Great Post. And I loved my Nikon D300, D700?, 7000 (got me into video big time)
D800 had 2 not so much my favorites. I think I see the difference of different camera models.
I switched to Sony for the a7s line (have the a7s II) a keeper and Sony RX10 bridge with 24-600mm.
The a6300, a6000 and PXW-X70 RX100 4 a camcorder an amazing video camera for the price.
Some lens good not many. So this was my upgrade for the work I am doing.
The a7s mark 3 just out does a lot to things I would like. But even thought this is
a great time in pricing I won't upgrade and economically can't upgrade.
I spoke to a rep friend in Best Buy and asked him a year ago where are the 10 bit mirrorless
Sony camera's. He said they are coming. This is one issue I have with all these camera
companies.
I would call my moves changes for my uses. The Nikon D300 and all of their camera's
were a joy to work with. Sony is good today. innovative products. The RX10 24 600 ( have the
first one 3) a remarkable jump in innovation and visual acquistion.
My upgrade is improvement on my work.

If you do a lot of PR work or a kind of certain look or approach fixed sets seems to make sense.
I cant imagine not processing all of the shots I take myself. I often pull video off of my 10 bit video
and launder them in PS. Each one needs a special approach they are mostly sporting and running
events.

And I will add what I have said before in this forum the post processing I see today dominates
advertising and art photography. And to me a great many of these visuals are over cooked. The look
is what gets the attention. Mostly I adjust light and darks and put a dash of color in and
I am very careful with sharpening.
I think what is happening is the competition for looks and a winning pic have created a strange
PP look to 80% I see in publishing and art.

Good luck whatever you do if fine do it your way. Enjoy. Tom

What you might now know that in the past and some of the restuarants today don't pay the full amount
of the tips and a pool for the servers. Hotels and large establishments used to do this a lot.
I must say that with all the ripoffs and misleading charging going on in our lives this seems to be
a petty issue. It's the principal of it but today principal and honor seem to be a low point in our society.
You can get wifi, telephony and services in Paris for 20% of what we pay.
My registered company name Network Solutions even though it is a very small business now charges 4 or 5 times what other companies do. Moving risks losing your contact base.
Equifax has periodlically billed me $29 for a one month use to check my credit deal. I did that 2 years ago.
Bank said they are doing this often. Ambush charges for services the come out of your bank or credit
card. They will not remove the charge. Bank said open new account.
And how about bank credit card companies charging retirees 19% on a credit card and giving
1% to savings accounts. Of we got problems but they are not tips. They are our corrupt society.

Microsoft is on my "why" list. I pay for office every year. Don't use it much. And when I do
every so on that want to check my membership. This does not happen right away and then
another time it works with no problem. Adobe is another monster. They have you with the suite
or a package of software and then they are downloading and fussing with your computer.
My favorite over the years is Apple. I use their iPhoto software previewing stills and video as
a first review. Now they think they are instagram and they take my photos and make albums
and memories out of them. I don't want this. Sometimes they do memories like when we took
my granddaughter to Key West. I don't want a pic of her with a pick of sharks and a crazy car
completely full of shells and junk attached. I recently got my license plate and strangers on an
island because of the dates and gps mixed in an album. These companies are control freaks.
Comcast is one of the worst. When we live they are first choice for service availability.
I know that they mine all our habits and watching choices all the time and sell it.
We have allowed all these companies to have control of our personal stuff and habits.
It is a done deal. google owns our whole world.

This is interesting. I would say it is a bit of a cult camera. My friend who does big sports events not a photo genius has been shooting with one for years. His shots are most of the time usable for PR. My former son-in-law I gave my D60 or D40 and he took great shots with it. I think that the D90 is a landmark camera
correct me if I am wrong it was the first DSLR with video.
PS that was something about nikon's in these years. The Nikon 7000 started me making videos
with this Nikon. It was really a great camera and so easy to work with. T

Hey guys this is getting tense.
The real question is why are so many photographers leaving DSLR's, Mirrorless etc etc
Because smart phones have improved an amazing amount of quality and controls.
Most of us have a cell. We use it when we don't have a Nikon or Sony we use it for
events, family and recording things we need to store. And we almost always have
this instrument with us.
One of the deal breakers for us was social networks etc that plug in efx.
Another is the adjustments on an iPhone algorithms make a photo look much better.
I am in content marketing and art visuals and my research sites say the vertical
imagery from a cell phone is booming out of the box. Vertical cuts in movies and
commercials and social networking. I shoot 16x9 don't like a vertical image.
But this is why people are leaving the camera's, tradition and world today.
PS another issue is that video will be and is becoming the go to for all kinds
of projects, family. Video will and is dominating imagery. Good luck.

Beautiful Ed. The composition is really wonderful.

Beautiful Ed. The composition is really wonderful.

Thanks I like your building creation very much. Good advice.

I will just add one thought. I appreciate and love and creations of Pentax (My first sir) and Canon, Nikon
and recently Sony. Also other one timers of cameras I have enjoyed. These camera's were like jewels
in my hands and their is an appreciation of what was in these small bodies. Celebrate the years
of larger format camera's we got to use in studio's and Nikon for it's history of great camera's
I think the "F" had a lot of to do with creating an era of 35mm fun.

I have been where you are at an earlier stage. I have collected and created imagery which I am working
on for a few years. I suggest (if you haven't) look at the site art.com (huge seller and owner licensed
of imagery for your walls. And I follow higher end art sellers like Saatchi and artsy and Art Basil etc etc.
I posted a few weeks ago your question here about subject matter color and size. The crazy part is I have
a long content marketing and advertising and creative experience.
The best reply was a seller are sizing and color or b&w and sizes.
If you proposed this business to investors that would say "you want to do what"?.
I lived in NY and Philadelphia and have visited 30 countries their art and culture.
Art is tough for good friends who create. Art is a painful joy. Photo's are art. Only in recent years.
I love b&w but responses to my posts were hard sell. And then their is the the subject matter. Cute?
Landscape? Cultural? Political? Abstract? Emotional. Well please continue to create and enjoy the
contact it with people looking. The "starving artist" is somewhat true. Good luck.

This was a manufactured emergency so the Post Office could be privatized.
FYI:
In 2006, Congress passed a law that imposed extraordinary costs on the U.S. Postal Service. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) required the USPS to create a $72 billion fund to pay for the cost of its post-retirement health care costs, 75 years into the future. This burden applies to no other federal agency or private corporation.
If the costs of this retiree health care mandate were removed from the USPS financial statements, the Post Office would have reported operating profits in each of the last six years. This extraordinary mandate created a financial “crisis” that has been used to justify harmful service cuts and even calls for postal privatization. Additional cuts in service and privatization would be devastating for millions of postal workers and customers.
In its December 2018 report, President Trump’s Task Force on the United States Postal Service reaffirmed current rules related to postal retiree health benefits, calling it “part of a mandate for postal self-sustainability.” However, the Task Force also recognized that the aggressive and accelerated timetable for funding the mandate has proved unworkable. They call for past deficits to be “restructured with the payments re-amortized with new actuarial calculation based on the population of employees at or near retirement age.”

I often have the same thought. But sometimes a nice admiring of a just good photo works.
I have been following photography and art as a business and industry for awhile.
What you might see at Art Basel is interesting, sometimes shocking and just lousy.
An artist with a great reputation duct taped a banana to a board and it was
bought for a $120,000 dollars in Miami Basel.

I often admire nature shooters and realize how difficult it is to shoot animals.
But other then great color and composition framing etc I get tired of birding.
I realize some folks love the outdoors and nature and I get it.
Was looking at Robert Frank's "American's" book and realized some of the
photo's were not that interesting. But I realize art is history.

Market share is really not important. I think leading the technology and art for
the customer is what I want. I have been an Apple computer user and appreciate
most of what they have done. They sell 12% of the world's computers. Their products shine.
When Nikon was making great camera's I loved the brand and the experience.
Sony got my business when they excelled with NEX camera my first one was
really good. Their a7 and a7s line is superb. Their small camcorders were good
enough quality to rival the big expensive camcorders.
I admired Canon's video camera's but way to expensive for me.
I think Sony's pricing and technology in mirrorless is the leader.
They make pro TV camera's and Canon makes good TV camera's
All good but price and performance wins.

I have used Western Digital drives for years. Can't remember one failing.
As another advise backup the backup. I did 3 4T drives and keep at least 2 copies
for client copies more copies.