Couldn't agree more A.T. - Buying a high quality monitor without purchasing a high quality colorimeter is like buying a car without a steering wheel. Each monitor is unique and needs to be calibrated to a known set of conditions such as color D65, brightness 120C and gamma 2.2 then compensate for any deviations by writing a custom profile "your_monitor".icm to the system. Without having this point perfectly set, one has no way to accurately edit an image or perform soft-proofing against a commercial printer's .icc profile(s). I think everyone should own one of these regardless of their monitor quality. It's nice knowing your camera matches the screen and the screen matches the print.

I've always left that feature unchecked and never experienced any problems. I made an effort to control my editing environment as much as possible by choosing a room without windows, painting it a neutral color, and using quality lights with a high (CRI) color rendition index and known color temperature. Most people don't go to that extreme but the results are always predictable. I think the most important thing is to maintain a "consistent" illumination level in your work area. Calibrate under the same lighting conditions you'd edit in.

Dan - I get you! I live in Wyoming and we have a "Buffalo" on our state flag. I love all your images but like the last one best. That's what we locals call Buffalo stink eye. It's generally the last thing a Yellowstone tourist sees before being gored and flung 15 feet in the air. These guys are THE MOST dangerous animals in Wyoming and account for more injuries and death each year than do grizzly bears!

Absolutely stunning images Cindy. In the old days, we used colored lens filters to alter B&W contrast and tonal gradation. Photoshop includes all these traditional filters in the Black and White layer conversion utility. They are available under the "Presets" drop-down. Try using a green filter on the horse and you'll get better separation between him and the background. You can achieve similar results by adjusting the green slider as Wallen suggested.

Forgive me if you already knew these tools existed. Many people miss them because they're not immediately visible. Again, great photos and best of luck in your monochrome journey!

Simply a wealth of information Thomas902! Thank you so much for taking the time and energy to share your insight on this subject. (Great example photos BTW - excellent compositions). I will take a look at the Sigmas. I'm probably asking way too much from my Nikon D500 sensor, knowing I'd be better served by a full frame for astrophotography. Just working with what I have however, looking for the best APS-C ultra wide lens I can find with good light gathering capabilities and sharpness. An f2.8 lens would allow me to shoot at a much lower ISO and hopefully produce some usable images.

Again - thank you for all your help.

Thanks for such an informative answer to my question Thomas902. I didn't realize all versions were made in Japan. I'm kicking this one around for use in astrophotography but have read conflicting reports about edge sharpness when shooting it wide-open at f2.8?

Question to seller: Have you shot any photos with this lens at its maximum aperture of f2.8? Was/is edge sharpness satisfactory?

Thanks

Can you determine where this lens was manufactured? - Japan or USA?

I like #1 the best. The canyon exposure is outstanding with a perfect balance of highlights and shadows. The sky is also the perfect complimentary color to all the sandstone formations in the foreground. So many southwestern themed photos seem over-saturated in the red and orange spectrum. This photo illustrates how subtlety can often make the loudest statement. Well done!

I've used Duplicate Photo Cleaner for years. It has some very sophisticated file comparison tools but is simple to learn and use. Unfortunately it isn't free and is based on an annual subscription model like Lightroom and Photoshop. It will run on either Mac or Windows:
https://www.duplicatephotocleaner.com/

If you're using Windows, install Bridge 2022 then do this:

1) Right click on your desktop and go to New --> Shortcut
2) In the dialog box type "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Bridge 2022\Bridge.exe" with quotation marks.
3) Click the Next button and name the new shortcut Bridge-2022
4) Click the Finish button

If you're using a Mac I'm sorry but can't help you.

First let me explain. I believe everyone has a right to express their opinion regardless of his or her political affiliation. We used to be able to do this with civility and respect, which if nothing else, made us more intelligent human beings with broader perspectives. Our society has seemingly morphed into a selfish free-for-all, fraught with misinformation, where no one respects anyone. Our freedom is being c*********d by our own hatred and stupidity.

Folks - this isn't us. I've lived on this earth for many, many years and have friends on both sides of the aisle. Politics was never an issue and didn't influence which of my buddies I chose to go fishing with. I firmly believe we are being manipulated by the media source(s) we choose to consume. This is my attempt to prove or disprove that theory. If you would, please take a minute to honestly answer the following questions:

1) What network, podcast or website is your primary news source?

2) What is your state of residence?

3) What is your party affiliation?

4) Who is, or should be the legal POTUS?

Here's a copy of the owners manual. It should answer any questions you might have.

https://www.darkroomdave.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/sekonic-l-508_english.pdf

I've had good luck with Duplicate Photo Cleaner. Costs $39.95 but they offer a free trial. As others have said, make a backup of ALL your photos before running this kind of software. The interface is a little different looking so I would suggest downloading the free trial before purchasing.

I dumped all my images into a single directory (from iPhone, memory cards and hard disk) then ran the program using progressively tighter "Similarity Thresholds". I was able to whittle everything down and eliminate all duplicates. This also provided me with a clean, duplicate-free directory at the end.

The program can also be pointed to individual image directories on your hard drive and sort out the duplicates there if you don't have the time or space to do it like I did. The program says it can work directly with your cellphone and Adobe Lightroom images. I have not tried those features so can't speak to their efficacy.

At first glance I'm pretty impressed with Nikon NX Studio. It is incredibly feature-rich software and includes many tools like those found in Adobe Bridge, Photoshop and Lightroom. While tailored to Nikon users, it can still be used to edit non-proprietary jpg and tiff files. It won't work with dng or non-Nikon raw files however.

I think the software is ideal for someone just starting out who needs to crop, edit, adjust, cull and rank their photos. It has an extensive suite of adjustment tools found in higher-end editing programs such as levels and curves, brightness, contrast, saturation and color balance. Add to that controls for noise-reduction, sharpening and simple retouching and you have a surprisingly capable program, especially considering it's free.

It won't replace Photoshop and I don't see it leading experienced users away from their beloved Adobe products. But for a student or beginner, what a great option!! A free program that will do just about everything you need.