Brian

Oh, as far as something in the 100mm-200mm range, it’s the 70-200E. The 135 is an excellent lens, but is in dire need of a refresh. My thinking this won’t happen, and if it does, it will be a 135mm f/1.8 and be a Mirrorless Only Lens. (This is pure speculation on my part.)

What happened to your 70-200? Just wondering. The 105 is a legendary lens which works extremely well on both a DSLR and Mirrorless with the adapter. It’s wicked sharp. The problem is, it’s 105mm. If you photograph Dogs outdoors, I don’t know how well that lens would work for you. Are you around 105mm a lot? What Aperture are you usually at? Because when I have shot dogs, I’ve always been at f/5.6 to get their snout/nose and eyes in focus. Now if this is just studio work, and they stay in one spot that’s different. Then a fixed focal length you could make it work. Second Choice: A Nikon 70-200 E lens. (The newest version.) I own both a 70-200VR II and a 70-200E. Why do I have both? Because of my stupid D850. That camera and its 45MP require the best glass. My original 70-200 VRII works fine and there isn’t anything wrong with it. I use that with my other camera kit when I shoot weddings. What I can say is the 70-200E is sharper and better in every way than its two predecessors, except Nikon swapped the Zoom and Focusing Rings. I hate that the zoom is towards the front of the lens, but you get used to it. That’s the only downside. Which one? That’s tough. If you shoot on a Studio primary, then 105. Anything else, get a 70-200E. Currently, the 70-200 E lens is $1896.95, which is a STEAL. That’s $900 less than the original asking price and if you can afford it, BUY IT. Of course, the 105 is the same price, so I see your dilemma. Personally, I’d get a 70-200E since it’s so cheap and rent a 105 1.4E to see how you like it. That lens isn’t going anywhere, but I’d hate for you to blow $1900 and have it sit. You know what a 70-200 can do for you. The 105 is an unknown. 105mm might be too short for you and dogs. A 135mm lens would be better, but it’s an older lens and doesn’t focus quick. After renting a 105 lens, and really testing it, if you like it...buy it next year. The 70-200E for $1896 is just too good to pass up.

The biggest problem with shooting outdoors is Wind. So while it's very true that the bigger the modifier, the softer the light, those large Modifiers (Like a 60" Softbox) become REALLY BIG SAILS that cause all sorts of damage. I speak from experience. I didn't have a Sandbag on a light-stand and my 24" Umbrella that someone gave me flipped my flash on it's ass. It still works, but now has a big dent in the plastic from the Asphalt. So if you are going to be on location, make sure you have an assistant or at the very least, high-quality sandbags and sturdy light-stands, like C-Stands. If I only hit the lottery: This light kit looks very interesting: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1585441-REG/profoto_sal_cincotta_b10_plus.html The quest continues. Eventually I will come up with something that we both can afford. I also came across this Stella Pro Light Kit.

For me, I typically shoot Weddings, so I'm always running-and-gunning. If you can afford it, personally I'd get a Profoto Light and be done with it. Of course, we are talking a few thousand here. More later. I've gotta run.

Well, I did it again. I just can't help myself. I wrote another really long article on what to look for when trying to purchase a "Laptop for Photo Editing." Hopefully I've cleared up on WHY I pick things that I do, there just isn't a way to keep it simple. Why? It's EXTREMELY DIFFICULT in having links for "Recommended Models" when it comes to Laptops. That one you've been keeping your eye on waiting to purchase? It will be discontinued in 4-6 weeks, or less. I'm dead serious. Way-back-when, Manufacturers had a "Spring Line" and "Fall Line" when it came to laptops. Often the Spring Line had that year's new releases, and the Fall line had upgraded models or tweaked versions of their Spring Counterparts. When the Back-to-School time period hit, there were Sales on the Spring Line in order to clear out stock for the future Fall releases. That cycle lasted for years, mostly through the 1990's and early 2000's. But somewhere along the way, Manufactures stopped doing this. Well, except when it comes to Apple, they still have their Spring / Fall releases, not just for their computers, but their Smart Phone line as well. Today, Laptops are "En Vogue" for at most 90 Days. That's it. So if you see it, like it, meets my specifications...BUY IT. Because come next month, chances are it will be out of stock. Seriously. Combine that with the fact that Laptops that contain IPS Display Panels, and enough Horsepower for Photoshop, creates an even more difficult task to find one. In the past, I did link to certain laptops only to get an e-mail from someone two weeks later that said the model has been discontinued. So I don't bother posting links. This is why I'm so detailed when it comes to what to look for and I will post a few screenshots in the next section to give you an idea of what I'm looking at. Hopefully, this will clear things up. Currently, this Laptop would be one that is "Good for Photo Editing." There is limited stock available, and I have a feeling it's on its way to being Discontinued. But I'm going to link to it all the same. Let's dive into the Technical Specifications and we will focus on the areas that my eye: CPU? AMD Ryzen 7, which makes it a Intel i7 equivalent. CHECK! RAM? It has 8GB Soldered on the Motherboard, but does have a slot in where you can install a 16GB Stick of RAM. While this falls short of my 32GB Recommendation, it is more than 16GB in the end. (24GB). The downside is you will be throwing away the existing additional RAM. So this is a CHECK! Video Card? It has a NVIDIA Geforce RTX dedicated Video Card with its own dedicated Video Memory. (6GB.) This is a BIG CHECK! Display Panel Type? IPS!!! This is the thing to keep in mind, a Manufacturer will definitely LIST if it's a IPS Panel. If the technical specifications do not list this as an option, I would automatically assume that it contains a TN Panel and would move on. This is a BIG CHECK!! Bonus Points: It's not a Touch Screen. Why is this important? Because smudges from finger prints are a PITA to deal with when editing photos. Also Touchscreen Panels tend to be difficult to calibrate, which usually requires a more advanced Calibration Tool / Software. The Downside to this Display is the Color Gamut. It only displays 72% of the sRGB Colorspace. In reality, you want 90% or better, OR you will need to Calibrate MONTHLY at a minimum and have a set of test prints to check your colors at a moment's notice. Storage? 1TB for the Main HD. BIG CHECK!! As you can see, this particular model checks most, if not all my boxes on what to look for. Always dive into the Technical Specs when shopping for a Laptop. It will save you time. Once you find one that meets my requirement, THEN dive into the reviews to see if there are any problems / it's worth buying. Final Thoughts I hope your eyes haven't glazed over by now and you have found this article informative. While I still do not recommend laptops for Photo Editing, I can understand the appeal of one. If you much use a laptop to edit photos on, please for the love that is "Good-and-Green" purchase this Viewing Angle Gauge to go with it: Acratech Viewing Angle Gauge (Red) - B&H Acratech Viewing Angle Gauge (Silver) - Amazon This little device is so important to have when editing on a Laptop. Why? Because each time you open your screen, your Laptop's Viewing Angle Changes. Even with a fancy IPS screen, a simple inch one way or the other, WILL AFFECT on what you see on the screen. Especially in the Dark Areas of a photo, or even on the other extreme, the brights. Let's say you are trying to recover some detail in the darks. You might open your Laptop, do some editing and then close the lid. When you come back to finish editing, the Screen's Angle won't be the same. This will affect on what you see for a second time. All of a sudden, your edits from a few hours ago are Null-and-Void. So how does this tool help that? There is a little hole in the gauge, with a little "Nub" in front of the hole. When the Nub covers the hole, from your eye's vantage point, your laptop is at a good angle to edit on. As long as you make sure the Nub is in the same position, your edits will be close enough each time your open your screen. Got it?

OK, your hardware is "Fine" for Photoshop Standards. But I do see a few things that I don't like. I'd change your PS Scratch Disks to just use the Internal Drive. YES, YOU DO NEED A SCRATCH DISK. I'd just select the one named "Macintosh HD." You have more than enough room for the PS Scratch Disk, and you have 32GB of RAM, which really puts you ahead of the curve. The problem with using a EHD for a Scratch Disk, is the type of HD. If it's just a normal USB External HD, the bottleneck that you get with a USB port kills your performance. If you need that much Scratch Disk to process your images, we really need to look at your editing habits and the plug-ins that you use. You are running CS5 and MacOS Sierra. If there is any corruption with the video card drivers, there isn't a fix as the drivers come from Apple, which is part of the OS. Since you are so far behind with the MacOS versions, if you did attempt to upgrade, you will be forced to upgrade to MacOS Big Sur, which like Catalina is 64-bit only. Therefore, your Photoshop CS5 would stop working permanently. Period. Plus any other software / plugins that aren't 64-bit. Now, I know a lot of people will ask, "But I thought PS CS5 was 64-bit? Why is it going to stop working if I upgrade?" The reason is the programming language that PS CS5/CS6 was coded with is NOT compatible with MacOS Catalina OR Big Sur. In your case, if you do decide to upgrade, I'd hold off for now, as your entire editing month of December would go down the drain. If you think you have problems now, just you wait. The other thing that concerns me is they had to downgrade from High Sierra to Sierra. Why? As in, why didn't they fix that issue? They just slapped a Band-Aid on it and called it good. Ether there is a problem with your Fusion Drive, (Macintosh HD) or you have other problems with the Motherboard or Video Card. You aren't the 1st person to have issues with a 2015 27" iMac. I think Apple had a bad batch that year; specifically the GPU (The "Brain" of your Graphics Card) fails. The usual symptoms is laggy issues, weird / garbled display and being forced to reboot often to "fix" the issues. Unfortunately, you have a 2015 iMac. It's not worth fixing. I know, I know, "...but I spent so MUCH money!! It's only 5 years old!!" I get it. I empathize...but there is only one place that fixes Apple's products, and that is Apple. Spending over $1000+ (Parts and Labor, plus shipping) to fix a 5 year old computer isn't worth it in my opinion. Combine that with COVID and it jacking up all the prices, just complicates things. So what would I do? Use a little plug-ins as possible. Try not to use everything all at once. Also do not have 100+ tabs opened in Chrome when you edit, if you are anything like my wife. LOL!! She ALWAYS has so many Browser Tabs open constantly. The more Browser Tabs you have open, the more RAM is used as each tab eats a bit of RAM. Judging on your screenshots, this probably isn't the case, but I'm just making sure. That said, you run a lot of plug-ins. You might want to edit smaller batches of photos. Especially if your camera is 24MP or more. The higher the MP count, the more resources from your computer are required. The other thing I would try is head to your Photoshop's Performance Settings. Look towards the right and you should see your Graphics Card. Click the "Advanced Settings..." button and set the usage from "Advanced" to "BASIC." Then restart Photoshop. Heck, while you are there before your restart PS, uncheck that second HD in the Scratch Disk settings. Here is what I'm talking about with the Graphics Processor thing: This is how I have my PS Scratch Disk Setup:

Wow, it’s a Mac Pro. That’s plenty of Horsepower. “Advanced” in the Graphics Processor settings should work, but maybe there is an issue with PS. For now, leave it at Basic. You can always change it back and restart PS. I’m glad you cleared 85GB-ish of space. Not too shabby. With a Mac HD, internal or external, you never want to go more than 80% full at most. CleanMyMac is one of those programs I use weekly. It’s worth the Annual Subscription Fee. What Version of MacOS are you running. To find out, click the Apple menu and select “About this Mac.”

I've also kicked around this idea: Godox AD200 Pro Kit with a MagMog Modifer.

Tools like Liquify and Content Aware, along with Lens Distortion Corrections use the Graphics Processor that is built into you computer. Translation, it's your Video Card's Processing Chip and its Video RAM that is being used. Two things come to mind: Your current video drivers for your computer don't play well with Photoshop Your Video Card is integrated and under-powered and Photoshop can't use it. What you will have to do is head to your Photoshop's Preferences and in the Performance Section look for the "Graphics Processor Settings" area. Click the Advanced button and set it to "Basic." Click OK a few times to save the changes and restart Photoshop. If you are still getting the error message, then we will need to know more about your computer. Actually, scratch that. Can you fill out the info on this questionnaire and post it here in the thread? Details about your Computer

The Dell Ultrasharp Monitors have been decent over the years, and I've always recommended them. Truth be told, I have had some members that have had issues with defective monitors, but those are rare. So whomever you decide to buy it from, make sure they have a decent exchange policy. Also, budget for a Calibration Device as well. ALL computer displays need to be Calibrated if you are editing photos. In addition, it is much better to use either a HDMI or better yet, DisplayPort cable. The difference? DisplayPort is better for 4K Displays, and has all sorts of adapter options. It really is the future monitor connection type going forward. HDMI works fine on 24" and 27" traditional displays. (Non-4k). DO NOT USE A TRADITIONAL 15-PIN (D-SUB / BLUE) VGA CABLE!! That interface dates from 1989 and was only meant for 20" CRT (Tube) Displays and NOT fancy flat-screens. As with laptop computers, if you are editing photos you must make sure that the Dell UltraSharp contains a IPS-based Display Panel. This is non-negotiable. An IPS Display ensures thing like Colors, Contrast, Sharpness, and Brightness are consistent from edge-to-edge, plus it gives you a greater viewing angle. Be forewarned, not all Dell UltraSharps are IPS based. Some will be labeled UHD but contain TN Display Panels, which is fine for video games and general computer. How to tell? It will be mentioned somewhere in the Technical Specifications. Cloud Service is a bit of a misnomer. All the "Cloud" is is someone else's Server / Computer. Personally, I don't use a Cloud Backup other than my Microsoft OneDrive to store REALLY important files. I've heard BackBlaze mentioned a lot, but unless you get the fancy plans, if you delete files from your computer, within 30 days those same files will be deleted from BackBlaze's Servers. So be sure to read ALL the fine-print on whatever Cloud Storage you choose. Is it necessary? "Eh...it depends." Yes, you do want to have an off-site backup in case of Fire/Flood/Theft (stuff like that.) Floods can come from a busted water pipe in a ceiling or leaking water heater as much as the overflowing river next to a person's property. Is Cloud Storage required? Not in a complete sense. Getting a 12TB EHD to dump all your files off of your NAS and be kept off-site accomplishes the same thing. Or you can choose a Cloud Service. Really, which path depends on your Internet Connection. I'm in an area that has Gigabit Speed Internet (well 941Mbps Down / 40Mbps Up) so it's easy to upload stuff. If you are not in an area that has high-speed, then I probably wouldn't be uploading Gigs of Data at once. Keep in mind, I really don't shoot professionally anymore so my photos tend to be of my vacation photos and such. My wife gets photo-books every year of these trips so if they go, I at least have hard copies. So I might not be the best example. That said, I also have realistic expectations and know what I'm doing and am picking my own poison. But I do have a off-site data dump that I make every few months or so and that's kept in my Climate Controlled Storage Unit that's 25 min from my house.

I'm thinking a Network Transfer is in your future. Might as well cut your losses and start it now. I've been in your shoes and it's not fun.

Computer looks fine. What concerns me is the NAS. It doesn't list any hard drives and for that price, that's the cost of the NAS unit itself. Get a 4-Bay Model. Trust me. You'd be surprised on just how quickly you kick yourself for getting a 2 bay unit. I speak from experience. I'd get at least two Hard Drives to start with and here is the Drives that are meant for NAS Units that I would purchase: 12 TB Western Digital Gold Enterprise Grade Hard Drive Here is the NAS that is on my Amazon Wishlist: Synology 4 bay NAS DiskStation DS920+ (Diskless), 4-bay; 4GB DDR4 Before you ask, no I don't like Seagate Hard Drives. I personally only purchase Western Digital Caviar Black or WD Gold Enterprise Grade Drives for my stuff.

Bad Sectors are always a PITA to deal with, especially when cloning. You might have some data loss, though it sounds like you have a handle on things. Let's see what happens after 5 hours.

Buy it Right...Buy it Once!!! Hell, I'd rather you put that $750 towards a better lens than this 2011 iMac.

If you really don't care about budget and are willing to spend around $3200, Bump up the CPU to the i9 and Video Card to the Middle Option. Still get AppleCare and increase the RAM to 64GB and you will have a sweet system for a good 7-8 years.

I wouldn't get the extra fancy screens. I have a tricked out 2017 27" iMac with Retina Screen and it's fine. The glare, really isn't THAT bad. If I were buying a new iMac today, this is what I would purchase, start with the $2299 27" iMac: Be sure to add AppleCare for $169. Then I would purchase this RAM Kit from B&H to increase your RAM from 8GB to 40GB: 32GB Upgrade Kit for 2019 - Current 27" iMac Systems - $134.99 Hell, for a total of $270, you can remove the existing RAM from Apple and bump your computer up to 64GB!

"Eh..." 2011 is really old, at least by today's tech standards. High Sierra is also getting a bit long in the tooth as well and the current Operating Systems are not compatible; there is no upgrade path for you and that means if things get buggy and stop working, you are kinda SOL. Current versions of PS CC also might have an issue. That said, $750 is still $750, and I get it. You just need to have realistic expectations going into it. Are you comfortable throwing away $750? What I mean is, if you get a year or so out of this system, would you be OK with spending $750? Keep in mind, today's cameras, even the low-end consumer models start around 24MP. A 2011 iMac is fine for a 12-16MP Camera, otherwise it's gonna complain, even though it has 32GB of RAM. That 512GB HD doesn't make me happy either, but it's at least a 512GB SSD and that's not as bad as a 250GB or less HD, whatever type. Here is my advice: If you make money with your camera to put food on the table or a roof over your head and you need a computer to deliver stuff to clients, then yeah, this is a stop-gap computer. If you are doing this as a hobby, keep saving. With COVID-19 all around, most people aren't taking photos or traveling much, so I'd hold off until you get enough to buy a new iMac.

Yeah, a lot of off-the-shelf computers have OneDrive installed and Activated by default. Is there anything in these OneDrive folders that is important? If so, please copy those files first to a local folder on your computer. Because when you un-link things, and basically un-install OneDrive I think it deletes whatever files are in those folders. So check those folders and get back to me.

Did you ever use the new Lightroom in the past? Or the one that works on iPads? Not the "Classic" version of LR that works locally, the new one that syncs to Adobe's Cloud Servers. That's probably how it got turned on. Edit: Son of a Gun!! I also have 20GB of Cloud Storage that I never used. Looks like Adobe changed their $9.99 Photography Plan. I personally don't have anything loaded on there, and have no idea on how to turn it off. Try that link that I gave you or give Adobe a call. This should be an easy question for them.

OK, that's not iCloud. That is Cloud Storage that is included with your photography plan. Something is turned on and it's syncing data between your computer and Adobe's Cloud Storage Space. I found this link: https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/delete-files-permanently.html You will have to call Adobe on this one, I've never used their Cloud Storage offerings. Most of the time, this Cloud Storage feature costs extra, usually $19.99 a month (or more, depending on storage capacity.) So for all we know you signed up for the Photography Plan and it included a trial period of Cloud Storage. As to why it's backing stuff up automatically, I'm sure it's some default setting somewhere that is turned on.

I do like the Windows 10 Pro recommendation! Also, it's better to get a slower CPU for the cost savings and a better Video Card instead of a fast CPU and crappy video card. 32GB RAM is a good number to shoot for. But I will tell you, if you have a high MP Camera, like 45MP or more, 64GB of RAM would be better. 100MB Raw files really tax your computer's resources.

Actually, that whole system the tech recommended is under-powered. If budget is a concern, save up more. Honestly, with COVID19 screwing around with all of the prices, computers are way more expensive now than they were a year ago. Here are my tech specs:

The 500GB Solid State Drive concerns me with today's software. At a MINIMUM, you want at least 1TB. If anyone tells you that is over-kill, they are just trying to sell you something that they have in-stock. For $120, you could have a reputable Samsung EVO 1TB 860 SSD. The Graphics Card is also under-powered. You really want a fast card that has at least 8GB or more of Video RAM. Adobe's products are relying on the Video Card more than ever to give their products a performance boost.