Brian

Here is the drive I'm referring to: Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB.

Around $3000 is Perfect. To answer your question above, AVOID A FUSION DRIVE and get a 1TB SSD instead. Now for the configuration! Let's go spend money!! Start out with the $2299 27" iMac. Leave the processor at the default, the RAM at 8GB (wait until I'm done) and the video card, the Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB video RAM at the default. Upgrade the Storage to a 1TB SSD Drive and I like the Magic Mouse 2. Upgrade the keyboard to the one with the built in Number-pad, it's totally worth the extra $30. It's listed as Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad - US English (or whatever language you choose.) Your cost at the bottom in the box with my configuration should be $2629.00. (US Dollars) Purchase/Add the AppleCare for $169.00 and your subtotal should be $2798.00, before tax. Have it shipped to a local AppleStore if one is nearby, as having a $3000 Computer sitting at your door is a little unsettling, although they make you sign for it. If you aren't able to be home, have it shipped to a FedEX Shipcenter or UPS Station. You can put the ship-to address as the following: Jane User Hold at Fedex Depot! 1234 Address of Fedex Depot Your Town, State 12345-6789 Then all you have to do is show up to the local Fedex Shipcenter, show them your ID and they will bring out your iMac. Usually things are ready around 9-10AM, so it's not like you have to wait around all day with the dreaded Yellow sticker being placed on your door. Now for the RAM. Yes, 8GB is not enough by today's standards. Unfortunately, Apple's price on RAM is insanely expensive. If you were to upgrade the RAM to 32GB, that's a $600 up-charge. You can simply buy a 32GB Kit from Crucial.com and take it up to 40GB of RAM...FOR LESS Money!! How about $132 instead of $600? That's how you get a better iMac and the reason that we can start with the $2299 27" iMac Model. Here is the RAM kit at B&H that I am referring to: Crucial 32GB DDR4 2666 MHz SO-DIMM Memory Kit (2 x 16GB) - $131.99. Yes, you can install the RAM yourself. It takes about 5-10 Min. The only "tool" that you will need is the rounded end of a toenail clipper to push the little button to open the access panel. Then there is two tabs that you push, and the RAM Cage Pops out. Then all you do is touch something metal to ground yourself before handling the RAM (static electricity is bad) and insert the two sticks in the empty slots. Then click the cage back in and re-install the access panel. Easy-Peasy. Here is a YouTube video demonstrating the process. When you boot your iMac and head to the Apple Menu, and select "About this Mac" you should see 40GB of RAM. Of course, if you just want to max it out to 64GB and be done with it, buy two of those $132 kits and take out the existing Apple RAM, and then replace it with the Crucial RAM. Now, in case you are wondering, why start with the $2299 iMac instead of the $1999 model? It's the Video Card. The Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB video RAM is a better fit with Photoshop and the one that is in my 27" iMac. It works fine with the "Use Graphics Processor" part of Lightroom and Photoshop. Photoshop is relying more on the video card these days for a performance boost. It's almost as important as the CPU chip. Also, Photoshop doesn't always take advantage of a super-fast CPU chip, as it's just not programmed to. So buying a really fast and expensive i9 or whatever may only give you a slight performance boost when it comes to Photoshop. It's actually BETTER to get a slightly slower CPU and then take that savings and put it towards an upgraded video card that plays well with Adobe Photoshop.

If your monitor has a DVI / HDMI / DisplayPort, we want you to use that over the traditional 15-pin display port. What ports are on your display? Anything besides the VGA port?

i7 with 16GB RAM. You can always add more RAM at a later time and it’s something you can do yourself.

First, what is your budget? Second, while I recommend 32GB, Apple’s prices on RAM are insanely high. But before we get into that, how much are you comfortable spending?

Now THAT’S what you should be looking for. Wait for the Deals. Pay that sucker off in 15 months. .

No. Don’t finance. The interest charges are insane. Unless you do a “Six Months Same as Cash,” in which case you need to have it paid off within 5 Months. Otherwise you get slammed from interest charges from Day one. Also, stay away from Aaron’s rental or similar store. $35 a week (or whatever) sounds good in the beginning, but you will spend triple of the actual cost by going that route. You don’t need to spend $1000, but we can find you something between $600-$800. Black Friday / Cyber Monday is around the corner. Hold off for less than two weeks. Oh, you can keep your monitor. You will just need the adapter I linked to above and possible a DVI cable, unless you have one laying around.

BTW: Anything that I recommend, I would purchase myself. I do not receive any compensation from any manufacturers or associate funded links. im also a stickler for buying quality and I often purchase computers with a 7+ year lifespan in mind. If I cheap out, I know I’m going to be replacing things in about 18 months. I’d rather buy it once and have it last. Otherwise you end up spending more money in the long run.

I would not buy either of those. You really get what you pay for. I know you have less than $500 to spend. I get it. Save up. Wait a few months. Get it right, otherwise you are gonna throw money at upgrades to increase performance.

Not a fan of the Dell Optiplex line. They are low-end consumer grade models. I’m a firm believer in “Buy it Right...Buy it Once” way of thinking. That’s why I recommend the Dell XPS line. They are better than the low-end models and are affordable for most. Spec-wise they are decent for what they are. Even if it means you have to wait and save up for a few months. I personally hate wasting money on this sh*t.

NikonUSA in NY, since I’m east of the Mississippi. Warning: I’m a Nikon OEM snob. I will never own a Sigma or Tamron lens. Often with third party lenses, you go through multiple copies to get a good one or are sending it into repair a few times to get it right. QC isn’t always the best, though they have made progress. You Sigma 70-200 issues, create a new thread.

Sometimes they will calibrate a lens to a body. Essentially, your 50mm f/1.4G will be "Married" to your D700.

There are a few Authorized Nikon Repair Centers. Service Pro being one of them. Nikon stopped selling parts to 3rd party repair places, so "Joe's Camera Shop" can't get parts. KEH.com has a repair center and Service Pro is another that comes to mind now that you mentioned it. Give them a call. Heck, take your D700 along so they can see the problem. Be sure to bring the receipt. This is a Warranty Repair. US Nikon/Nikkor Glass come with a 5 year warranty.

You can sell your lens at KEH.com. Keep in mind they will pay Pawn Shop Prices. Especially for a known problem-child lens, like the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G. If you sell it to a individual, like off of Craigslist or FB...I'm a firm believer in Karma. The universe will reverberate back what you throw out to it. It might take years, but it does happen. For example, I've helped many people over the years, for free. I have seen lots of people have lenses and other fancy camera toys given to them as Christmas Gifts, Birthday Presents or even Valentine's Gifts. Here you go honey, this is that $2700 70-200 f/2.8E you've been wanting for your Photography "Business." I wish I had that situation. LOL! Well, after some years, I saved up enough money to buy a used Nikon D3s due to the fact that I always was outgrowing camera bodies every two years. I got fed up with having to fork out money all the time. So I bought a used D3s and I loved that camera. Unfortunately it needed to be sent to Nikon for repair after a few years of heavy use. Well since the D3s was a Professional Grade body and they don't sell many of them, parts are limited these days. Nikon BROKE my camera while it was in the shop. The parts were no longer available on the planet. Guess what happened? Nikon called me and offered me a fully refurbished D4s for the cost of the repair. I got a $4500 camera body with a brand new shutter, 90 Day Warranty, complete with accessories (except the manual, which I just downloaded) for $612.57. That my dear, is Karma.

If the lens was purchased new last year, then send it to Nikon to have it repaired. Even with the shipping cost, it's cheaper than buying a new lens. (You pay to have it shipped to Nikon and then they will send it back to you.) Who knows, maybe they have come up with a solution by now. There are two repair centers in the US, one on Long Island New York, the other just outside Los Angeles. Just be sure to send a copy of the proof-of-purchase (i.e. receipt,) along with the repair form that you will need to print out. The location that your lens will be repaired at depends on which side of the Mississippi River you are located. West is Los Angeles. East of the Mississippi, New York.

I have buyer's remorse when it comes to my D850. I got a really good deal on the camera body, and even used a few gift-cards to help lower the cost. I had no idea on how much money I would spend to support a D850. My iMac currently has 64GB of RAM, because it cried when I edited the massive D850 RAW Files. I had to purchase a new 24-70 f/2.8 VR Lens, because my 24-70G was only sharp in the center and I NEEDED VR to shoot at 1/60th of a second and I also had to upgrade my 70-200 to the newest version. The D850, while it's a fine camera, has a ton of infrastructure costs. If I had to do it all over again, I would have stayed with my D4s and lenses. It would have saved me thousands of dollars. New cameras are fun, but be careful what you wish for.

I honestly do not know why this lens has such and issue with the D700. It could be the optical formula, the D700's focusing system or a combination of both. This lens just sucks and is in need of a complete refresh. Before you go out forking good money for a new camera body, what lenses do you currently own? Also, the new camera's sensors START at 24MP, even for basic-level entry models. You will need horsepower on your computer plus enough storage capacity to handle a new camera body's Raw files. Personally, I'd keep your D700 and put that money towards a better / new computer. THEN we can talk about new cameras, after we talk lenses.

Honestly, I wouldn't bother using this lens on a newer camera body. Nikon really doesn't have a good current 50mm f/1.4 that will keep up with the high-resolution camera sensors (24MP+.) In fact, even an "old" camera, like the Nikon D800, the 50mm f/1.4G did not make the "Recommended Lenses" list. Forget about anything current. In fact, no 50mm lens, either old or new made the Nikon D850 "Recommended Lenses" list: Prime Lenses AF NIKKOR 14mm f/2.8D ED* AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G ED AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.8G ED AF-S NIKKOR 28mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.4G (Notice the lack of 50mm lenses in this spot?) AF-S NIKKOR 58mm f/1.4G AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G AF-S NIKKOR 105mm f/1.4E ED AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S NIKKOR 200mm f/2G ED VR II AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4E FL ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4E FL ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR PC NIKKOR 19mm f/4E ED PC-E NIKKOR 24mm f/3.5D ED PC-E Micro-NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED PC-E Micro-NIKKOR 85mm f/2.8D Zoom lenses AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED* AF-S NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II Personally, I would even skip a few lenses on this list if you were to purchase a D850. Lenses marked with an asterisk (*) barely made the list and should really be skipped when it comes to a D850.

Oh, BTW...none of those sample photos you posted above are sharp. They are all fuzzy.

I KNEW IT!!!!! The Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G is one of Nikon's worst lenses, ESPECIALLY WHEN USED ON A NIKON D700. In fact, this stupid lens caused more posts than any other lens question when "Ask Brian" was on Facebook. I hate this stupid lens. In fact, when I release the FAQ Section here on the Website, "Brian's Thoughts," one of the topics will cover the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G. It's that bad. So the good news is...it's not you and it's not the D700. The bad news is...it's the stupid lens. How to fix the problem? It will need to be send to Nikon to have it repaired/tweaked. Unfortunately, it will come back a little better, but not much. The older AF-50mm f/1.4D lens works just fine as the newer Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G or even the older "Classic Nifty-Fifty" Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D. Personally, I wouldn't waste money on repairing it. If you NEED 1.4, then purchase the older AF 50mm f/1.4D. It will be cheaper than the cost of shipping and repair to Nikon. Nikon Lenses only have a 5 year warranty, and due to the age of this lens, chances are it's out of Warranty. If you can live with the 2/3rds of a stop difference, purchase the 50mm f/1.8G lens. If you are looking more towards a portrait / head-shot lens, get the Nikon 85mm f/1.8G lens, which is a fantastic lens and great value.

Would this by any chance be the Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G lens? What camera body are you shooting with?

Here is something new: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-desktop-computers/xps-desktop/spd/xps-8930-desktop/xdvmstcs004s While I’m not a fan of “Integrated Graphics,” it does keep the costs low. Otherwise the prices jump $500 or so. Stupid Tariffs. It’s not a good time to buy a computer.

That HP is kinda slow by today’s standards but remember speed is relative. It is better than what you have, but that computer’s motherboard is kinda slow. I fixed and installed many of these is Doctor’s Offices over the years. For less than $250, it’s worth buying. Otherwise for something new you are closer to $1000. You could put a 1TB SSD Drive in it and use the existing HD for Data. That would give you a performance boost. Having a DVI port is a good thing. Honestly, it’s the port you should be using since it’s digital. The VGA / D-Sub 15-pin port that has been around since 1989 is not digital, it’s analog. With a Digital Port, e.g., DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, etc. you get better colors and contrast and a sharper picture. It’s a lot like going from VHS to DVD. That HP Computer has a DisplayPort on the back, and you will need one of these adapters to work with your monitor. Speaking of which, a video card might also be in your future as well. Chances are it has a integrated video card that shares its memory with the RAM. So that’s going to add to the cost, plus a new power supply to support the new video card. Before you know it, the price will snowball on you and you are right back up to around $1000. Bottom Line: That PC will hold you over for about 12-18 months. Or longer. You've lasted this long. $250 isn’t bad and is under-budget. That said, you aren’t buying a modern computer by today’s standards and that’s why it’s so cheap. Though in your case, it will be an improvement.

DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON THAT "HP RECOVERY" DRIVE. For you, "Drive D:" does not exist. Do not store any files on that drive and just leave it alone. That HD has the factory reset software and is meant to be left alone. Honestly, you need a new computer. In reality, trying to upgrade anything on this computer will be a temporary fix, at best. So finish Damien's classes, get some practice in and save up some money. If you live in the US, the Import Tariffs have hit the computer prices, and I'm seeing a $300-$500 increase in pricing for the same thing from a year ago. If the computer is made in China, or parts come from China, you are paying more. A realistic budget would be around $1000. More if you can swing it...like have $1500 saved up. That said, if your monitor is a good one and is in decent shape, you won't have to buy a new one, just a new display cable to go between the new computer and display. Those run about $5-$20 online if we need them. So by keeping your monitor, there is a cost savings. The new versions of Windows 10 have been screwing around with monitor profiles. So you might have to check to see if there are any updates to your calibration software. Of course, if you have an older device, like a Spyder4 Series or even a Spyder 5 series, there may not be an update available, so budget for a new calibration tool as well. The reason is the manufacturers are starting to "Orphan" older devices and won't provide any updates going forward. It's only money, right?

You should be able to stay with 20.0.7 for awhile. Heck, Damien uses CS6! In fact, Adobe still needs to get their act together with Catalina, so believe it or not, this is a blessing being stuck. Honestly, you aren’t missing out on much, if anything at all.