I have been on two safaris - Mara Masai and Amboseli. I took a tripod the first time and never took it out of the case. It is rare to be able to get out of a safari vehicle, and a tripod is useless inside most vehicles. I took a monopod on the second trip, and I used it some, but I would have been as well off without it. Beanbags are helpful.

https://mikescamera.blog/power/ shows everything you'd like to know about battery compatability.

I use Unleashed with my D850, and I love it. It is, by a long shot, the best remote device I have found. I am not particularly interested in the GPS feature, but I believe it depends on your smartphone GPS, and the Unleashed must be active. The following is from the foolography.com support tab:

"the Unleashed itself is not a GPS device and needs to get the location data from somewhere in order to embed them in your photo’s metadata.

This means you will need to keep the Unleashed connected to a device receiving location data – but you don’t need to keep your phone screen on or even have the app open/running in the foreground. Just open the app at the beginning of your shoot, let the Unleashed connect and start shooting. Just make sure geotagging is enabled and that you don’t hard close (“kill”) the app as then the location data will no longer be embedded. (To clarify: you can switch to the home screen or other apps, just leave the Unleashed app running in the background.)"

I have had the exact same experience, having 5 Breakthrough filters, and I recently got the Kase magnetic set. My Breakthrough filters frequently stuck together. The CPL filter was so tight that if I tried to twist it for adjustment it often loosened the filter, and more than once it fell off the camera (fortunately with no damage).

I have used the Kase filters only a few times so far, but they are very easy and convenient to use. That will certainly give me confidence to use them more often.

I have not found any difference in color cast with either filters.

Breakthrough's customer service is outstanding. I have not yet had to interact with Kase customer service.

I understand Breakthrough will soon introduce their own magnetic filters, similar to Kase.

I noticed that the serial number on the camera body is not the same as the serial number in the photo metadata. I emailed Nikon about that, asking if I should be concerned, and they said that the serial number on the camera body should match the serial number on the box (which is a plain white box), which it does.

I bought a refurbished D850 from Nikon last month for $2,199. It showed 0 shutter clicks, and it looks new to me.

I got my pre-release copy of Luminar AI last week. I have used it several times, and I have not had any problems. It is installed on my MacBook Pro and a old MacBook Air.

I too got one of the first Peak Design carbon fiber tripods, and I love it. I am 73, so weight is important to me too, and the PD is less than 3 pounds.

I ordered a Peak Design Travel Tripod early in the year during their Kickstarter campaign, and it arrived the day before Christmas. I got the carbon fiber model, and it is spectacular!

I spent a week in a monastery near Abiquiu, which is about 65 miles from Santa Fe. Ghost Ranch is near there too. Both locations are in the high desert, and the scenery is stunning. I found the Santa Fe area to be much more scenic that Albuquerque.