Brian

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?

What sort of Antivirus Software are you running? When was the last time you installed Windows Updates?

Lighting...it’s a slippery slope. Yes, your thinking is correct, but the reality is you do truly do get what you pay for. I can recommend a $2000 Profoto Light or go even higher, or go less. Combine that with mounting hardware and accessories. So we will need to talk budget and give me a typical scenario of what you lug around on location. What are you photographing? I’m sure it’s people, is it families? Headshots?

We will need to start off with your current lens line-up and what kind of budget do you have in mind?

Yeah, there was problems initially, but usually 3 months or so after these major updates get released, they seem to be stable for the most part.

If it makes you feel any better, I am at D50 and around 80-ish on my 27" iMac. Everything else just is too off the mark. I'm also 2-3 ticks from the left in terms of brightness. Even after calibration, the Mac screens are just too bright. So don't be afraid to lower the brightness yourself, regardless what the calibration software says. Honestly, D50 makes the screen just warm enough and not as cold as the Apple Default, and my colors are so much better. Also, after calibration, I see so many different gradient levels, especially in the darks.

You might have to un-install your Spyder5 Pro software and download a fresh copy and install it. OR Check your manufacture's website for any Driver Updates, especially USB or Intel Chipset Driver Updates. You could be correct, Windows could have screwed something up and you need OEM drivers to get things to stop being Wonky. Microsoft has gotten really good over the years with drivers, but they aren't 100% fool-proof.

Awesome! It's still good to add Photoshop and Bridge to that list in the Privacy Tab / Section. It keeps various error messages from popping up in those programs. It's just a glitch with Mojave.

Also, head here: Known Issues with Photoshop and Mojave. You are going to want to read halfway down and Add Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Bridge to the Privacy Tab in the Preferences. This gives permission to Photoshop and Bridge to do stuff on your Mac, especially modify files. Here are the instructions from the website with a little added from me: Open System Preferences. Select Security & Privacy Click the lock to make changes, then enter your system user name and password for your computer. Select Privacy from the top set of tabs, then select Accessibility from the left-hand column of options. Click the + (plus) button under the list 'Allow the apps below to control your computer'. Navigate to the Applications folder and select the Photoshop application (Photoshop and Bridge) and click Open. Both programs should appear in the list under the Privacy Tab. Click the Padlock and then close out the Window. Restart the computer.

Give this web page a read: Change permissions for files, folders or disks on Mac Especially this section: You can't do a "Select All" and change permissions for a bunch of files, but you can do that on a folder. I would try doing this on a folder that is located on your HD.

This doesn't look good. Where were these files from? How did you copy them over? I'm assuming the were originally on a DVD Disc? Because "Digital Rot" is a very real thing and those images might be gone forever. Other terms are "Digital Decay," "Data Rot," or "Bit Rot." In-a-nutshell, various media degrades over time, bit by bit. Almost like a fallen tree-branch slowly degrades and returns to the Earth. Various devices such as hard drives can even suffer from it, but DVD media that you make yourself / burn is notorious for only lasting for so long and is VERY SUSCEPTIBLE for Digital Rot. Especially if you used a really cheap Disks, like a Memorex 100 pack for $19.99. For example, Discs that were made, say in 2002, might be completely blank by now. That's right...your images will just go "Poof" over time as the media degrades without you doing anything. It wastes away sitting in a drawer somewhere for years. Even the Library of Congress has Digital Rot issues and are trying to find ways to combat it. Basically, your generic DVDs that you burn are the worst medium to have important data that is intended for long-term storage. Fortunately, we have Archive Grade DVDs now, but even those aren't 100% Fool-Proof. As a real-life friend of mine, who goes by the Moniker 'Missy MWAC,' has a famous saying: "Print what you want to preserve..." From what I can tell, the cr2 files that have blank / white icons did not transfer over correctly and are more than likely gone without any data recovery possible. I would try copying the files over again and see if you can get any to pop up. As far as the Ratings, Bridge is a Damien thing. I'm thinking the .xmp file isn't playing nice. I would just try copying over JUST the .cr2 files to a new / test folder; especially ones that you are having issues with, open them up in Bridge mess with a new rating, and then open up in ACR. Then save. Let's see what happens.

The Middle One. The RTX 2060 8GB. You don't need "Super" unless you are a Gamer.

I just installed it. The 2004 update seems fine now. Just re-run Windows Update after it completes. Sometimes there are updates for the update.

There are the possibility of two things going on here. The RAM Module in the 4th slot is faulty. (Very Likely.) The Slot itself is faulty. Your crashing problems / beeping noise all point to a bad RAM stick. I think you recently upgraded your RAM? You might want to schedule a RMA before it gets too late. Oh, one more important thing, make sure you touch something metallic to ground yourself out before handling the RAM sticks. RAM does NOT like to get zapped by a static discharge, no matter how small.

Yep. You can either do a Select All and then right click / choose copy and paste those folders on the other EHD, OR you can drag on EHD over the other while one the desktop. Either way works. For me, I'd rather open up the first EHD and do a select all, to make sure I get everything, and then paste it on the 2nd EHD.

That's up to you. Honestly, how often do you go back to these photos? If the file sizes, and folder amounts match up, you should be good. As for the Topaz thing, I'm not sure, I've never used Topaz products. Try opening one of those files and see what it does. I'm thinking for whatever reason, the file is associated with Topaz. Maybe you edited those files at some point with that plugin.

The distortion around the edges isn't usable stuff to work with. That's why sensors / film cells are always slightly smaller than the what the lens projects.

You are thinking like an Engineer. LOL!!