ChristyB

You're very welcome. 🙂 And thank you for always being available to help us work through the often times confusing world of computers!

If it's the same one that Damien sent me, all done. 🙂 Thanks again!

Thanks, Damien! 🙂

Thanks for the AMD info. I'm not surprised...about all of it. Yeah, washing machines used to last forever. Now we're lucky to get 5 years out of them. You're right, they're all crap.

You've been awesome, Brian, as always.

I easily owe you a beer. I couldn't find the link. Would you please point me toward it? Thanks!

Thanks for the link. I think the article said in addition to the list any 13th/14th gen CPUs running 65 watts are susceptible?

Funny, I've never looked this closely at CPUs in the past, but I've never come across this kind of problem before. It's why there are supposed to be "tech guys" out there to sell us computers, help us maintain them and give us a better chance of avoiding these problems. I like detail and learning, but I try to choose rabbit holes wisely When it comes to spending $$$$ for a new computer this one is kind of important.

My tech guy has a small company and he's built great computers for my husband and me in the past. When my current computer started crashing a year+ ago, his techs couldn't figure it out. After going back & forth a couple of times with his techs, he jumped in and diagnosed the bios problem, repaired it and it has run like a new computer ever since (knock on wood!). So I'm a little gun-shy when it comes to the bios. I know he knows this stuff which is why I was a little surprised when he suggested the Dell i9 computer. Thank you, Brian! I know he's swamped with his business clients and like most successful businesses, he's spread thin.

What do you think about AMD 13th Gen CPUs? A custom-built AMD 13th Gen CPU computer is an option. Intel has always seemed to be the go-to.

Thanks. As 13th Gen came out in Sept 2022 I knew it was highly unlikely my current computer was in that class. My computer died approx a year ago and they had to repair/update the bios, but that's it. They said that was rare, but it fixed it.

However, if I bought a new i9 computer it sounds like that would be a real concern and the video quoted 65w+.

Thanks for the video. That breaks it down really well. It's crazy that Intel has waited this long to put out a patch. I googled when 13th Gen came out - Sept 2022. I'm glad my computer is 5+ years old.

How do we know if our computer is "taking 65w or more of power"? Is there a way a relatively computer-literate user like me can check that?

Wow, that Intel problem is serious. I just googled it after reading your answer.
One article: https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/26/24206529/intel-13th-14th-gen-crashing-instability-cpu-voltage-q-a

I'm no where near as technically knowledgeable as you, but I'm far enough along to get it. I can downgrade my PS a little to give my computer a little more breathing room and wait until the Intel CPU issues settle out. That is great information, Brian, thanks!

I wondered about the A4000ADA hype. My BS meter was going off and felt like it might be a "latest and greatest" thing that I don't need. Thanks for that chart. It'll save me a few $$, too.

My current computer has 512GB c:\ and 1TB d:\. I figured I was on borrowed time, although with a little file maintenance it'll be ok for a while. I have to admit, I'm not great about moving old photos off my d:\ like I should. I back up ok, but I don't remove things as quickly as I should. That will be upcoming homework for me. If I go with a 2TB main HD, that will give me room for technology advances. Of course it will also encourage my file-removal laziness!

My LGs have calibrated well and I have to zoom in farther with the 4K to view noise, focus, etc. They're also 5+ years old, but seem to be working fine for now. I will need to think about changing them when they no longer work as well as they do now.

Thanks again for all of the great info, Brian. I really appreciate your time.

If I may pick your brain a little? My computer guy got back to me with a general starting point and we'll work from here. My previous two computers were custom-built by him and even though my computer is 5-6 years old, if I didn't want PS, my computer is still working great (knock on wood) and I would only want a Windows upgrade. However... I want more!

What do you think about this general package below (cha-ching!). He'll work with me to work with a budget. He always has. I don't know what will be needed over the next ~5-6 years. If I downgrade too much I'll have to replace components or the computer much sooner than I would like. But I don't want to buy the latest and greatest just because it's the latest and greatest. That's overkill. I'm retired!

He called this the most recent powerhouse: Dell Precision at about $3,500.  NVIDIA A4000 ADA, i9, 32GB RAM, and only 512GB. We'll have to upgrade the SSD.

The price is quite a bit higher than your 2023 recommendation. Even though I'm not a photo pro I've become spoiled after taking all of Damien's classes and what PS can do. I haven't used AI yet, I'm not particularly excited about AI, but I plan to play with it at some point. I have two LG monitors, one HD and the other 4k (I know, I know!) I bought the 4k before I knew Damien. I don't see any reason to replace them.

Thanks!

Thanks 🙂 If I may, I would like to get back to you with a few more questions before I buy, kind of a sanity check?

Thanks for replying to my question in Ask Damien. Your reply and the link gave me the info I was looking for. I hadn't seen that link previously. Next step, call my computer guy and get the bad my news re the $$$ it will cost me.

As always, I appreciate your time and expertise.

Thanks for replying to my question in Ask Damien. Your reply and the link gave me the info I was looking for. I hadn't seen that link previously. Next step, call my computer guy and get the bad my news re the $$$ it will cost me.

As always, I appreciate your time and expertise.

Thanks. If it wasn't for the thinner pen cramping my hand, I would have waited. Plus I hadn't seen that kind of discount before. Maybe Santa will chip in for part of the purchase
If my hand still cramps with the fatter Pro Pen 2, I did see an additional $30 3rd-party ergo cover for the Pro Pen 2 (but not for the thinner pen). Hopefully I won't need it.

Amazon has a Cyber Monday sale for the The Wacom Intuos Pro Medium. $240 instead of $380, Prime delivery, and it's returnable (unused of course).
The Wacom board wasn't included in B&H's cyber Monday deals.

I didn't want to spend the $$$ right now, but I couldn't resist this discount. I clicked on Damien's link in the article and bought it. Thanks, Brian!

Thanks, Damien. I read your article and I now remember reading it over a year ago. Now to figure out what I want to do.

There isn't a reply field on my last post so I'm not able to reply to your answer to my question?

I checked my posts in the Premium Group are there are reply fields. I'm not sure what's happening.

I definitely don't need to spend 2k or anything close. Even $200, but it is what it is.

I don't recall seeing Damien's Wacom board article. Thanks for the link. I'll take a look at it!

Thanks, Brian!

Hi Brian,

I have an old One by Wacom board. I was getting the hang of it and liked it, but my hand was really cramping with the thin pen. I'm "old" with too many years of sitting "improperly" in front of a computer, carpel tunnel, etc. I put it the board aside, but I'd like to find a solution as I liked the flexibility of using the Wacom board.

I remember how we used to buy cheap covers for our pens, which helped. So far I haven't found anything that might work, but I haven't gone to a brick-and-mortar store to if they have anything. I contacted Wacom and they said the only tablets they have that work with the thicker Pro Pen 2 pen are the Intuos Pro tablets. It looks like the starting price is $250.

I know Wacom is probably the best product, but I was wondering if you knew of any competitors that I should consider. Thanks!

I just looked at B&H and they have an Intuos Pro Creative Pen Tablet (small) for $218.

THANK YOU!!! I'm not a Geek Squad fan. If I have any serious computer issues I have a computer guy I call who I've used for years, but he's a bit of a drive. I was hoping formatting a drive wasn't rocket science these days. 

I'll place my orders before the Black Friday weekend sales are gone. I don't think the EHD is on sale but the XQD is.

Thanks again!

Hi Brian, lots of family stuff and I've had to be off line.

I have a dumb question about the EHD you suggested above. It says that it's formatted for a Mac. I have a custom-built Windows 10 desktop. It has to be reformated.

I haven't formatted a drive since the Olden Days. Dos C:\ Format D:\      Are you sure? Y/N

Seriously! Lol. 

How is it done these days? With that large of a drive do I need to partition it? It can't be as easy as plug and play. I could run it down to Geek Squad, but that sounds like a waste if $$.

Thanks!

Thanks for the VR reminder. A couple have VR, some don't. I'm looking forward to learning this shooting skill.

Thanks! A tripod would be the smart way to go, wouldn't it? I have one. I went out today for some quick practice shots to see if I could do it. It was windy, I knew that wasn't working for me. I braced myself against the car for some shots and found a fence post to rest my camera on for some others.

I can't get to them for a couple of days. When I do I'll let you know how it goes. Get my practice in and find where I need to improve for when I need it. This will be fun! 🙂

I just set up my D850 for bracketing. Your instructions made it so simple! And, as I was rereading that section, I saw this:

"One more thing, you lose about 2/3rd of a stop of light when using the Nikon CP. I just bump up my ISO a little to compensate. No big deal."

I hadn't remembered that but I was finding myself having to boost the ISO a little. That explains it. Thank you again!

On 11/8/2021 at 5:50 PM, Brian said:

Well, here is my EHD. It's a little cheaper than $700 @ $630.

 

Tip: When you buy new cards, write the Month-Year when they were first used. This makes it easier to rotate things out when it comes time. Otherwise, it's a guessing game when you start acquiring lots of cards.

I have a SB-910 and a SB-5000. Of course, I shoot weddings so I need flashes like those. I can say the Nikon SB-700 is the flash you are looking at. It's way easier to use than a SB-600. That would be the one to get for your situation. Also, I use these AA batteries, Panasonic Eneloop with Charger. Of course, I have a fancy charger that does 8 batteries at a time, but that will get you started. Eneloop Batteries are awesome. They hold their charge for a year if they are unused, and I have complete confidence in them. So much that everything in my house, like remotes and such have Eneloop Batteries.

You have a Nikon D850. Let me introduce you to the wonderful land of Bracketing. I usually hold down my BKT button on the left side, rotate the rear dial once so I see +1.0 and 3 Frames on the top LCD. That is a 1-stop difference and three photos with every shutter click. So I pick my Aperture and it will take a shot that is metered, then one under-exposed, and then one over-exposed by one stop via the Shutter Speed. (1/250 --> 1/500 --> 1/125) The trick is to use AF-C (Continuous Focusing) and have the camera fire at the fastest rate, 7fps. (So CH on the dial). You could bump it up to 5 exposures at 1 stop each. Normally, I take 2 out of the three to make a pseudo-HDR; basically cheating since I don't have my ND filters with me.

Well, that's not true. I do have them with me, but for the last couple of years, my Wife and I have been taking Bus Trips to various National Parks. Just a few weeks ago, we hit all 5 National Parks in Utah within a week. The truth is, I'm always using my Circular Polarizer, but just don't have the time to sit and fiddle with my Tripod and ND Grad Filters and such. The waiting around for an hour or so for that cloud to move, me tweaking the filters and then "CLICK!!" just doesn't happen. My Wife will tell me, we have 18 minutes here and we need to be on the Bus at 18 Minutes. So get shooting. So I'm forced to Bracket since I just don't have the time, nor have the opportunity to return to that location easily.

Again, I'm in Full Manual with my D850 in CH mode (7FPS). ISO sometimes floats with Auto-ISO, but I usually keep that the same. I pick the Aperture and Set the Bracketing to do three or five exposures, at 1-Stop Difference each. (3F - 1.0 on the top display.) Metered-Under-Over in the menus. I can't remember which menu but it should be labeled "Bracketing Order," or something like that. Set it to MTR > Under > Over.  I brace my elbows against my chest and exhale before hitting the shutter release. Again, Continuous Focusing Mode. AF-C in the viewfinder, Single Point AF.

Click...OneTwoThree...OneTwoThree.

I will often take 2-3 brackets to help cut-down on camera shake. The Middle set is often the one that makes the cut. You really need to be steady with this technique and VR really helps. Just by moving an inch or so, especially wide focal lengths, can throw off your images and LR / ACR won't create the HDR. It will come back with an error saying it can't combine the photos. Here is a photo that has a 6-stop difference between the lights and darks. I took 5 bracketed shots and then combined them in ACR. I then tweaked the image. 

 

 

That photo probably won't make it to Social Media, but it shows you how much detail in the shadows I was able to recover and highlights. The only filter I had mounted at the time was my Circular Polarizer Filter. Some of the photos I lost a chunk of detail. Oh! One more thing, you lose about 2/3rd of a stop of light when using the Nikon CP. I just bump up my ISO a little to compensate. No big deal.

OK, now to answer your question,   I own this Circular Polarizer II Filter (Slim) and own and like B+W ND Filters. I have 2-Stop and 3-Stop, and a B+W Graduated ND filter. I also bought a Filter Wrench Set to sometimes get things unstuck. I hate when my 70-200 holds onto filters. I have toyed around with the idea to get a set of Lee Square Filters and all the mounting hardware, but like I said...lately I just don't have the time to lug around all of my toys. I have 15 minutes to get the shot, then three minutes walking to get back on the bus and seated by the 18 minute mark. 

The Z9 is interesting. Chances are I will get the Z9 Mark II or Z9s, or whatever they are going to call it. Honestly? I just don't feel like blowing another $15,000+ in gear. The Z9, another 14-24, 24-70 and 70-200. Sure, I know there is the adapter, but in reality, if you want to take FULL ADVANTAGE of what the Z9 has to offer, you are using the Mirrorless Lenses that are designed for it. I have other shit to buy / save-up for at this point. My D4s & D850 work fine for my needs and have a lot of life in them.

Sorry for the delay. Life happened...

I can see why you do bracketing as opposed to ND filters, and your results are beautiful! I will definitely try that next time I shoot. I also use the same Nikon Circular Polarizer you use.

The ND filters you provided look very similar to what I used in the film days. They seem to have been lost in the move when we moved up here 9+ years ago. They have to be buried somewhere. I can't believe I would get rid of them. Thank you for the links. If I can't find my old ones I'll have your links when I'm ready to spend more $$ on new ones.

Good to know the SB-700 is easier to use than my old SB-600. I've started to use my old flash for now until the SB-700 becomes available. I'm getting there on the learning curve. I'll look for the Enloop batteries and charger. I can't find my old battery charger either, but if I do it'll be interesting to see if it still works. Probably not to be trusted.

Thanks again for your time, for answering my questions AND for giving me so much more info!

11 minutes ago, Brian said:

Oh, one more thing...14-bit RAW, uncompressed. There is a reason I use 120GB XQD cards in my D850 with my Landscapes.

 

Wow! My files are 50MB so not fully uncompressed.

1 minute ago, Brian said:

You might want to check out my Instagram. I have a lot of Pseudo-HDR photos. Here is another. Notice the contrast swing between the two areas and I was even able to capture the moon.

 

 

(I'm looking at this on my phone right now.) Shooting those extremes is crazy. Your photos are stunning!