Thanks for the compliment, but I didn't shoot it.

Notice how she does not know shooting at High Noon is bad. Part of the composition is the shadow directly under the flying dog.

It doesn't matter.

My granddaughters are now 10 and 12. About two years ago, during a video game session, I asked if they were interested in learning video. They replied enthusiastically. We started with a Panasonic video camera. Together, we have learned how to use it, Windows Movie Maker and Premier Elements. They have produced several decent videos, including my favorite, a documentary on how Grandma makes beef stew.

The video activity has increased their interest in photography. Since I enjoy buying new cameras, there is always an extra for them. In fact, I make a big point that all of the photo and video equipment is "ours", not theirs or mine. They are free to use any of it at any time. Worst case is something breaks and I will enjoy buying a fun new replacement. So far, nothing has been broken.

One of the cameras in the pool is an old Cannon P&S the 10 year old took on a camping trip. She was shooting pictures of her new puppy playing with the bigger family dog. Two pictures are attached. The first is OK as a snapshot.

I noticed a gem in the corner. I used it as an excuse to show her Photoshop Elements. The second photo is her crop. She got so excited, she entered it for judging in a fair. She does not know, understand or care that it is against the laws of photography to crop an 8x10 out of the corner of a P&S jpeg.

She didn't win. The judge ignored it and gave the prize to a crisply focused tree.

However, the picture remains on her wall and she now has knowledge of Photoshop. Her current project is to learn "layers" well enough to attach some bird wings to the dog.

I can't wait.

Bill

Primary Shot


Cropped

I wasted a lot of time wandering around randomly finding books, articles and YouTubes. When I found some of the best free videos at Adobe were from lynda.com, I signed up for the full course for Premier Elements. I'm now half way through lynda.com's Photoshop Elements course. Both are excellent.

Adobe also has a some free videos from video2brain. Because I was traveling beyond an internet connection, I bought their courses for Premier and Photoshop Elements on DVDs. Both are excellent as well.

I'm leaving on another trip with a new camera and I want to come back with some understanding of Lightroom. I bought the video2brain DVD.

I have since learned that lynda.com offers you the choice of a DVD or online, but I have not done that yet. video2brain courses are conveniently available from Amazon.

We all learn differently, but I know I learn software far more efficiently by watching it work. Reading a book of instructions can be frustrating. A simple example is when the book tells you to select a feature and you can't find the button. In the video, you see the mouse move to the button. An organized video training course that starts at the beginning, and marches through to the end, provides me with a solid understanding of both what the software can do as well as a working knowledge of the parts I want to use frequently.

Bill

I tried to configure a 15 inch retina display MBP to about the same as the Asus. http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC976LL/A?

The G75VW-DS72 has a little slower CPU and the SSD is 256GB. A MBP has a slower HDD, but a 512GB SSD. Both configured with 16GB of RAM. The retina display is sharper where software supports it. The GW77 is a 17 inch display.

MBP is $3078 (+ about $300 in sales tax where I live).

The G75VW-DS72 is $1879 (and shipped from New York with out sales tax to where I live).

For me, the difference of about $1500 could buy some camera toys!

Once Premier, Photoshop or other editors are running, I suspect the work experience would be about the same.

I've recently spent a little more time learning Premier Elements 10 than PSE10. There are some functions and features in PrE10 that don't work on a Mac that do work on a PC. I don't know if that is true with the pro versions.

Bill

There seems to be multiple models of the G75VW. The one I like has an SSD and 16 GB Ram. It is the ASUS Republic of Gamers G75VW-DS72. (At B&H: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/855850-REG/ASUS_G75VW_DS72_Republic_of_Gamers_G75VW_DS72.html)

Bill

Walt,

Can you post a model number?

Thanks.

Bill

I said that about the Sony HX9V I bought last year. I'm looking forward to finding how much different the RX100 is.

Bill

On the PC side, Adobe likes to see Windwos 7 64bit, the latest i7, lots of RAM, a 7200 rpm HDD, a graphics card and, maybe, a SSD. In the PC world, those can be called "workstations" like the HP EliteBook 8770. Other computer companies using those components call them "gamer" machines.

I've been shopping, but the price is high.

Bill

Jim,

The last SLR I owned was film. Two Nikon bodies and 8 lenses became near worthless! I had a medium format camera with three lenses too. Then I built a darkroom where I could do up to 16x20 in color. Doing that with a DSLR now would cost a fortune larger than I have, or will have.

The RX100 will allow me to learn Photoshop Elements, Lightroom, HDR and RAW for (relatively) a lot less money. And, it will take good quality video and I can learn Premier Elements too!

Bill

I ordered one from B&H. It will be here Wednesday.

Bill

H2testw is a downloadable, free utility that will test and verify your SD cards. Googls for it.

Bill

x2

Bill

After a Spring trip to Zion NP, my DW said, "I want more zoom". I bought her the FZ150. She still has the old Sony p&s for her purse, but loves the new camera.

She likes to compose, zoom, focus and shoot. She likes light weight. She does not do video, RAW or manual.

Her pictures usually blow mine away. Last week's trip to Mt. Rainier NP are a good example!

Bill

OK, I'm a newbie here. I defer to ranking experts. I just take pictures.

Bill

"... when you reconnect the backup drive will the two drives sync and will the images deleted forn C Drive automaticaly delete from Backup ???" Not until you manually run SyncToy. It does not live in the background doing your work for you.

Confusing terms.

"Back Up" software looks for files that have changed on your primary drive and updates an external drive. Some operate in the background automatically all the time. Some have to be run on regular basis. They don't delete files on the external drive.

"Copy" is what you do manually and by hand. You select the folders or individual files and send them to an external drive, disk or card. If you keep all your photos in one folder, it is pretty easy. If you "copy" from your photo folder to the same folder on an external drive, it will ask you if you want to "overwrite" the files. So, it can be a pita.

"Sync" means to have files on an external drive match the files on a primary drive. If you discard a bad photo on your primary drive, it will be discarded on the external drive. "SyncToy" is a cheap version that you have to start manually. A fancier version is called RAID. It is probably the most secure and most automatic. It has various levels, depending on how many HDDs you want to buy.

Backup, copy and sync all have different goals and everyone will find preferences. SyncToy is only one approach. It will not satisfy more than a few.

Probably the most common method to keep you files and photos safe is to buy two HDDs that are bigger than the one on your computer. Every Friday night, do a backup using the free software that comes with your computer. Alternate the drives each week. Keep one in a fire proof box in your house and the other somewhere else -- even the glovebox in your car. Just don't keep them together.

Bill