Ed_Ingold

You can drag and drop folders into the sidebar in Finder. That includes "Desktop" and sub-folder. Favorite folders are easily found when saving files from applications. I keep my photos on a server, rather than internal or cloud memory. It's simply "Photos" in the Finder sidebar.

Post-processing isn't about perfection, rather "to taste," and taste changes with time. I concentrate on composition and exposure, with detailed processing only for difficult subjects, like starry landscapes. It's a little like gourmet cooking. If you can taste individual ingredients, start over.

I purchased this Summicron 50/2 in 1964. At that time, Leitz valued resolution over contrast. That emphasis has changed.

Here are some comparisons I made in 2015, using the same camera (Sony A7Rii) to compare 50 mm lenses of different manufacturers. You see a dramatic difference in contrast, color, and sharpness, particularly between a Zeiss Loxia lens, a Leica lens, and a Nikon lens. The Leica lens suffers at wide apertures due to it's short back focus distance relative to the Nikon SLR lens, and the Zeiss lens specifically designed for the Sony camera. Zeiss lenses have a reputation for bold colors, which seems to be demonstrated here.

Maintenance can easily exceed the purchase price for professional equipment. Consumer gear is usually disposable. A set of ink cartridges for the Pro-10 is pushing $150, and I'm on my 6th set. The printer is too large for a table, and too heavy for a light cart. I had to purchase an heavy-duty cart for it. The plus side is an Ethernet connection, not hobbled by short, heavy cables or often slow WiFi.

Mis-typed. I have Pro-10, definitely pigment based. My daughter-in-law has a Pro-100, which is very nice, but better suited for art projects, a la water colors. AFIK, she's has no problems with clogging either. I've owned several Epsons, with problems. In the worst case, the Canon print head can be replaced at home. The Epson must be returned to the factory.

I have a Canon Pixma Pro-100 printer, with pigment based inks for several years. I have not experienced any clogged heads. That said, the printer undergoes periodic cleaning cycles, which consume ink even if not printing.

Watson chargers are great, but I've had spotty results with their batteries, from short charge life to total failure.

You had to know a lot more using "vintage" cameras, with no automation, than for modern cameras. That said, I frequently use manual mode when consistency is more important than being "right." An example would be formal group photos at a wedding. If you want simplicity, look no further than the cell phone in your pocket. Their automation is superb, and they're always with you.

If taken from the same distance, on the same sized sensor, the difference is probably negligible. The perspective would be the same, and the resolution of modern lenses is so high, there would be no noticeable degradation.

You have far fewer choices among micro SD cards compared to the full-sized versions, and the read/write speed is generally much lower. If you record 4Kp60 video in many cameras (e.g., Sony S7Siii), the bit rate is 200 Mb/s or more, which requires a card rated at V90 (299/300). In addition to write speed, slow cards take much longer to download to a computer. I use UHS-II cards for their read speed, even if the camera or device does not require them. Finally, the reliability of adapters is questionable, if only for the added set of contacts. I would rather not be surprised when a card failed, or images were corrupted. When it comes to photography, reliability trumps cost and features.

ND filters are essential for outdoor video. High shutter speeds cause a stoboscopic effect on rapid moving subjects, which is best avoided by using a shutter angle of 180 degrees or so (eg, 1/125 second at 60 fps). Likewise you should avoid small aperture settings, to manage DOF and avoid softness due to diffraction.

The use and effects of a linear polarizer and circular polarizer are identical. Both have plastic membranes sandwiched between two layers of glass. The difference is the addition of a quarter-wave "plate" (membrane) on the camera side of the polarizing membrane. The purpose is to un-polarize light passing through the filter so that phase-sensing AF detectors can operate normally. High quality (ie, expensive) polarizing and ND filters tend to be more neutral than cheaper filters. I prefer B+W (Schneider) filters for this reason. My variable ND filters are thicker, and larger in diameter than their mount would dictate, to minimize vignetting. The lens hoods of my Sony lenses must be attached first, then the VND filter. Polarizers fit normally, and some Sony lens hoods have a small door to facilitate their adjustment. Light reflected from transparent, non-metallic surfaces (ie, glass and water) is polarized. The most intense polarization occurs in a fairly narrow range of angles, centered on the Brewster Angle, approximately 53 degrees for an air-water interface.

Brain f**t

Divide the density (reflectance) range by 0.301 (the square root of 2) to calculate the dynamic range in f/stops. The curve is rather pronounced, so a good method is to measure from the intersection points of the high and low densities with the slope of the curve at its inflection point. That compensates for the heel and shoulder curvature. The characteristic curves (log exposure vs log reflectance) can be obtained from the manufacturer's data sheets.