Welcome from another George

I am going to agree with those posters who suggested having a professional look at your computer. However, even before that, the first thing I would consider is to ditch the Windows 10 and return to windows 7. I’ll spare you all my rants about Micro$oft and Win10.

Even so, after seeing your post on the specs, I’d say a new computer is the best option and would add these points. Lenovo has been busted for malware and spyware. I wouldn’t go near one with a 10-foot pole. We’ve had good luck with ASUS, having both a desktop and laptop. I’ve had both main drives replaced with SSDs for the OS and most programs. Both run Win7 Home Premium. New Egg and Amazon are the two reliable sources with which I deal. Both offer good deals if you watch closely. I don’t mind buying some items used (i.e., I’d love to find a good deal on a DX 10-20 lens for my D5300), but I’d be careful of anything used or refurbished unless it’s from a reliable source like New Egg or B&H.

Good luck.

I have an HP 832C I bought in 2001 that’s still going strong. I’ve had two 2006-2010 era HP printers fail badly. I now have a 2014 or 2015 HP 7640 that performs very well and is not an ink hog. In other words, the time Carly Fiorina and Mark Hurd ran HP into the ground was reflected in the quality of the products. Since they’ve been gone, the firm has rebounded.

That said, when we ran our newspaper in print, we used an Epson Stylus 1400, bought in 2006, for 11 x 17-inch proof pages and it’s still going strong at home. We don’t print many photos with it but it does fine and it’s not an ink hog. I’ve not used either of the new HP for printing photos, but the old one does fine on occasion.

My pro photog friends here either have their own high-quality printers or they have them done locally at a place that does archival quality work.

May I add, Rick Steves and other travel specialists recommend making copies of your passport and keeping the copies in a safe place. If you lose it or it's stolen, the American embassy can help you get a quick replacement and border controls can flag it as stolen.

Thanks. Yes. I looked at the Sony line, but it was expensive and the D5300 with a lens was on sale for a great price. And a lot of my friends shoot Nikons and are willing to lend lenses.

I was lucky enough here in Amarillo to find a couple of very knowledgeable guys in the photo department of our normally subpar Best Buy. But they knew their stuff and even checked on their smartphones to find this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/995092-REG/fotodiox_md_nk_g_pro_nikon_f_mount_lens.html

I am thrilled it works and grateful I am old enough to know the basic skills because, indeed, these are fully manual lenses on the D5300. The only things I can set are the shutter speed and ASA. Still, the old lenses are superb. With the Telesor 85-210mm MD mount zoom and a 2X converter, I can function at the equivalent of a 255-630mm DX lens.

I was in my backyard when I spotted a contrail and shot the plane. When I looked at the frame on the computer, the pilot was waving at me (just kidding). I could discern whether the jet engines were wing- or rear fuselage-mounted.

I am still learning the Nikon and relearning the old skills and rules, but so far, so good.

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George here, a semi-retired journalist who mostly wrote professionally, although did shoot occasionally. But, also a photo hobbyist since my first SLR, a Minolta SRT-101 in 1970. Meandered through the digital world using an Olympus E-510 for my own newspaper. Then traded it for a Canon G15, which my wife and I love. Took it to Europe in 2013 and got great photos.

I recently found I could adapt my old Minolta lenses to a Nikon D5300 so I am now thrilled and motivated to be more active in photography.

Live in the Texas Panhandle, where it’s so flat you can watch your dog run away for two weeks. Love trains, airplanes (but don’t care about cars) sailboats and landscapes.

Thanks for this forum.