Brian

"Eh." I'm probably the last person that will recommend 3rd party lenses. I'm saving up and will buy the original Nikon 24-70. Not the version II, the one for $1799. Sigma can be hit or miss. If you get a good copy, you will sing praises and question why would anyone spend close to $2000 for the OEM equivalent. If you are one of the lucky ones that goes through 3-5 lenses to get a good copy, you'll be mad at yourself on why you wasted so much time and energy. Then there is that whole pesky resale value thing. You'll be lucky if you get $500 if you sell it. There were a few different models of that Sigma 24-70, and believe it or not...the older version was better. The new one sucked and they can't give them away. I'm thinking for a 24-70 that's new AND that cheap, it's one of the sucky ones. Personally, I'd get the Nikon one for $1799.

I'd also set the camera to sRGB. In addition to making the JPEG Preview's histogram more accurate, it's safer bet if you fat-finger something and shoot a session in JPEG instead of Raw. It has happened, multiple times. Often with a panic post from one of our members. So I'd set it to sRGB. Edit: Before I get some e-mail telling me that I'm wrong and giving out incorrect info, and I should tell them to use AdobeRGB because of the bigger color space, blah-blah-blah... SAVE IT. Yes, I know that if you shoot Raw, the color space setting on the camera does not matter. That said, I'm a big proponent of WYSIWYG. (What you see is what you get.) It doesn't make sense to set your camera to a larger color space, work in AdobeRGB in Photoshop, only to use a printing company that has its printers set to sRGB. Or sell digital files and they will only be viewed on a screen as a JPEG, which will be in the sRGB color space... See where I'm going with this? If the final output is sRGB, then why not have the whole workflow set to sRGB? From Camera to Computer to Print Vendor - set everything to sRGB. Your Histogram will be more accurate on your camera, the JPEG Preview on the LCD will be closer to what you'll get during editing...since you will be editing in sRGB, and you won't have any surprises along the way. Damien wrote a quick analogy that makes sense, worth a quick read: Why sRGB Makes Sense Bottom Line: Set your camera to sRGB and be happy.

Stick with Win 7 if you have it. Win 10 still has quirks, though it's much better than Win 8/8.1. Since you you are licensed for Win 10, you can upgrade any time. It's not like the free version, where that offer ends in July 2016. (I think.)

I'm glad I'm wrong in this case.

You also might to make sure your Wacom drivers are the latest and greatest. El Capitan can be quirky.

Make sure your "Finder Preferences" is closed. This way the changes and possible check-boxes that you might have selected...those changes are saved. Let's start with the basics. I'd get a new Card Reader and try that 1st. Macs just do not like it when you hook your camera up. It almost takes and Act of Congress to get it to show up.

Well, Apple doesn't always put them in the most convenient spot. On the new models, the ones without the DVD SuperDrive, they are on the back of the unit towards the right. The older iMacs that had the DVD SuperDrives, the reader is on the right, just below the DVD Slot. Things that happened to lots of people with the older iMacs: If you weren't careful, you could drop your SD card down inside your Mac. All you had to do is insert it at the wrong angle. If this happened, a trip to the Genius Bar was in your future. With the newer iMac computers, I'm weary of moving the Mac slightly, reaching behind the thing and inserting it. Way too easy for something to crack and break off. Whether it's the SD card or the slot that's on the Motherboard. So while you don't necessarily NEED to purchase one if you have SD cards, I still recommend getting one for ease of use AND safety. I'd rather replace a $30 Reader than a $800 Motherboard.

If it were me, I'd get the Sandisk one. I also use Sandisk Cards myself.

Card Readers are funny things. When I recommend these I will always have a bunch of people disagree with me and say they are junk. But here are the two that I usually recommend: Sandisk Card Reader Lexar Card Reader

NAS = Network Attached Storage.

One more than thing, and this is what you actually might be asking: With a RAID setup in a NAS device like this, if the NAS itself were to fail, then you would need to get a replacement NAS in order to access the hard drives. This is true for all NAS units, regardless of brand. These HDs can't simply be removed and hooked up to another computer. They don't work that way. If you want to have that option, then you are looking at purchasing two or three individual EHDs and not a NAS.

The Black WD NAS doesn't seem to encrypt. At least from what I've read. It might be a newer model as well.

OK. I'm stumped. Can anyone answer this question? I've avoided iPhotos since it was first released. Consequently, I just don't know. Can anyone help out?

I'm wondering if this thread is destined to be the 1st post in "The Land of Misfits." i just don't have a good answer.

So that WD Duo comes with HDs that I don't like, and software that encrypts your data and can't be turned off.... Hmm....are you nuts? I would avoid that one like the Plague!! It should be off the table at this point. I know it's less than $500. I get it. I'm broke myself. When I recommend things in Ask Brian, I have your best interests in mind. I receive no compensation from B&H for recommending one brand over another. Often I will link to the more expensive option. Not because I have expensive tastes, well I do but that's not the point, the truth is I hate-hate-hate wasting money on this sh*t!! It doesn't do anyone any good by buying something that is "almost as good as" and then blowing up in 3 months. So please save up your money. Resist the urge to have instant gratification. Buy it Right...Buy it Once.

I didn't tell you to buy that WD Duo. Save up and get the one that I linked to. But it Right...Buy it Once All RAIDs have their own way of doing things and encrypting data if that option is turned on or even available. So that's why I recommend using a RAID that is configured and controlled by Hardware, and not software. Yes, if the data is encrypted and something happens to that code-book, you are SOL.

Ah. Well, the Dell XPS 8700 has been replaced by the XPS 8900. Here is one that is a good buy: Dell XPS 8900 with Intel i7 6700 As for the RAM, after you get the computer, head over to Crucial.com and run their scanning tool. You'll want to purchase a 16GB kit to take it from 8GB RAM to 24GB. Here is the main page for the Business Side of Dell: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-8900-desktop/fs

Oh, what computer to buy? The old Dell XPS article that I wrote a long time ago? Let's just start over. What's on your mind?

If it's just Photoshop, it doesn't matter. PS doesn't take advantage of an i7's architecture. In fact, there is only a 5-10% speed boost over a i5. So if you want more cores for multi-tasking and aren't into games, the 5820 might be a better overall fit in this case. This was a Good Question. You made me think on this one and now I'm wondering if I should be looking at the i7 5820 since I don't play games and multi-task a lot.

http://www.damiensymonds.net/what2buy.html You mean the "All About Memory" article? Or where to purchase RAM from?

What HDs does Brian buy for his computers? Western Digital Caviar Black HDs. That's why I recommended that particular WD NAS.

Personally, I DO NOT like Western Digital RED drives. Yes, they are supposed to be meant for server environments, but I have seen way too many problems being reported with them in the Geek Groups. Why did I recommend the QNAP device even though it had WD Red Drives? Because I hate Seagate Drives even more than WD Red Drives. It was the lesser of two evils in that case.

@Marie Monforte: Use the USB 3.0 port OR try the Thunderbolt port. It has two Thunderbolt Ports and one USB 3.0 port. See which one is faster and let me know.

Yep. Buy this and be happy: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1148572-REG/wd_wdbdtb0120jsl_nesn_my_book_pro_12tb.html Set it up as a RAID1.

You might want to look at this old thread in FB AD: https://www.facebook.com/groups/195567190503489/permalink/855303441196524/ This is one case where I hope to be proven wrong. If there is a way to get Raw files out of iPhoto, awesome. I'm glad to be wrong.