While Topaz suggests using their app first I have experienced the loss of EXIF data when using other apps such as C1 and Aftershot Pro after using Topaz first. So my workflow is to edit with C1/Aftershot Pro first then use De-Noise as final step. Works great and EXIF data is retained.

Can't comment too much on D850, but I upgraded from Sony A7R4 to A7R5 and couldn't be happier. The A7R5 is a huge step forward in usability and performance. Main upgrade benefits include:
- highest resolution EVF viewfinder at 9.4 million dots.
- most versatile rear screen with 4-axis mobility.
- Same high performance processors as A-1.
- Unique dedicated AI processor for subject detection and tracking that provides the best overall auto focus performance I have ever experienced.
- Plentiful custom buttons to set up camera for how you like to shoot.
- 61 mp resolution, with outstanding 26mp crop mode to extend lens reach for birds/wildlife.
- Largest lens availability for native Sony FE lens as well as quality 3rd party FE lens
support.
- Best in class image stabilization.
- Multiple choices for image quality settings for lossless compressed/uncompressed and file size.
- Large buffers and fast memory card options.
- Excellent video options.
- Improved menus and touch controls.

The A7R5 is an exceptional camera and a major upgrade. Certainly the D850 represents the best of DLSR technology, and the A7R5 one of the best mirrorless cameras representing the state of the art in photographic technology. I shoot mainly birds and birds in flight, along with landscape and astrophotography, and I have been very impressed with the performance and versatility of the A7R5.

I have been using Topaz Denise AI for quite a while to process my Sony A7riv raw files of mostly BIF and other bird photos. I have a very powerful computer and graphics card and have to say that when I first started using it, while getting great results,.it would still take 30-60 seconds to process individual shots. If you had a group of 100 pics that could take awhile. Topaz is really good about pushing out updates to their products and not too long after I first purchased it an update came out that significantly reduced the processing time to less than 5 secs per image. Very impressive and subsequent updates have made it even faster. I did have one update that reduced fine feather detail and impacted bird eye detail and color which I reported to Topaz support and shortly thereafter another update came out which mostly eliminated those issues, with subsequent updates offering further improvements. The only other issue I have had and is more a workflow issue is that if use Denise AI prior to adding my watermark with Corel After Shot 3 Pro and reducing file size for posting images on photo forums, the photo EXIF data is deleted. However, if I add the watermark and reduce the file size first and then process with Topaz AI, the EXIF is retained. Not sure why that happens and Topaz is aware of issue, but I just change my workflow as a workaround and final images are noise free. Hope that helps.

Sony 200-600. Almost 100 %.

With my Sony A7Riv and 200-600 lens, both the camera and lens have stabilization but it is controlled by lens. If stabilization is turned off in lens there is no stabilization regardless of whether camera IBIS setting is on or off.

Sony used to provide in camera stabilization when turned on with any lens without stabilization and most third party lens providers for Sony did not include in lens stabilization since it was built into Sony camera bodies. While Sony still provides this IBIS function they started to provide in lens stabilation in some of their e-mount lens for their mirror-less cameras with the two stabilization systems working together for enhanced effectiveness, but at least in the Sony lens I have with this feature the lens settings provides different mode options or off. If set to set to Off on lens there is no stabilization even if camera system is turned on.

With my camera lens combo I typically turn the stabilization off anyway for shooting BiF since stabilization is superceded by the faster shutter speed I use when shooting fast moving targets.

Don't disagree with anything you said. I was just trying to relate from an economic perspective why I made the choice I did as the OP asked the question about justifying the cost of the A1. For my criteria I believe I made the right choice for me. If someone else has different criteria, including "the most expensive must be the best" then I say go for it if that is what makes you happy. Being a best value for the dollar type person I take the time to research any prospective purchase to determine what best meets my needs at the best price. Sure I would love more frames per second but 10 fps is certainly adequate for most situations, but certainly not all. I didn't mention noise because the way I have my A7Riv set up I never have ISO above 2500 and the majority of the time it is well below 800. I have found that noise at these ISO levels is easily addressed by Topaz. So is it worth an extra $2,000 to get images at 250 ISO rather than twice that, for me the answer was "no" when I can address the issue for $60 in post. Again, this is just my decision criteria and why I was willing to trade one factor for another than had more value to me. My intent was not to convince the OP to buy the A7Riv, but to point out you need to determine what criteria are the most important to you and buy the camera that checks those boxes the best. I did not have the luxury to have multiple bodies to have access to all the best specs available, so I picked the one body that checked the most boxes for me.

For your budget the Canon Pixma ip8720 is a great deal currently at $249 on Amazon. 6 color printer, 9600x2400 dpi, 13x19 max print size, compact footprint for print size. I personally use this printer and get great images. Best current value out there in my opinion.

As a long time Sony user (A100, A700, A77ii, A7Riv) I faced the same question when trying to decide between the A7Riv and A9/A9ii for mostly Nature and BIF photography. My main considerations were resolution (especially in crop mode), viewfinder resolution and refresh rate, autofocus performance, body ergonomics, and price. Video was not a primary consideration. I chose the A7Riv because, with exception of autofocus and frame rate, which I rated better in A9/A9ii, but more than adequate in A7Riv, the A7Riv had better specs in all other of my main criteria, and was available at a lower price point ($2000 less than A9ii). With the arrival of the A1, if I was making the same decision adding the A1 to the mix, as much as I would appreciate some of the improvements in the viewfinder and auto focus performance/frame rate, I could not justify the $4500 price difference (plus the expensive memory cards needed to get the max performance from the A1), as I am already extremely satisfied with the results I get with my A7Riv and my 200-600 lens in my primary photographic pursuit of birds/BIF. That being said,. If money was no object, the A1 is an exciting piece of technology and I would definitely prefer it to the A9ii, but would still debate giving up the additional reach afforded by the 26 MP crop mode on the A7Riv. Just my two cents.

If you are using Win 10 you can just go to your pictures folder and select a folder with the photos you would like to email. Use CRtl key and mouse to select pics you want to send. At top of photo viewer window you will see Share option, which has email as one of its options. Click on email and it will ask you what size files you want (small, medium, large) and for each selection will tell you the total size of the email attachment, where you can either select a different size or add/delete pics to keep the email size within your limit. My email client allows 20 Mb, and I can send 30 pics fairly routinely with the app doing the re-size accordingly. Once you pick the size you want it should open your default email client with the pics already selected as attachments. Hope that is helpful.

The updated Topaz De-Noise AI does process things much faster which is a great improvement. I did find when I first used it with the same settings I used before, I was very disappointed to find virtually no apparent noise reduction and on my bird pictures it had very adverse impacts on their eyes, either diminishing colors or wiping out the details, to the point where the eyes were almost invisible. Obviously this caused some major initial concern. Experimenting with the settings I found the culprit to be my previous settings for Reduce Noise and Recover Original Detail were set too high. Reducing both significantly yielded the results I was expecting and had seen with previous version. I discovered this when using the split screen (before and after) preview function. As I changed my settings the After image would change, and I found the higher the value for Recover Original Detail the more noise was evident as it seemed to treat the noise as detail. My point is that you may have to tweak your previous settings to get all the benefits of the new AI engine in the updated version.

The raw format used by A1000 is .nrw not the .nef format used by other Nikon cameras. The only camera on the list of Nikon cameras in AfterShot3 Pro, using the .nrw format is the Coolpix P1000. Not sure if downloading its data would solve your problem but may be worth a try.

Also, make sure you have the latest update 3.7. Some Sony cameras need the latest update to work.

Which camera do you have? I will see if I can find a solution.

New member. So happens I have AfterShot3 Pro. Capable program. Easy to use. I use it mostly for the watermark feature. However, a couple of caveats for you to consider:

1. If it doesn't open your new camera's raw files you may need to tell it what camera you are using. I got a new Sony A7Riv and it would not initially open raw files from that camera. On the settings window at the very bottom is a "more" button which use can use to tell it what camera you are using and if needed it will download an update for that specific camera and you should be good to go.

2. For Sony I have been using the free Capture One Express for Sony program as I find I like the quick edit setting easier to use, but still use AfterShot 3 Pro to add watermarks, but have come across one problem with that workflow. I also use Topaz De-Noise AI which I love, but using it before or after using AfterShot 3 Pro watermark feature, AfterShot 3 Pro quits displaying metadata, so if I export file from AfterShot 3 Pro, the exported file does not include this info and it also does not show up in Windows photo viewer. I contacted Topaz and they indicated it is their issue and are working on a fix. I have a workaround but it requires my initial raw file export be to a tiff file rather than JPEG, so even though AfterShot3 Pro still can't display the metadata, it does appear in Windows Photo Viewer. But dealing with 150mb+ tiff files does chew up storage space.

Sorry for the long winded response but hopefully it answers some of your question.