I am looking for a monopod recommendation. I like to shoot a lot of nature -- flowers, insects and the like and get tired of supporting my 100mm macro lens. A lot of times I'm close to the ground or squatting and was thinking perhaps a monopod could help take the weight of my canon 7d mark ii and my lens. I also have a mpe-65 lens with flash that I haven't played with yet. Do you have any recommendations for me. Besides the monopod itself, is that anything else I should get with it? I'm going with an acra swiss system for my tripod and ball head.

I'm going on a cruise along the Seine River from Paris to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. I'd like to travel light, yet have as much versatility with my Nikon D7100 as possible. The lenses I'm choosing among are:

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-4.5 VR
Nikon 15-140mm f/3.5-4.5 VR
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR
Nikon 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 VR
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 (either AF or MF "pancake" version)

We'll be walking on shore excursions each day, and shooting from the boat the rest of the time. I should probably go with just the 11-16 and 18-140, which keeps me to just two lenses. I usually bring a fast 50 with me, and I'm thinking of the MF version because it's so tiny. But I just don't know how much "reach" I'll need when shooting from the boat. The 55-200 is very duplicative of the 18-140 but it's very lightweight. The 18-55 is very lightweight for walking around, but the 18-140 is more versatile. The 70-300 would give me the greatest reach, but it's the heaviest lens on the list.

Any suggestions, especially from people who may have taken such a river cruise and know what it's like? Thanks in advance!

I have a nikon D 500 and the nikon 18 to 300 lens and the Tam on 150 to 600 G2 lens, I read an article I believe it was by Steve Perry who talked about using a tele converter on the 18 to 300, I recently looked online and see that Nikon or others have a 1.4 a 1.7 and a 2.0 Tele converters. I would use the converter on either one of the Previously mentioned llenses, any suggestions, I would be using this primarily for birding and/or obviously very distant objects in the daylight hours. I'm sure you can direct me to comparisons which are helpful but am also looking for practical and personal experiences.
Thank you

After 2 D3200s crapped out on me for different reasons I opted to buy a more sturdy camera, sucked it up and got a D750. (I was stuck with Nikon because of the lenses and attachments already in my bag.) While doing some night shooting I found my cheapo tripod was not up to the additional weight of my new camera. In order to avoid going through a bunch of different tripods, I was looking for recommendations. Criteria is: cost, weight, ease of use, replacement parts, etc. Any suggestions, and why?

By looking at the reviews and photo samples of the Hwawei P30 Pro, I find that dsl camera days is numbered. At a price of less than a pro zoom lens, it can do much more.
Its technology may not be truly optical, but the effect is similar to 100 times the iso capacity of today's camera. This is only the beginning of a new era of photo technology.
At least for now, you won't need to carry 20 lbs of photo gears on a safari trip.
Hwawei is a smart phone and network company, which is under Trump's censorship heavily.
If Hwawei opens a camera subsidiary, I believe a lot major camera companies will go bankruptcy.
And we can mothball our collections of gears.
Do you find this is true, scary, or fiction?

I'm pondering binoculars...primarily for birding, and don't have a history with them - so have some questions:

1) 8x42 v 10x42 - I glean from what I read that 8x42 may be easier for beginners, particularly in terms of tracking. Is that true? Will I feel differently about this a year out? (Seems to me that the extra range would be worthwhile, particular when paired with 600-1000mm camera lens capability)???

2) You can easily jump from the $3-400 range, to the $8-900 range, to the $2,000 range. Are there significant differences (that matter) between these price points?

3) Should I be considering other sizes? Are there clear favorites out there?

Thx for your thoughts!

Doug

I purchased a used Sigma EX 180mm f/2.8 APO HSM EX DG OS for Nikon from ebay.

The lens arrived with the lens cap cracked as some force had been applied to the front of the lens when shipping. The glass elements appear undamaged, however upon attaching to the camera, I noticed the focus system is completely broken.

The lens will not autofocus and the manual focus ring turns, but does not actually focus the lens.

Fortunately, I was able to work things out with the seller in Japan, he initiated a postal claim for shipping damages and my money was refunded.

I now have this $1,000 paperweight in my possession, and I'm wondering what possible avenues I could explore for having it repaired.

This is a Japanese lens in the USA, so it is gray market, and I believe Sigma charges an additional $250 dollars on top of the standard repair fees. This may put the cost above what its worth.

I have never dealt with a broken lens that will not focus at all, and I am curious as to how difficult a repair like this would be.

If I don't use the correct jargon concerning equipment and technique...excuse me please. I am a relatively new photographer of 20 months but have immersed myself in birding especially raptors in flight and "dives". For me and other more experienced professionals it is the most difficult event. I use JUST a Sigma 600 Contemporary for all my captures. I have researched the media and here on UHH about the best camera and lenses for my passion. The 850 comes in at 46 mps but I always crop that ends up at 20 mps. The 850 is frequently compared to the D500 crop camera that also crops out at 20mps, and now the mirrorless Z6 and Z7. The 850 comes in first in image quality and focus rate, depending on the lens of course. An osprey dive for me happens in a little over 2 seconds. I have 2 successful dives now and the 850/sigma has nailed every frame including the 50 mph dive and the getting up out of the water. My buffer runs dry at 20 frames and takes a little time to recover so I can complete the fly away.

Soooo...Is there a better camera for what I am doing? Mark Smith on you tube is the only other photographer that I have viewed that has successful osprey dives and has determined that the 850 is the best for both focus rate and image quality. The lens he uses is a 600 prime that I don't think I can free hand? I have to rent a Tamron G2 to see if there is any better image quality?

I am including 2 of the frames of my first Osprey Dive where the osprey is estimated at speeds up to 50 mph. Would greatly appreciate any comments from you that I greatly respect.