my many thanks regarding advise

[paulbrogden10]

Hello

I wanted to say a big thank you to every one who has responded to my questions. I have been on many forums and can say this is the best I have come across and I wanted to say a big thank you and shout out to.  ScottyP ebiggs1 TTMartin RobertTheFat cicopo Waddizzle . You are all very helpful and my many thanks.

You guys are fantasic while I have still not made my mind up weather I made the right choice sigma 150-600 vs canon 100-400 mk2. I have a alot of respect for canon products all be it a bit exspensive I finally decided to go with the canon mk2 100-400 I am still on the fence what to do with the 300 f4 and 70-200 mk1 2.8 as these lenses are heavy things to carry.

I did want to say my exsperience with my mk1 2x extender is it makes the quality very bad almost grainy when I look through the view finder so tend to stick to the 1.4.

I have managed to get the 100-400 mk2 for £1200 thats $1674.00 which is a grey import from austrailia  I saved myself £600/$837. In the UK we do get ripped off on prices that europe and america pay.

But apart from that wanted to say thanks to every one I will be uploading a video on reviewing it as I can compare it to the 300 + 1.4 extender. It does seem the extra reach at 400mm is not that much or shall we call it 370mm.

But wanted to say thank you out of the many forums out their you guys are the best. Regards Paul.

[Waddizzle]

Good luck with the Tokina.

I have noticed a pattern to the vignetting with that Sigma 150-500.  When I'm manually setting the entire exposure, I like to slightly under expose by 1/3 of a stop, to avoid saturating highlights and clipping the signal. 

The vignetting is more pronounced on slighlty under exposed shots, and virtually gone, but not quite, on slightly over exposed shots.  The more a shot is over exposed, the less vignetting with it.

[ebiggs1]

Although not a good photograph, you can see my 150-500mm has no vignetting issues.  It has had lens correction done in LR.  I have that set a s a preset for all my files on import.

[Waddizzle]

Yes, I can correct for it in LR6.  But, I haven't taken the time to figure out how to make it happen automatically on import.  I've created a custom preset, but I always seem to need to invoke it manually. 

However, I would prefer to start with images that are a bit cleaner, and not have to perform triage on every shot.  That can be time consuming.  Just the same, I sold it weeks ago.

[EDIT]

"Although not a good photograph, ....." 

Liar.  That's a pretty good shot.  Like I said, the vignetting arguably disappears when I slightly over exposed.

[ebiggs1]

I chose that shot because of the blue sky where vignette should rear its ugly head if it were present.  I think SS was a little show which made the bird sorta blurry.

Just curious, what is your level of comfort with LR and PS?  Are you a beginner, know some things, advanced or proficient.

Presets are simple and eleimanate a lot of work. I process every single photo I take or it gets deleted.  One or the other. Sometimes both!

[Waddizzle]

Beginner with LR and PS.  Decades of experience programming computers, though.

The biggest obstacle is the online Help, instead of local help files.  The Help is frustrating to use.  It's more of a web search, than a reference.  Every time I look up something for PS Elements, I get solutions and hits for full blown PS, which are useless to a PS Elements user..

[ebiggs1]

OK you are still confusing me, you have Lightroom 6?  You are a novice?  You have PS (CS6 or CC) and you are a novice?  You have Elements and not PS?  Elements is not PS.  It is a close attempt but limited in certain areas.

Where are you with DPP?  I assume a novice there, too. From some of your comments.  I don't know DPP very well either.  I just use it long enough to know I don't want to use it.

I don't know what "programming computers" has to do with learning LR or PS but OK.  LR is not complicated or too deep.  I didn't have any help learning it but I did have a pretty through understanding of PS.  You should have few issues learning Elements but it has its challenges.   I doubt anyone, even a "programming computers" person is going to learn PS by themselves.  Sure you can get the basics but the real magic is pretty involved.

My real challenge is remembering.  I know how to do stuff but forget exactly or where it is sometimes. 

I have attended classes done by Ben Willmore. I always learn something from him.  Remembering it is my problem!  I suffer from Feeble Brain Syndrome, ya know!   He has a full PS course for sale.  Check him out as he is the best PS person there is.  Very good at teaching PS, you will lean a lot.  Not Elements.

[Waddizzle]

The only reason I have Elements is because it came pre-installed on a computer that I bought a few years ago, 2012 I think.  It is an outdated version, Elements 10.  But, it still does what I need for it to do, which is mainly minor touchups, like removing something unsightly from a shot..  I have even done a couple of layer masks with it.  I had been using CAD software on a newer laptop before I realized the older one had PSE installed on it.

The "Help" is not local, and only available online.  There is absolutely no help available for any older versions, except for the latest and greatest PS CC.  It seems that the online "Help" sees your older version of PSE, and diverts you towards purchasing an upgrade to PS CC.  Not the latest PSE, but PS CC.  I purchased LR6 for its' ability to do lens correction on a more than just Canon lenses, like DPP. 

At the time, I did not realize that you could not purchase PS without being drawn into the recurring revenue scheme better known as Creative Cloud.  To make matters even worse, you cannot buy, or more accurately RENT, PS without also renting LR6, which I have already bought and paid for.  The asking price for stand alone PS is more than the list price of a T6s body.

So, I won't be investing in the PS/LR package until a newer version of LR is released, and even then I will look at it and see if it is worth it.  IMHO, the rent is way too high for casual users like myself.  Adobe is a company that I have long avoided for a litany of reasons.  They treat customers like a captive audience.

[ebiggs1]

I hear you.  I hate the rental policy, too. But I had CS6 already and CS5 and CS4 and on and on.  I own PS (CS6) with ACR9 and LR 6.3. That is where I intend to stay.  At this point in my life, it is all I need. It is Adobe's loss, not mine!

You can still find CS6 for sale in a perpetual licence if you look hard enough.  That is what I would do if I were you.

The cost of the entry price is high and the learning curve is steep. but the bottom line is, there is nothing out there like Adobe PS.  It is the industry standard and for a good reason. Depending on where you want to go with photography it is a necessity.

If you are satisfied staying at the amateur level you have many more choices.  There are several choices and some are even free.

"The asking price for stand alone PS is more than the list price of a T6s body."  Maybe so but I would argue, PS will do as much or even more for your pictures than a new Rebel T6i will.  I would choose a cheap P&S with CS6 over a new Rebel T6i without PS.  Every time!  Don't let your dislike of Adobe drive your decision.

[paulbrogden10]

Hi

I have seen some people selling copys of photoshop on gumtree for like £30 they say they are genuine maybe check them out. I bought an imac with all the software preinstalled from a design studio as they normally have an agreement with adobe.

I once tried to buy one and contacted some one in the uk who worked for a college she said the college was selling old versions off I bet they are student versions but still very useable CS6.

[ebiggs1]

Yes they are out there. Getting a copy is the easy part! Learning it is the hard part.