Slightly different topic: Moved from a Canon 7D to a 6D last year. The 6D is SO much quieter than the 7D was upon shutter release. Wasn’t expecting that. Love it.

I even had a dream about this last night... OK, you just dropped a couple of grand $$ on a new mirrorless camera. There will an option, probably on by default - the sound that mimics the sounds of the mirror slap, shutter and film winders, just like on phones now...

How we evolve, but things stay the same...

Just a thought.

I also use center spot focus where possible. Rare occasion I’ll vary from that

What Rubin said. Spot, recompose and shoot. I just the point for exposure on exactly what I’m shooting. you have to look at your subject and see what you want to drive your metering on as not to get too much light or too dark in the scene. I’m accustomed to it over years of shooting and can pretty much see where I need to point before I shoot (for exposure) to get the perfect shot.

Going more red is telling you one of the other colors are fading, allowing the red to show through more. You should able to print a color test page which will show each color. the failing head/ink should reveal itself.

Personally I make the cartridges ‘bleed’ a bit when I’m having issues: take the cartridge out and take a non-lotion tissue and draw across the head, cleaning and pulling a bit of the ink out. Had worked for me for years.

I use an older (bought it several years ago) Minolta Dimage scanner made just for slides and negatives. Software that came with that dies the negative-to-positive conversion

Last year I purchased a Canon 6D, (full frame). Switching depends on what you have for lenses: if you only have crop sensor lenses, would be too $$ to buy a full frame. I only had a single APS-C lens with my 7D, so plan on selling it soon.

I purchased the canon L series 100-400 EF anxnow can finally use it as intended. Feels much better

I finally made the jump to FF last year. I’d been waiting until a decent model was at the right price for me. Budget is limited. So, went for the canon 6D, getting it just before the MKII came out, coming from the 7D. Love the 6D. IMHO, APS-C was interim until FF finally made the market. I never like the ‘special’ lenses, and FINALLY, I don’t have to do the 1.6 conversion. I came from the film era, got very used to normal focal lengths.

I know as a techie and gadget guy, eventually I’ll have to give mirrorless a try, I know how I am. I’m just not looking to replace the sizable investment I’ve got in photography equipment at this time. So, what I’m saying is I shouldn’t be so biased right now and actually look at openly and give it a try. I might find I like it. Look at it this way: many years ago I started in film and graduated over to low-end digital, then high-end digital and totally love it now. Who’s to say that I might have to do that again.

Optically vs a video screen (EVF).

Like through... I’ll always opt for an optical VF over electronic, and I’ve soon seen some of the best out there. It’s personal preference. I know you get to see an example of the final outcome using EVF, but an experienced amateur or pro will be able to configure that for the perfect shot just about every time. Granted, EVFs make it so the normal soccer mom, or homebody, will be able to take a decent shot. But, I still believe that photographers should view what they’re saying directly optically

This is no different than small business also. Never keep the data and OS on the same drive if possible. I always made the system automatically backup the data to a local drive (they owned 2), they would always keep one of them offsite In case of theft, etc... I’m currently converting them to the cloud for archived data storage.

I keep local storage with a few TB drives to store all my valuable files (photos, videos, documents, etc). My fear was always someone coming in and stealing my local equipment, where everything would be gone for good, no matter how many local backups I keep (always possible these days), so my true backup is in the cloud. Costs about $100/year (Google, 2TB annually), but well worth it. PLUS I’ve got the opportunity to view my treasures ANYWHERE I’ve got access to the internet - major plus.

There will always be the new technology on the horizon - which doesn’t mean you need to jump on it immediately. But, I understand you’re want to get the most from your ‘older’ device. Personally, I knew mirrorless was on the horizon, but I plan to stay with my standard DSLR. First, mirrorless is just now emerging, which means it won’t be perfected for the next few years. (I went through this with my first digital cameras - most of which are really inferior today), BUT if you’re happy with your current equipment, hang on it and use it.... All of this coming from a gadget freak who usually jumps on the latest tech when it comes available. When I comes to my Canon 6D, I’m happy with it, does all I need and I have significant $$$ invested in it, so I’m sticking to my guns on this one. Unless mirrorless re-invents photography, (which I don’t see in the future), be happy with what you’ve got. You’ve got a great cam with your 5D IV.