit, the lenses are so lightweight, no rear cap or lens hood included. That’s another way to raise money. I’m wondering if I would be happier with a D500 body and use my existing lenses.
I like to shoot
BIF, and my grandkids
There is a reason that they are offering a thirty day free trial
My DSLR history has been
D70 to D5200 to a D5300 with over 35,000 exposures
Any one have an opinion?
Thanks

Someone asked this end-of-year question last year. I guess I get to ask for 2019. Filtering by 2019 as the shooting date, I get "20 lenses" in my LR catalog spread over 1587 images and three cameras, but that count is skewed by the use of extenders. The EF 300 f/2.8L IS II comes in as my #1 when the two extended configurations are merged along with the lens alone, totaling 408. That's 'keepers' in the catalog. The usage number is probably 3x to 4x that number in bursts at airshows.

I was surprised to see the EF 16-35 f/4L IS was the second most used in file count at 256.

I looked at the filters several times as just 1587 images for the calendar year seems surprisingly low. I know I shot less, but that's less than half the 2018 count for the same LR filters that returns 3675.

If you filter and count your images, what surprises did you find? Do you use your own usage data to plan to sell unused lenses / cameras? Or maybe, to change the lenses you'll use more in 2020?

This is so bad you cannot believe he would post it in his Christmas card .
First the choice of background ..Clearly a motel room ..door with crash bar and a trouser press .Very professional .
The son clearly crouched unnaturally with the "Rockwell smile" . The object is to look pleasant not to overdo the smile aspect .
Oh Ken ,you have fallen so low, did you not learn about the profile of people in the back row ? Oh yes being half hidden.
I am not a fan of old men touching young girls so the hand on the shoulder is a no no for me.
Daughter partially behind mum .good looks intimate , facial expressions good .the men rubbish.

I assume there was a bed in the room..how many times have we posed bridesmaids around a bride sitting on the bed? Or KISS .. mum on a chair and the family standing grouped around .
Stick to palm trees. Taco outlets etc Ken

And there it is. That air of superiority. Yes, I shot film, and really that has nothing to do with it. Shooting digital pre mirrorless is the same thing. Yes I learned to evaluate a scene and understand how I wanted to meter it and if I needed to adjust the metered exposure. I’ve been using EC for years on my DSLR’s, very successfully. And yes, with digital if you’re within a couple of stops you can get a good image as long as the hilights aren’t blown. I still appreciate being able to see the adjustments in the viewfinder as I make them.

I came to the conclusion that dividers, no matter how cleverly arranged, still took up an unnecessary amount of room. I started wrapping my lenses and camera bodies in heavy woolen socks. The socks offer full 360 degrees of protection thereby allowing items to be stuffed next to each other in ways that a partition would not. The cushioning is quite adequate and the room saved just about equals the total room that the partitions took up. Give it a try in a small backpack to see how using socks allows virtually any configuration of packing items and just how much space can be saved.
For those really large diameter lenses, the sleeve of a sweat shirt works nicely as protection. To increase the padding, use a long sleeve and roll it back on itself to double the padding.
Since every little bit counts – you may notice situations where an item needs no protection because it is wedged between two items that are already wrapped. One last point; it’s easy enough to shove a sock into an area that needs an extra layer of padding.
I have been using this method for several trips. The photos show an old LowePro 10L bag being packed (it's a small bag). The shape of the newer 10L bags appear to be more “Space Efficient”, maybe I’ll buy one.
Photo 1: shows the contents:
(1) PeakDesign Travel Tripod
(1) 500mmPF lens
(1) D810 Body (no wrap necessary)
(1) 105mm Micro lens
(1) 28-300mm lens
(1) 50mm lens
(1) 1.4TC
All of the lens hoods are in there as well as the 500mm foot. The lens hood you can see is for the 28-300 but it is sitting on the wrapped 105mm lens (yes, I will shove a sock between it and the tripod). The sock you see contains both the 50mm and the TC and also serves as a buffer between the tripod and lens hood of the 500mm. The large gray rectangle is actually a flap permanently attached to the bag – it folds down to form a compartment … at the expense of storage – I proably will cut it off some day.
Photo 2: shows the pack ready for closure; Laying across the top of the packed items is a repair kit and a magnetic runners pouch.
Photo 3: Zipped and ready to go – weight = 17 pounds !

I have both these lenses. Recently I used the sigma lens on my D850 for a Christmas gathering, bunch of family portraits. Color saturation was high and it was in warmth white balance though I set in auto wb. Focus was also not very quick. I used Nikon lens in the past for similar situations, with good results.
I used sb5000 flash in ettl, and couple of soft boxes. I am just comparing these two lenses.
Anyone on this forum have had any experience with similar sigma lens? Please share your thoughts if I am doing anything wrong.

I hate to bring this up as it is an oft discussed topic but I’m looking for a gimbal type mount for my tripod. I’m doing BIF and car racing. I have a strict budget of $300 and have narrowed the choice down to the following

Beike BK-45
Manfrotto Model 393
Nest NT-530H
LensMaster RH-2
Oben GH 30

Largest lens is Canon 100-400 L. In the future it might be a 150-600. Cameras are canon 6D mkII and 7D Please let me known your experience with these gimbals if you have any. Thank you.