Brian

I'd get a better reader. I know it sounds counter-productive, but I'd rather have peace of mind than wondering if this is the time that my card gets corrupted by the reader.

It's probably a flaky card reader. Two choices: 1. Contact Dell and get a replacement if it's in warranty. 2. Get a better reader, like this one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/810152-REG

Anyone have recommendations?

DisplayPort is the future. So if your new display still won't calibrate, then try the DisplayPort. If it works, stick with the DVI.

You are splitting hairs. Either. DisplayPort is fine. So is DVI. It's a 24" display.

I like G-Drives. They come Mac formatted and on the "Pro" level ones, they come with decent hardware. Of course, with a price-tag to match. They aren't your $79 special from a box store. Give this one a look: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1024614-REG

I thought that if you had the "Elite" Sypder (i.e. Sypder 5 Elite) they had an app that would allow you to use the calibrator so you could calibrate your iPad? That said, an iPad Pro would be great for showing off your portfolio, not editing with. The Cintiq is designed for this sort of thing.

Use the DNG converter. That will work. After converting the Raw files to Adobe Digital Negative files (aka, DNG,) Bridge will be able to read the files.

I would use a DisplayPort to HDMI cable. Or a DVI from the computer to the DVI port on the monitor. In either case, THROW AWAY THAT VGA CABLE.

Your Dell 8700 should have a DVI port on the back of it. It's in the slot, not along the ports of the motherboard. Your Dell U2412M should have had a HDMI cable in the box. The ends of the cable are white. YOU DO NOT WANT TO USE A VGA CABLE WITH TODAY'S FANCY FLAT-SCREEN DISPLAYS. Those VGA cables were only meant for CRT (TUBE) Displays up to 20". In addition, those stupid VGA cables that come in the box are CRAPPY. They just suck. I can't tell you how many display issues are caused by that VGA cable, so I agree with Dell...let's try a new cable first.

What?!? The Dell U2412M has a VGA port (Blue) DVI Port (White) and a cousin of a HDMI port, called a DisplayPort. From Left to Right: DisplayPort | DVI Port | VGA Port | USB B (In) | USB A (Out) http://www.prad.de/images/monitore/dell_u2412m/anschluesse2.jpg

Any suggestions to avoid as much CA as possible? Avoid shooting high contrast swing areas. Purchase and use the BEST lenses you can afford. For example, think using a 16-35 f/4 instead of a 10-22. But on a crop body, that won't be very wide. So the best thing I can tell you to do, is correct CA in ACR. There are sliders that will help minimize CA. As for the camera body, it has nothing to do with CA. It just records what it's given by the lens. In really, it has to do with the sensor and the dynamic range that it has. The 7D Mark II is newer technology and has a better sensor which records the colors better. That results you noticing it more now than with your older body. The CA has always been there, it's just more obvious with the new camera body.

Stopping down and using apertures between f/16 - f/22 causes something called Diffraction. This is known as Circular Aperture Diffraction in the photography world, What this does to the image, is degrade overall image quality around the edges, almost like a smudging effect. Stopping down to f/22 can makes your image "fuzzy/less sharp," especially around the edges. Diffraction doesn't add to the CA problem.

It's 100% caused by the lens. CA happens when the lens is unable to focus the all different wavelengths of light on the image sensor at the same time. As the light enters the lens, it is bent slightly, and this phenomenon is known as dispersion. Lenses typically are designed to counteract this problem, with usually the more expensive lenses having better glass yielding the best results. That said, this is not a hard and fast rule. Even $2000 lenses can suffer from CA. CA is mostly caused by high contrast-swing situations. Tree branches against a bright sky, dark rocks against white snow, etc. Where CA happens the most is towards the edges of the lens. So the center part of the lens will have less CA, compared to the outer rim. This means subject placement is key. If you frame your scene with your subject in one of the corners, and it's a high contrast situation, you might have CA issues around the subject. Or your subject could be dead-center and be fine, but the damn tree line in the upper left corner could have all sorts of purple fringes.

But I would still get the 100mm f/2.0 lens over a Canon 85 1.8 ANY DAY.

I'm the same way. I can not stand Canon's Menu System, nor the feel of their cameras. Since optically the 85mm is 85mm and 50mm is 50mm, you'll get more compression due to the longer focal length, which is more flattering for portraits. The angle of view change happens at the sensor.

Seems like an average price. I don't see what Motherboard they are using, but it's more than fine for photo editing. You might want to just get extra RAM and bump it up to 32GB.

Well, her question implied viewing Raw files in the Windows Explorer. With XP, her D750's files won't read. If she wants to cull files outside of Bridge, she will need Windows 7 at the very least or a program like Bridgestone. But I'm not sure Bridgestone works on XP at this point. So my remarks stand. She should start putting money aside for a new PC. Does she need it now? No. There are work-arounds. That said, as much as I loved XP, things will start being more difficult as time goes on. I can imagine a future edition of PS not being compatible with Win XP. Especially if Adobe changes the programming language like they did with the Mac versions.

Windows XP is no longer supported and the Raw Codec that works with XP is also not being updated. (So you can view the image files in the Windows Explorer.) At this point, I'd start saving up for a Windows 10 machine. Windows 7's days are numbered. I think support for Win 7 ends in 2020.

Seems OK Spec-wise. Where do you take it when things break? I've never heard of that brand.

While there are many to choose from in the US, I'm not familiar with ones in the UK or Australia. Can anyone recommend reputable data recovery places in their part of the world?

Wow. I remember the Mac LC it reminded me of a Pizza Box. And the Mac SE. And the Mac 128. i don't know of any in the UK. I usually recommend Gillware for data recovery. Gillware.com i also found this one that seems to specialize in Mac Data recovery: https://www.securedatarecovery.com/services/apple-mac-recovery

This whole situation isn't good. Sounds like the motherboard or even the HD has failed. Professional data recovery is not cheap. Like kiss that new MacBook goodbye not cheap. Now splitting the partitions, one for programs, one for data is great for the technical types, not for the average person who hates technology. They will want to dump everything to one partition, no matter what they are instructed to do. Side note: This is why I answer some questions the way that I do. It's for the majority and the folks who really aren't tech-savvy. I'm sure there are plenty of members who are screaming at the keyboard on a normal basis. There is a method to my madness, but I'm digressing here... OK: The old MacBook isn't worth repairing. I'd get a new one and purchase a SATA to USB adapter cable. Basically, you will turn that internal drive into an external. These adapters should be between £10-£20. Maybe as much as £30. You can get them on Amazon. I'm hoping the HD with the data can be accessed with the new Mac. It won't be read on a Windows machine, you'll need a Mac.

Try to find a local authorized Apple repair shop. They might be easier to work with. You could also try calling Apple and see if they have any suggestions.

Yeah, it could be that your user ID is corrupted. Try creating a new one and see if that works better for you. You really should close out your programs once you are done. Bouncing back and forth between profiles with stuff left open is just asking for trouble. Of course, occasionally is fine, it's just not good computing habits in my humble opinion. Edit: The more I think about this, the more I feel you have corrupted software / profiles. I would seriously start backing up everything, including Actions and Brushes, just in case if things go horribly wrong. Corrupted profiles aren't any fun. ESPECIALLY if your profile is linked up to an iCloud account on Apple's servers. I just don't think that there is an easy way out of this, you might have to schedule an appointment with the Genius Bar or wipe the computer and start over to get things really fixed.