Brian

If cost is an issue, I'd just spend the extra $10 and get a Epson Perfection V600. It looks like it's on sale for $189.99. The V550 is actually $10 more at B&H. Go figure.

If you pass your camera onto someone, I would highly recommend them starting with a Canon Flash. Even if you have to rent one for a few days. Again, since your camera will only fire the flash, and there is no AUTO-ANYTHING. This person will need to shoot in manual mode for the best results and use manual flash. Since this is a gig, and you have an assistant that might not be proficient in this area, I'd rent a flash. It's $43 for seven days, plus any other fees like shipping and insurance.

So you download the images how? With a software program or the standard copy/paste?

In my personal experience, laptops only last about 4 years or so, well for the more expensive ones. Laptops that are less than $500 seem to last 18-24 months. Of course there are exceptions and I’m basing this on my own personal experience. So I agree with your husband, I wouldn’t fix your Macbook. Apple’s prices on laptops is ludicrous. Though I wouldn’t buy a $500 laptop either. I like the Asus Republic of Gamers Line, as they tend to have IPS-Based screens, which is better for photos. I’d plan on a budget of $1000-$1500. As far as copying stuff to a Windows Computer, Apple makes that difficult. By default you can copy Windows files to your Mac easily, it’s just going from your Mac to Windows that is somewhat difficult. Generally people will recommend using exFAT for a Partiton Type and that works for the most part, but I like leaving that to the more advanced computer type people. It’s not 100% bullet-proof. FAT32 also works will going between Windows and Mac, but I wouldn’t push it above 32GB. So good ‘ol Sneakernet with a 32GB Thumbdrive. Which leaves software to do the conversion and honestly, I’d use a cloud service to go between the two worlds, for example, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. Here is a pretty good web page to read: https://www.google.com/amp/s/mashtips.com/transfer-files-between-pc-and-mac/amp/

Yeah, you can use it in full manual mode. Your Canon body will just active the flash, similar to a simple trigger. No TTL. No Auto Mode what-so-ever and it won’t break anything. You will have to keep the subject distance in mind (inverse Square Law) and know that your aperture controls flash power setting and shutter speed controls your ambient light. You will probably be at 1/200th or slower to match your camera’s sync speed. Shooting without TTL isn’t too bad especially once you find your happy place and know where to stand. I’d practice a bit and fiddle with things before shooting any gigs. Good Luck!!

Alright, I've re-read your question. I take my previous comment back. Windows Photo Viewer is the default viewing program. Are you wanting to see the images in the pictures folder? How are you downloading your images to you computer? With a card reader or your camera attached to your computer?

No, I've just done normal prints in the past. I actually will try the fine-art stuff next. Thanks!

That's not a bad build at all. I'd say go for it. The only thing that's missing is hard drives. Unless you have one laying around somewhere. Since budget is an issue, I highly recommend a WD Black 7200RPM drive if you need one. You can always upgrade to a SSD at a later time when money allows.

CPQ is decent. I like them. The thing to know is to not push your colors. You don’t need to go nuclear as there colors are bright. Yes, Mac screens are really bright. It’s not unheard of being one or two ticks from the left to get a realistic physical print brightness.

Yeah, I know of a fix. It’s a registry hack to get the photo viewer back in the list. I will answer this later when I get home.

Fantastic!!

“Meh.” I haven’t heard of too many horror stories but PS CC needs to be granted access in the security settings. It’s a bug. I haven’t upgraded and the latest version High Sierra is quite stable.

Don’t mess with the built in Mac Monitor / Calibration Controls. They are worthless. Have you considered using a different printing company? I stopped using WHCC years ago. I currently use CPQ and I have a Mac.

So what was your final build and final cost? What components did you end up getting? I'm curious.

I think the BIOS settings might have to be tweaked. Specifically, the startup device list, maybe even power settings. It is also possible that the SSD Drive could be failing or its firmware might need to be upgraded. This problem is beyond a hardware forum, especially if you "Don't know much about computers..." You need a set of experienced eyes. Do you have a local repair shop to take it to? Have you tried calling Acer Support?

Is your main HD a traditional hard drive or a SSD drive? Right now it sounds like the HD is not waking up fast enough for the motherboard. How old is the computer? Can you exchange it?

Hey Shawn, another member posted this Dell XPS from Office Depot and is in sale: https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/4848446/Dell-XPS-8930-Desktop-PC-8th/ $799.99. I know you want more power and room, but for $800, it’s something to consider.

First of all, THANK YOU for reading the previous threads so I don’t have to repeat myself. Second, enjoy your purchase. That Dell XPS from Office Depot is fine.

You can Google $500 Gaming PCs, but they generally tend to have Intel i3 CPUs in them, which you do not want. At the very least, an Intel i5 will be fine. I did see this video card: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202278&cm_re=radeon_rx_580-_-14-202-278-_-Product You can get Display Port to DVI cables, so that's not a huge issue. I think Monoprice.com has them. Here is a decent Power Supply: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6ZP3R88416&cm_re=800_watt_power_supply-_-17-438-018-_-Product

You need a new motherboard with CPU, RAM, video card and most likely, a new power supply. In a nutshell, a whole computer. The new video card might have bigger power requirements and if you plan on adding more traditional HDs, that also has to be taken into account. I'm thinking 800 Watts for the P/S is a good number for you. Unfortunately, your budget is going to kill you. I've been in the market myself for a Windows 10 Pro Machine and I was planning on building one. (Need to brush up on my skills, it's been awhile since I've done this when I switched to Mac in 2009.) The problem is, each time I configure something, the price is $2000. Of course, I'm building a PC that should last 7+ years, and have expensive tastes, so I'm hitting that price-point which I don't want to spend. I want things to be cheaper. You could get something like a Dell XPS base-model for about $800 or so, but of course that doesn't include a decent video card. You might just want to upgrade your Power Supply and Video Card for now, then save up some more and get the motherboard, CPU and RAM next year. Oh, speaking of RAM, prices have been insanely high and they just came down a little bit. (About $20-$25 less than what they were a few months ago.) Oh, one more question, how is your computer case? Is it a generic one that takes all different kinds of motherboards and such? Or is this a store-bought PC that doesn't give you many mounting options?

One more thing. Since it’s crooked, I’m thinking you ar jamming your finger on the shutter button a bit too hard. LOL! I do it all the time. The other thing to check is what VR mode are you set to. It should be set to “On” and “Normal” for the Shutter Speed you were set to. If it’s the new 70-200 FL, VR normal should be chosen. Make sure it’s not set to “Action” or “Sport.”

Focus is fine. If they were moving, even slowly, it’s better to have the camera set to AF-C. It sounds like you shoot Nikon. Since you are worried about focus, set the A1 and A2 menus to “Focus Priority.” Meaning the camera will not take the photo unless it feels that things are in focus. Also, this is a zoom lens, and while your focus is fine...it’s not a prime lens. You aren’t going to get that wow factor or “...damn that’s sharp” feeling. You will need to tweak sharpness in PS.

Focus looks good. The eye is a tad sharper than the dress but not by much. Lenses are usually not at their best wide open. I'm never at f/2.8 on my 70-200, I've found that f/3.2 is more forgiving and I shoot mostly at f/4 if I want "SHARP." Keep in mind that not all focus points are the same. The better ones are known as "Cross Type" and the strongest AF Point is the center one. There needs to be enough contrast swing for the AF system to lock on. So standing 20-30 feet away zoomed in on someone's eyeball may not yield the best results. That is the limitation of a Phase-Based AF system and not the Photographer. As far as your camera is concerned, it has no idea it's an eyeball, and it needs to be sharp; it's just a darker spot against a bigger blob. Speaking of Photographer: If someone shoots with a 70-200 on a crop body, they will find that most, if not all photos are sharp @ f/2.8. When they upgrade to a full frame body, you do not produce the same results. There is a Angle of View Change between Crop and Full Frame. Since the Crop Sensor is physically smaller than a full frame one, it's only using the center-most portion of the lens, which is the best part of the lens. f/2.8 on a crop body is more like f/4 on a full frame camera; people just don't know how shallow f/2.8 is until you get a Full Frame Camera. Crop Bodies allow you to "F2.8-All-the-Things." ? So if you are finding that this photographer is blowing shots, I suggest that they should stop down slightly and see if things improve.

I like the Asus Republic of Gamers line when it comes to laptops for photo editing. Here is one that meets all my specs and has a Matte IPS display panel: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1398212-REG/asus_fx504ge_bs73_i7_8750h_8gb_1tb.html The only thing I don't like about that laptop is the 128GB SSD drive but it does have another traditional HD built in. At 128GB, you are really looking at Windows only, maybe install Photshop on the main drive, but configure the scratch drive to be on the D Drive / Second HD. Keep in mind, that finding a decent laptop these days is tough and it's getting tougher to find a good one. They are all crap, made from cheap plastic and are replaced so frequently. That link I posted in this thread is probably good for a week or so. Maybe a month before that laptop is "Discontinued." Anyway, I'd start with a Asus ROG laptop and work from there.

By doing that, you got 8 years out of your current setup! If you go cheaper, and less horsepower, you will end up replacing sooner rather than later. By going the cheaper route, you will end up spending more money in the same time period. For example, spend $800 now for a cheap setup instead of say a budget around $1200-ish. Then in four years, spend another $800. So within a 7-8 year time frame, you could spend $1200 or $1600. Something to think about. Plus figure in the hassle of transferring brushes, data, actions, e-mail, favorites, etc. from one computer to the other. Desktops will still give you the best bang for the buck. I personally do not recommend laptops for photo-editing but I got tired of arguing. To get a decent setup for a laptop for photo editing, your price-point should be around $1500. Your could get a desktop / monitor combo for hundreds less. What is the tough part about laptops is finding one with a IPS screen and they are built for portability and to conserve power. So unless you buy a gaming laptop to get more horsepower, the components of a $500 laptop won't be of optimum performance. That said, it also depends on what type of photos you take, what kind they are (single-frame vs multi-photo panoramas) and how many you edit at one time. For a person that edits one or two photos at a time will have different needs than someone who batches photos 50 at a time. So I guess the next step is telling me more about what your expectations are and you can poke around the what-to-buy threads here. In a nutshell at a minimum: Intel i7 or i5 CPU 16GB RAM (32GB Preferred) 1TB Main Hard Drive (The bigger the better) A video card that has its own dedicated video memory - 2GB Video RAM at a Minimum (8GB Preferred) Video Card that has a digital connector / port ( DVI [Good] - HDMI [Better] - DisplayPort [Best] ) Windows 10 IPS Display Panel with a Matte Coating or Matte Panel. 24" is a good size to start with.