Laowa 12mm/2.8 is available in various mounts and is under $1k. It does a very nice job with minimal distortions. As in any UWA lens, be sure to check your copy does not have a issue with off center mounting. This manifested itself with soft edges on one or more corners. Rent one first if you can and see if you like one.

The only issue with any 200mm macro compared to a 50 or 105 is the weight. I like the reach but it’s sometimes the weight.

If you ever get the opportunity, one of the best train museums on the planet is probably the California Train Museum in “Old Town” Sacramento. Very well done with many very historical trains engines on display. The displays are very well done and a large majority are all inside! It’s well worth at least a half day but if you’re a train nut... a full day.

I hope you had a chance to see the Ansel Adams Gallery. I use to go to Yosemite twice a year for many year to hon my photographic skills and hike the trails. It's a wonderful place to just be and experience. We were married in the Valley. Yosemite has so much more to offer than just the Valley.

I have purchase many items on eBay. I have purchased lenses, old coins, musical instruments, collectibles, and much more. I have been slightly burned twice, but not on camera gear. You must know the lay of the land. Buy from sellers who have history and high ratings. Read the descriptions and know what you are buying. I've been burned more from general Internet sale from promos than eBay. Now with additional backing from eBay and PayPal, the sales are safer. Please note that PayPal is not a savior. I was recently burned on a PayPal guarantee from a bad Internet vendor. Dip you toe in the water with a small purchase. You can have fun and access to a totally new marketplace. There are bargains out there. Finally, I suggest watching your interested item. Trust me, there will be more of the same items coming up for sale.

Pentax K1 and D FA 70-200mm/2.8...if you looked at the video, they were using even longer lenses. I have not tried it with my Takumar 500mm/4.5, but I suspect it would work for some application just fine.

Don't knock it unless you've tried it. It works great. Better than I anticipated.

Check out a Steadify. I purchased one from its Kickstarter program. It does very well with longer lenses so you don't need a monopod or tripod. A pistol grip would make my arm tired after a long period of time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=353TZgWOPtE
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=steadify&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=

Definitely go and plan for a full day. As mentioned the place is large and you’ll find something to shoot. Go off season and early when there are fewer people. Check out the graveyard area a bit outside of the city (obviously) where few people usually go. There are groups come in for photo shoots, but they’ll stay out of your way. Some building they will let you in to take photos of artifacts and many you cannot enter so bring polarizing filters to eliminate reflections. It’s a place where time has stopped and begs one to use a tripod to really setup and compose your images. Try also doing black and white on purpose. It’s a target rich environment.

Absolutely correct. The right lens is also sometimes what you have at the time. For interiors and real estate shots I recently been using a 12mm for FF. Works very well for cramp spaces. For interior shots I will pack the prime 12mm & 20mm as well as the 24-70mm zoom so that I am covered. If things get really crazy I have a 180 fisheye for my cropped camera and a 360 degree VR camera that works surprisingly well for interiors (or landscapes).

It is unfortunate that many burglaries of cars involve rental cars. Most all rental cars scream out as being rentals with barcodes on the windows screaming out, “I’m being driven by someone not from around here!” There was some states that wanted to ban this practice by rental car companies for the rental agency’s ease of checking in & out vehicles. Definitely do not put things in the trunk when you’re stopping at that location. Put things in the trunk before you get to your location, if you can. Park in a open and highly visible area. Again, just be street wise about these issues.

I have traveled domestically and internationally over by career in hotels rooms that would be equal to 5-7 years on the road and have collected a lot of hotel points (nothing to be proud of) and have never had anything stolen from my room or rental cars. Of all my 25+ years as a Road Warrior, I have only known of two incidences amongst my friends & colleagues. I am sure people have been victimized but in general you just have to be street wise and smart about your surroundings at all times.

I ordered the Bemyar Gimbal this past March 16 and received it on April 10. You get what you pay for. The item does the job, not well put adequately. With a 9 lb camera rig combo (Pentax K1 and a Takumar SMC 500mm/f4.5) on a sturdy tripod, the system is workable. This gimbal is not a precision item (what is at $77.07). When you loosen the pan knob, the system will freely rotate, but if you loosen too much, it will begin to wobble. The more serious issue is that when you loosen the tilt for free movement, the arm actually will open a gap at the joint causing your entire rig to tilt. There is no bushing lock to prevent the tilting, and this is due to the simple & inexpensive construction. I don't dislike this but understand this tool's limitation, considering its price point. More expensive systems ($400+) would likely not have this issue. I have yet to use this system in the field extensively, but I can already tell if I started to use a gimbal mount all the time, I would become dissatisfied with this this item. An occasional use will probably be fine.

This an apples versus oranges comparison. The a7Riii is large and uses interchangeable lenses and not considered a "bridge" camera. The RX10iv is a larger SLR Type bridge camera with non interchangeable lenses. The RX10iv would serve as a great "larger" full featured camera for travel and family pix. There are far smaller bridge cameras that are pocketable from Lumix and Ricoh, and Fuji and others. The Sony RX10iv is definitely not a pocketable camera!

Note that all hotel with safes can be opened by certain staff with the "secret" password for those guests who might forget their password. While I used these safes all the time, they often do not hold much gear. When I travel with a lot of gear, I will tend to place the most expensive optics or bodies in the safe.

I also place in all my camera bags a small GPS tracker, that allows some degree of chance of possibly finding where at the least bag is located.