Brian

If you can afford it, I highly recommend (and own) a Thunderbolt 3 G-Drive. If you have a brand new iMac, and it sounds like you do, it is in your best interest to get a Thunderbolt 3-based EHD. The nice part with the G-Drives is they include all the necessary cables, and have high-quality hard drives contained inside. Meaning, they are NOT the $79 Special from Best Buy. Those drives I never recommend. Also, G-Drives are formatted for use with the Mac by default. Meaning all you have to do is hook it up and start working. The only downside is they are a bit pricey. But in my humble opinion, out of all the things you don't want to cheap out on, it's the hard drive that your data will reside. Here is where I bought my 12TB G-Drive, which has been replaced by the 14TB model. Personally, I'd get at least 6TB, and if you can swing it, something larger like 10TB or even 14TB. Edit: Why a TB3 EHD instead of a USB 3.0 model? In a word: Speed. TB3 is FAST. In fact, TB3 is so fast that I actually work off my External HD when editing photos rather than the main drive. A TB3 EHD is really like an extension of your computer.

Oh, BTW...I have expensive tastes. Every time I “configure” a computer build, I always end up at a $2800 price-Point. LOL!! That’s why I didn’t link to anything.

By default, the MacOS will READ and Windows Formatted HD, but NOT WRITE TO IT. You aren't doing anything "wrong," except trying to write to a Windows EHD. This way makes it easy to convert from Windows to Mac. But if you want to go back and forth between the two worlds, you will need software to act as a translator, but I will warn you, this type of software isn't 100% fool proof. In reality, Apple wants you to pick a platform (Windows or Mac) and stick with it. Honestly? What I would do is invest in a new EHD, format / partition it to use with the Mac and save your images that you edited on your Mac to the Mac EHD. Going back and forth between Windows and a Macintosh is a bit of a PITA.

16GB RAM in the Minimum I would get these days. Honestly? I'd get 32GB to start with. A Intel i9 won't be much "better," sure it's a little faster, but it isn't earth shattering as compared to a really fast and beefy Intel i7. I'd rather you get a better motherboard and a fast i7 than to blow all your cash on a i9 CPU. I like Asus, Gigabyte and MSI Motherboards. Make sure you get CPU Paste! LOL!! Samsung 1TB m.2 Drive for your main one should be fine. I'd get that over SSD with a new MLB.

Yeah...contact Canon. You have a bad sensor. That's not dust and I'm seeing some "Banding" on the left side with one of the photos. No, you can't fix or clean your way out of this one. Contact Canon and schedule a repair with them. The sooner the better. Also, a quick Google Search yielded other people with this problem.

What type of video card is installed? Does it have its own dedicated memory or does it use the RAM? Also, 132GB out of 500 is a bit low, especially if you have a high MP (24MP+) camera. On the surface, can you get that RAM up to 32GB and move things off that HD?

Can you post a photo? if your sensor has been “cleaned” the only thing I can think of is you have dead pixels in your Camera’s sensor. Usually it’s when you set your Aperture to f/16 and shoot something bright / clean will you see dust spots. I’ve never heard of underexposure causing this issue. Also, try using a different lens just for giggles. You might get lucky and find out the problem is with the lens. Especially Zoom lenses. Usually I will get a response, “...but I never take the lens off!” If it’s a zoom, sometimes dust can work its way in the control rings when you zoom in and out. Especially if you are in dusty areas, like the beach or in a desert.

Oh, and if you are wondering what's next? When you get your new camera, LEARN ALL OF YOUR FOCUS MODES!! Don't worry about fancy editing and toys with your camera. Learn the focus modes. All of them. Know which ones to use and when, and know which modes to avoid due to your shooting style. Then start playing with all the menus and such.

Oh yeah. Even at 40GB on my fancy 2017 iMac those files didn't really "flow" that well in PS until I upgraded to 64GB. I just shot my son's Engagement Photos yesterday and I took my D4s, since it's better in low light (and it's faster.) I edited some of those D4s files today and the difference between a 20MB Raw file and a 100MB Raw file is quite obvious. Also, when it comes to a D850...you need the best glass to go with it. That stupid camera has costed me so much money. I had to buy the newer 24-70 f/2.8E and a 70-200 f/2.8 E lens just to feed those 45MPs. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have purchased a D850 and held off buying anything. Oh well. My next body will probably be a Mirrorless. As far as the laptop, I would go for the non-touch display. Thinks also don't always scale correctly when using 4K on a 15" screen, everything is so tiny until you tweak things. The issue really is with the damn laptops itself, I'm not a fan at all for people using them for photo editing. But people still want them and they keep asking. If you really want a dead-on editing screen, use a calibrated external display.

Touch Screens traditionally are a bitch to calibrate. Though some have reported little to no problems in this dept. That said, I personally would rather not edit with fingerprints on my display. I'm also more interested in the Color Gamut when it comes to sRGB, because that's the mode you will be editing in. Regardless on what you read on the internet, and everyone always seems to say "ADOBE RGB!!" The truth is, as soon as you export to JPEG, by default...JPEG is sRGB. So why spend all that time in Adobe RGB when the final output is sRGB? That's why Damien and I recommend sRGB. You want color consistency, from ACR --> to PS --> to JPEG. So what do I recommend for sRGB? About 90% or better. Especially 95%+ for sRGB.

OLED will most certainly give you burn-in problems. They have gotten better, but even fancy top-of-the-line LG OLED Displays have warnings printed in their manuals. I'd stick with LED for a computer display, Getting a IPS Screen will be more than enough. Remember, you aren't watching movies, you are editing photos. You need to see detail in the blacks / shadows.

It's really the display panel type more than anything. It's very easy to fall for the marketing terms, I don't care if it makes you breakfast in the morning, your laptop's internal display NEEDS to be IPS Based. (aka In-Plane Switching.) Often manufacuters will install the cheaper TN (Twisted Neumatic) display panels, which have a quicker response time, thereby being better suited for video games, but when it comes to Photographs and Video, IPS is the only way to go. Sadly, finding a IPS-Based Laptop is a real PITA. You will find laptops that meet all of my recommendations, but then you get to the display panel and it's usually TN, which disqualifies it. In case your are wondering, IPS panel technology helps insure things like Color, Contrast, and Sharpness are consistent from edge to edge. Plus the viewing Angle is much better; usually around 170 Degrees or so. TN panels don't do this. They are great for general computing and not photo editing or video editing. If you can't find a laptop that has a IPS panel, you would then need to consider purchasing an external IPS based Display AND use a digital dort, like HDMI or DisplayPort to get the most out of your external display. Don't EVER use the old 15-pin Blue VGA Ports, those were meant for 20" CRT (Tube) Displays, not today's fancy flat-screens.

As I've stated in my pinned articles, Apple wants you to "Go Big or Go Home." So my configurations stand. Give this article another read. Remember, when I configure my computers, I have a 7-8 year lifespan time-frame in mind, not something that will work for "Now." I realize my configurations are a bit on the expensive side, compared to say...buying a stock $1799 iMac, but things like a better video card and better HD along with the ability to upgrade RAM down the line also come into play. My configurations are overkill for PSE, but at the end of the day, I'd rather you have a computer that is going to last than one you will replace in 2-3 years. Of course, it's your money and if you want to buy a lower-priced iMac, go for it. Just make sure you skip the 21.5" iMac models. NO!! You want a Time Machine EHD that has a capacity which is at least twice of what your internal HD is. Also, your Time Machine Drive is just meant for Time Machine Backups ONLY!! Do not partition anything or try to cheat. Leave the Time Machine Drive all by itself, and make sure that TM does NOT backup any of your other External Hard Drives. You just want TM to backup your Internal Mac HD ONLY. Personally, I have a 4TB TM EHD and my Internal Mac HD is just a 1TB SSD Drive. You can manually "Trim" Time Machine Backups from a few years ago, this is totally up to you. In my humble opinion, this is something I would do manually and not use software for. Honestly, it's pretty easy to do, and a simple Google Search of "time machine delete old backups" will yield a bunch of results. Since I'm a visual person, I prefer YouTube Tutorials. This will walk you through, step-by-step on how to trim your TM EHD. One more thing, now is the time to buy a current iMac, since they will be the last of the Intel-based CPU Chips. Apple is moving away from Intel and going with their own CPU Chip line, similar to what is in the iPads and such. This makes sense for Apple, but as far as the user experience and things working with a Mac, like the list you provided above, I'd get a Intel Based iMac while you can. It will. Any increase in MP will require more horsepower and storage and RAM from your computer. That said, going from 16MP to 20MP isn't THAT huge. I went from 16MP to 45MP and my old Mac practically cried out in pain. Honestly, 32GB for your new iMac will work just fine for you. You could get away with something like 16GB, but RAM is cheap now and just buy it and get it over with. If you are looking to save costs, and I realize that Canada is really expensive, just like Australia (they are MUCH worse than Canada,) so you could purchase something like a 16GB Kit from Crucial.com to take your iMac from 8GB to 24GB and see how things work for you. You can always go higher when it comes to RAM.

I'd also give this video a watch as well. Of course, this particular video is favoring the Mirrorless Body for taking video, which makes sense since it's newer technology. If you are primarily taking actual photographs, they recommend the Canon 5D Mark IV. Plus, as I've stated above, and they implied this in the video, to get the best performance out of a Mirrorless Body, you need the Mirrorless-based lenses to go with it. Sure you can use an adapter ring, but in reality, you are buying all new lenses to go with a Mirrorless Body. Since you already have great glass, why bother forking out another $6000+? So my vote & recommendation for you is a 5D Mark IV. Enjoy your purchase.

@Falon: Came across this video on YouTube this evening. I'd give it a watch:

Chances are you are going to have to download a fresh copy, then manually remove the driver, reboot and then install the new video driver. Dell Tech Support should be able to help you with this, or at least point you in the right direction.

This is going to be a tough one. Personally, I would try to find one in real life and hold one. Mirrorless bodies are A LOT Smaller than DSLR Bodies. If you do go the R6 route and can't hold one prior, make sure the place you buy from has a great return policy and use the camera right away. Meaning, don't get it on a Tuesday and wait until the Weekend to test it out. If you don't like it, you don't want to cut into a 14 day return policy.

Your Google search is as good as mine. I'm a Nikon shooter. The main thing with the Canon Cameras is to not use a CF Card and a SD Card together. Canon likes to cut corners to save costs, and if you use a SD card at the same time as a CF card, the CF card's write speed slows down to match the slower SD Card Slot. So for the best performance, use a CF card only in a 5D Mark Whatever. From the quick search that I did about the 5D Mark IV, it seems the majority of problems people are complaining about is when it comes to video. I also saw a AF ON button issue, when pressed, it sometimes locks up the camera. But I'm thinking this is a problem with the body, bad switch as it were. It doesn't seem to have the focus problems like your 7D. Yes. But there seems to be a firmware update that helps this. That said, there are a lot of threads / articles about the poor performance in the focusing dept. with both the 7D Mark I and Mark II. In reality, I'd avoid both of those bodies. Spending money to have them fixed out of warranty, which they should have worked in the damn first place, with no guarantees of things working correctly even after it's "fixed," is like throwing money away, in my humble opinion. But that's your call.

If you are chasing 2 year olds around, outdoors, I'm sorry...me recommending something like a Profoto B1 Air with a C-Stand, sandbags and 60" or larger Modifier just isn't going to happen. While it sounds good, it just isn't practical unless you really practice. In reality, I'd like to upgrade your Alien Bee to an Einstein 640 and purchase a Battery Pack for on-location work. If that still sounds cumbersome, then we need to break things down further. So let's start with a basic flash, a Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT. $400 for a flash with that power isn't bad. The Nikon equivalent is around $600. I learned the hard way, it's just better (and cheaper in the long run) to just get the top-of-the-line OEM Flash. You can use that one on camera or fire it with triggers and use it off camera. For years, I thought about getting a portable Westcott Rapid Box 2-Light Speedlite Kit. The Canon 600 Flash will work nicely with those modifiers, and you will need two flashes to use both the octa and the strip light. Here is a video of them being used. At a basic level, here is a 2 Speedlite Kit: Canon 600EX II - RT Flash: $399 x 2 = $798 Westcott Rapid Box Kit: $329.90 Panasonic Eneloop Batteries (8 Pack): $32.63 x 2 = 65.26 Powerexex MH-C801D Battery Charger: $64.95 Dot Line AA Battery Case: $7.95 PocketWizard FlexTT6 Canon Trigger Kit: $439.00 Sandbags. I'd buy 2 - 3: $21.95 each. Grand Total: $1770.91. Plus any applicable shipping and tax. Keep in mind, we didn't budget for a portable hand-held meter. When dealing with OCF, it's best to use a hand-held meter as your camera's built in meter is completely worthless if the Flashes are fired manually. The reason is the meter is reacting to the existing ambient light, it's not taking flash power into consideration. That's what TTL or Through The Lens Metering does. The PocketWizards allow TTL Metering, and though TTL is very handy to have, it's not Fool-Proof. Basically the camera does a quick calculation and tells the flash to fire at a certain power, based on the camera's meter. In reality, it doesn't always work well, and that's how you get "Icky Flash Photos" which causes Photographers to "Specialize in Natural Light." If you are going to go the OCF Flash route and fire your flashes, you will need to pay attention to a few things. One is the Inverse Square Law, the other is how Shutter Speed (and ISO) controls Ambient Light and Aperture Controls what Flash Power that you use. I can explain more if needed. Until then, give this video a watch, twice if you need to: Zack Arias Aperture/Flash Relationship Now for fun, let's take a look at this Strobe: The Profoto B10 Plus Flash Head. 500 Watt Seconds will help you overpower the Sun (mostly) if needed and will be more versatile. If you were photographing indoors, say a sleeping newborn, you would need the 250 Watt Second Version. (Kinda like the equivalent to an AB 400) Yes, you read that correctly, $2100 for just the light. You still need mounting hardware, stands, battery packs, a triggering system. Basically we can spend $4000 - $5000 (or more) without even thinking. But the difference in the quality of light you get with a Profoto vs a cheap light like an AlienBee 400 is night and day. Profoto and the more expensive lights are extremely consistent and the bulbs that they use is so much better. AB400 lights tend to be all over the place and are notorious for producing hot-spots. Now before you "GASP!! THAT'S EXPENSIVE..." remember, I haven't gotten to the expensive lights yet. This stuff adds up quickly. It's very much like buying a set of drums. Sure the Drum Kit is $500, but the hardware, cymbals, stands, snare drum, etc. really increase the costs. It's the same thing with Flash.

If you used the right MODIFIER, and OCF...then yes, it would have turned out better. That's the secret to using OCF...it's the modifier. Walking around with a Lightstand, a 60" softbox, battery pack, sandbags, and dealing with a triggering system can be a real PITA on location. Now this type of thing is done all the time, but usually there are assistants to help you. Which adds to your overhead. Before we start really talking about all the gear, I want you to give this video a watch: Zack Arias - Family Portraits on Location. If that type of setup is something you would be interested in, then we can go from there. If you are more for the "Running and Gunning" style of flash photography, kinda like shooting a wedding, then that's another avenue we can explore. Basically, I want to make sure we are on the right path as there are so many freaking options out there.

The Canon 7D, especially the Mark I, was notorious for focusing issues. They do have a Canon 7D Mark II version, which is around $1400 or so. (US Dollars.) For a new Full Frame Body, you are looking at a Canon 5D Mark IV, which should be around $2500. Personally, I would upgrade to full frame. Once you go Full Frame, it's tough to go back to Crop. Mirrorless...it's all the rage with the Measurebators. It gives people who write blogs about cameras something to write about and YouTube personalities something to talk about. While there are adapters to make your lenses compatible with a Mirrorless Body, in reality it's sometimes better to get the Mirrorless lenses to go with the bodies in order to take advantage of all the camera's features. I will say this, I am interested in Mirrorless, but I'm also waiting. Sales of Mirrorless aren't as great as Marketing makes things out to be, and DSLRs are still being sold. Plus, I really don't want to buy a Mirrorless Version of the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 to go with a Nikon Mirrorless Body as that will make it my 3rd 24-70. This Shit gets expensive, so I'm waiting. Hopefully a Pro-Grade Mirrorless Body will be released soon. For the Canon side, the Canon EOS R6 looks interesting, and is the same price as a 5D Mark IV. I'd check YouTube for some reviews, and take things with a grain-of-salt, then make a decision. Either way I'd recommend Full Frame be your next purchase. Keep in mind you might have to purchase extra batteries and remote cables, plus memory cards.

Yeah, you want to install Video Driver updates from DELL and not the manufacture. Even if it's a NVIDIA Card and you see a driver on NVIDIA's website. Dell does tweaking to the hardware / drivers that they put into their computers and it's always best to get these drivers via their software tool. Sometimes you can put in the Microsoft Drivers and they don't do much, if anything, at all. Most of the time you need to go to Dell and get updated drivers from them, especially for the video cards. The other stuff, like Chipset and USB seem to work with either the Microsoft or Dell versions. I would go ahead and install those Dell Updates. One of the Updates is for your BIOS. Just make sure when you update, do not have anything else running and it will force you to reboot. With a BIOS update, things might sometimes appear to have locked up; I would leave it alone and let it do its thing. The downside is that there doesn't seem to be a video driver update, so you might have to call Dell for Support. Something is screwy with your video driver, Photoshop / Bridge is complaining & acting weird, especially since it won't update properly. Actually, thinking about it, it's probably detecting a Update on NVIDIA's website, so a phone call to Dell is likely in your future.

OK, families, about 8-10 people max, conversationally speaking. I'm assuming that you are lighting them with your 86" PLM outdoors? What are you using outdoors currently? I need more info before I just tell you to buy a bunch of stuff. Remember, it's not just a light, but light stands, modifiers, mounting hardware, extra batteries, etc. etc. Walk me through your typical scenario when shooting families outdoors. What are you using or is this just natural light stuff? What is your end-goal in the "Look" of what you are trying to achieve? Can you link to an example?

I'm back. My Holiday...It was Windy. OK, so you mostly have Full Frame Lenses, so no worries there. Now it's time to talk budget. At this point, you could go up to a used 5D Mark III that's in good shape or a 5D Mark IV. Unless you want to stay with a crop body. The reason is the angle of view is different and you won't get that "Magnifying Effect" or "Crop Factor" as you would with a Crop Camera, like your Canon 7D. If you shoot wildlife such as birds, this might be an issue because 200mm on a full frame, will be 200mm instead of acting like 320mm. Now, I get it...optically 200mm is 200m...200mm is still 200mm, it's just the Angle of View Change happens at the sensor, since it's smaller on a crop body. Meaning, your 24-105 will be "Wider" than what you are used to at the 24mm end. Make sense? Right now your 24-105 acts like a 38.4mm - 168mm. (Canon Crop Factor: Focal Length x 1.6). So you may not need to go rush out and get a 11-24 L Lens, your 24-105 might work better for you. So you have full frame glass, so your overall overhead won't be too bad. You can upgrade to anything that you want. This is good news because if all you had was crop lenses, like your 10-22, then we are talking over $5000+ to switch to Full Frame. Now, you can go in any direction. So I guess it boils down to what you shoot?

Photoshop does not like your video drivers. I'm wondering if this is the source of your problems. What Make / Model is your computer? Is there software that checks to see if there are any driver updates?