BOTH

For finite values of 'forever'. Google 'flash drive lifetime' and you find:

Memory cards and USB drives are NOT designed for long term storage. You should always backup your data on to another device. The data will normally stay valid for a period of up to 10 years if stored under normal conditions. The data cells inside carry a charge which can dissipate over time.

And the crowds, of course, are taking pictures with their phones, rendering most of this discussion moot.

Not really. Yes, the evf and back screen drain the battery when they are on, but we are talking about using the auto-power-off feature of many cameras, and most of the comments indicate very low drain in the auto-power-off state, because the evf and screen (as well as most everything else) are off in the auto-power-off state.

I had a problem with my Fuji X-T3 because various articles about various Fuji cameras had indicated that pressing any button would turn it back on, but I had found that pressing any button didn't turn it on, so I would just turn it off and on to get it out of this state. This thread motivated me to do a little googling, and I found out that, on the X-T3 with the latest firmware upgrade, a *full* shutter press turns it back on--tried it and it works. Maybe Fuji determined that pressing any button was happening accidentally too often, so changed to just the shutter button, and a full press so just brushing against it won't turn the camera on.

Suggest that if you do want to refer to the "fine" manual, without a bright light and a magnifying glass, that you download it from the Fuji site and read it on a computer. I've had to do it with Canon manuals as well as Fuji manuals. While I find the Canon manuals marginally better than the Fuji, when I have a question about either brand's cameras, I usually go to google for answers. My only complaint about that approach is that the finds are Youtube-heavy, and often a text explanation takes a lot less time.

I envy you your X100V.

Fantastic result of phenomenal effort. Thanks.

Having done some tech writing, I can testify it is extremely difficult to do well, even after you answer the basic questions of how basic to start and how far to go. The camera manual writers have it especially difficult with these questions. I have felt all the same frustrations described in this thread, but it's usually of the form "why would I want to set such and such parameter?". The writer's job here really isn't to teach you how to do photography, nor to give you definitions of common (more or less) terms of art. I think they are pretty much forced to just give you a road map, not a Fodor's or Frommer's tourist guide to how to best do photography with the canonikuji XDFEOS-4200SIIR.

The books that people have been recommending are addressing just such questions. So do the many, many (free) youtube videos and web sites. I'm currently going through learning a new camera: google is my friend. Most searches will not only tell you what X does, but lead you to many (sometimes contradictory) sources on why you would want to set X. And there are many videos that will tell you how the presenter sets up his or her canonikuji XDFEOS-4200SIIR and why. After a couple of those I'm actually finding not a consensus, but a feeling that I know what will work for me.

And being able to search a pdf gets you past the organization of the manuals--ranging from fairly logical to huh?--and the frequent lack of an index! I usually put a copy of the pdf on my smartphone, but I've found that there is no substitute for watching youtube videos and reading weblogs with the camera in my hands and pausing to try out everything the presenter is talking about.

Two cameras ago I didn't get a chance to do much of this before taking a new camera to the Galapagos and Peru, with some missed and botched shots as a result. Just having the manual along wasn't sufficient; you can't learn the camera from the manual unless it's from the same "family" as your last one, so you pretty much know it already. In this case it was my first mirrorless, so I needed to make a major adjustment to my overall approach to taking pictures. One camera ago was another camera body from the same line with the only significant difference being that it has a dial for exposure compensation instead of having to push a button and turn a shared dial. I only gave the manual a cursory glance-through. My latest is from a different maker, so it's back to the internet...

One of the very best things about digital photography is that it costs nothing to experiment. Practice, practice, practice.

Cheers,

David

Amazon Prime stores unlimited RAW and JPEGs. A lot of responses here seem to be confusing Amazon Prime with Google or perhaps non-Prime Amazon accounts.

One wrinkle: when I started to use it, it didn't recognize Canon's then-new CR3 format files as photos. Don't know if it has caught up with Canon's latest format since I first tried, though.

amfoto1's is an excellent description of the situation with the M series.

My own experience: I've used Canon Rebels mostly for travel since the film rebel. The combo that works for me is kit zoom and long zoom (the cheaper one) as it is a nice travel combination. When moving up from my first digital rebel, the xt, I moved to the SL1 for extra portability. I got interested in mirrorless because I was tired of chimping to get exposure right in churches and brightly lit gardens. I settled on the M50 because it had an inexpensive two zoom package (I had considered moving to Fuji, but they were more expensive) and the M5 was more expensive, older processor, not full articulation screen.

I really like the M50 and its small lenses for travel--mirrorless really speeded up my shooting. My only reservation being that I don't like having to do a lot of button or menu switching to make adjustments--the many dedicated knobs of the Fujis looked attractive, and the extra controls on the M5 were also appealing, so I was looking forward to a possible M5 mark II. I was also interested in the 18-150 lens, since it would much reduce the need for changing lenses. When the M5 with the 18-150 went to $500 (where the lens by itself costs $400) I figured it was a great opportunity to get the lens and also see if the controls of the M5 really did fit my needs. Short answer, I really like the M5/18-150 combination for walking around and look forward to having it when travelling is again possible. I haven't noticed any marked inferiority to the M50's processor, and I really like the M5's controls. I also like having two bodies, so I'm not getting rid of the M50. I suggest you take a hard look at the M5/18-150 combo at its current ridiculous price.

While the lens lineup is a little sparse, it hasn't mattered to my style of shooting (and budget). When I sold the SL1 and it's lenses, I applied the credit to the 32mm f1.4 lens--essentially a fast "nifty fifty" equivalent--so I have something for low light or very shallow depth of field situations.

The photography commentariat keeps questioning the M series' future and M lens lineup, but they are apparently very popular in Japan, and they are a very good fit for my "use cases", which aren't unique to me, so I expect that M isn't going to disappear. I do hope they upgrade the M5 to give the series a high-end body, but I can live without it. There are also vague rumors of an upgrade to the M50 to bring its video up to date, but HD is good enough for now.

A longer zoom would be nice as the 50-200mm zoom is a little short for birding, although I had a great time in the Galapagos with the M50 and the 50-200 lens, because the wildlife there doesn't run away. The most serious limit in the Galapagos is the 2 meter distance rule.

The way Canon has treated its rebel line and reasonably-priced "consumer" lenses is also evidence that they understand the market for the M series. The other lens makers seem to get it, too, just aiming for some of the niches Canon hasn't filled yet or where they can compete on price. I get the impression that it's relatively easy to design an APS-C mirrorless lens that can be offered in more than one mount

A side note: I was browsing a used equipment site for M series stuff and found a set of used Vello extension tubes for EF-M cheap (since discontinued) and have had a lot of fun playing with macro photography, too.