Still Learning (and Unexpected Computer Problems)

In reference to the title of this blog entry...  I'm still learning a lot of things each and every day but, lately, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about a new-to-me medium format camera.  

Today I had a bit of a detour though.

I was working on doing some basic editing of these two photos, below, so I could post them here in the blog but Photoshop kept crashing on me and telling me that my GPU, OpenCL, OpenGL and DirectX were 'not compatible' with Photoshop.  I knew that was nonsense because I've been using Photoshop on this computer for many months with no problems.  I ended up spending the entire day troubleshooting this problem but I think I finally have resolved this problem which, honestly, should not have happened in today's world.  It was an incredibly frustrating day!

I wasn't going to get into any detail about these computer problems but I should add a bit more here so I can reference this if this ever happens again.  

I have two graphics processors, both by AMD.  One is a rather generic integrated processor and the other is an external GPU specifically for AI graphics tasks done in Photoshop and 4K video editing done by a different program which happened to be working...  only Photoshop wasn't working.  

So, on the rare occasion that I do have a problem that could be graphics driver related such as today, I open up the AMD software that controls these two GPUs to see if everything is working correctly and updated to the latest drivers.  

This morning when this problem arose, I was a bit perplexed because I had just used Photoshop just hours before without any problems.  Any updates were before that last use.  I opened the AMD Adrenaline software to see if there might be an update...  there was so I did the update...  rebooted...  still had the same exact problem...  GPU, DirectX, OpenCL and OpenGL are 'not compatible' with Photoshop.  Uggg.

Then I manually updated OpenCL and OpenGL as well as DirectX...  still had the problem that had been rendering Photoshop useless.  All three of these utilities seemed to be current but I ran through the update process anyway to no avail.

By now, I had spent the entire morning mostly researching this problem but also updating everything I could in a desperate attempt to resolve this problem.  I lean heavily on Photoshop for developing RAW images from my cameras.  Without Photoshop, I have no photography hobby which sort of renders all my camera gear almost useless!  I was exhausted, I had skipped breakfast while working on this problem, and now it was lunchtime so I took a break.  

Later in the day, the thought occurred to me that maybe the AMD software only updated one of my two GPUs even though it clearly identifies and monitors both in the software.  So, I searched for an updated driver for my more powerful external GPU...  found one...  updated...  rebooted...  and now Photoshop opened with no problems and it lists the correct GPU in its Preferences.  Finally!

Although Photoshop opened and started up with no problems, the pessimistic side of me is skeptical about whether I will be able to actually edit any images in Photoshop without it crashing or freezing on me.  I haven't tried that yet but I was able to open Photoshop and got no error messages after its initial startup tests so we'll see what happens.

EDIT:  I had limited success in getting Photoshop to run again on my computer.  Sometimes it worked...  most times it didn't...  sometimes it started to work...  sometimes it would crash while editing the first image...  sometimes I would get the same warning about GPU incompatibility, no DirectX, no OpenGL, no OpenCL, etc.  So, in reality, I didn't really get anywhere.

After sleeping on this problem, I decided to go back to a previous version of Photoshop...  no luck.

Then I decided to go back to a previous graphics driver but noticed that my AMD software was recommending a repair of the driver so I repaired it.  I still had no luck.

Then I played with some Windows settings...  no luck.

Then I slept on it again...  the occasional intermittent success made me realize that perhaps these problems were due to a new Windows Update that perhaps changed power settings.  So, I changed all the power settings back to "never turn off to save power".  I shut down and I haven't checked it yet but, as you can imagine, I'm not too optimistic that this worked.  Time will tell and I'll continue writing about it here.

EDIT #2:  That last try didn't work.  After another couple of hours of troubleshooting including a lot of trial and error, I finally produced a condition that allows Photoshop to recognize, accept and pass (in start-up testing) my GPU and it seems to run now.  I have not tested it fully by working on a photo (I'm too exhausted) but it seems to be working now.  I achieved this success by turning off (in Windows) "Optimizations for Windows Games".  

I'm still not completely confident that the issue(s) has(have) been resolved but Photoshop now opens and the GPU Compatibility test passes again so this is good.  Photoshop seems to be more stable but time will tell.

EDIT #3:  As I was editing my first photo in Photoshop late last night after all these computer/Photoshop problems, Photoshop froze on me again so, clearly, I hadn't resolved this problem.  Even before Photoshop froze, the "preview" of each feature wasn't working so I expected bigger problems to arise. 

I went back into my Windows settings and found other places where I could change power settings and that "Optimizations for Windows Games" setting so I changed it there too. 

When Photoshop was first opened last night, it found the GPU and it passed the initialization tests.  It did take a bit longer than it should have to open a small photo and that was my first clue that something was still amiss.  

Eventually, the program froze (about five edits into working on this small photo)...  I used Task Manager to close Photoshop then I attempted to open it again...  it didn't pass the initialization tests during startup.  I got those same warnings as I mentioned in EDIT #1 above...  ie, GPU compatibility, no DirectX, no OpenCL, no OpenGL, etc.  So, this stuff dropped during my Photoshop session for some reason,  Either something in Windows is doing this (ie, Power Saving "features") or something in my newish computer is toast.  

We'll see what happens today after changing those additional Windows settings last night...

EDIT #4:  What a time-consuming, frustrating nightmare this has been!

I think two more days have passed since I wrote "Edit #3" above.  After days of trial-and-error type of testing of both hardware and software, I've come to the conclusion that either a major change has been made in either Windows or Photoshop, or both, that renders my second GPU useless.  There were major upgrades in both Windows and Photoshop within a day of each other last week.  My graphics drivers are current.  The only way I was able to have consistent, fluid results in Photoshop was with the second GPU disconnected.  Another possibility is that perhaps something fried in this second GPU.  We had a number of power outages about a week ago so this is also a possibility.

Now I have removed this GPU from my desk altogether and Photoshop seems to be working just fine.  During all of this testing, I had also uninstalled and reinstalled Photoshop in a desperate attempt to resolve this crashing/freezing problem so I need to set up Photoshop again to my preferences and customized templates which should require a few hours of additional work.  

I haven't tried editing video but I don't expect any crashing or freezing.  What I do expect is that the computer will easily get bogged down while video editing since I am now only working with this mini-computer's integrated GPU.  It should work though.  

I actually spent much of yesterday setting up my old desktop computer.  Once I had that all set up, I found that Photoshop was working fine on that computer.  That being said, that computer has only one GPU and I was having problems with the second, more powerful GPU on my newer computer.  But I was able to definitely determine that Photoshop was working on Windows 11 with traditional desktop setups which prompted me to ditch the second GPU on my newer computer.  

On a sidenote, I'm glad I still have that old computer sitting under this desk.  I knew it would come in handy sometime!  I had to spend quite a bit of time today on these updates on my laptop for travel as well as doing the Windows updates my media PC attached to our living room television.  This just added to and extended my frustrations.

Let's hope this problem is behind me now!

So, back to this new-to-me camera.

There is a whole new extensive menu system to learn and, even after about a week of digging into the menus, I'm still not exactly sure where to find specific features.  There are settings and tabs inside settings inside even more settings.  Then, when I search for a specific feature, I eventually get side-tracked when I accidentally come across another feature I had been searching for previously!  By the time I explore this setting, I forget what setting I had initially been searching for when I was side-tracked.  It seems like I take an awful lot of side-steps while trying to move forward in mastering this camera.

I'm also trying to set up a feature in the camera called 'My Menu' which puts camera features and camera settings I desire to have quick and easy access to into my own menu tab and even in the order that I want.  Additionally, there is a "Q" menu (Quick menu) that has the option to set up 16 different image settings at the touch of one button, the Q button.  These are both great features but I'm still trying to learn what features do what and which of them I would need to access often.  

I'm also trying to figure out how to set up all the function buttons on the camera.  Each button and dial on the camera body is customizable to how I desire.  I've set up the camera a number of times already and, with more use, I always seem to decide to change things even further...  and then again... and then again...  each time, refining the camera to my preferences.

This Fuji GFX camera really is a great camera.  The list of features is extensive which allows me to get the look I desire for any particular scene.  Even though I am a perfectionist and only share a photo after I get everything in the photo just right, it is great to be capturing photos with this camera that are just about perfect right out of the camera.  The tonal qualities are amazing.  The color range and color tones are amazing.  The clarity is amazing.  Every time I've picked up this camera over the past week, I have said, "Wow!" when I review the photo I had just captured. 

For now, I only have old manual focus lenses to use with this camera which significantly slows down my shooting process.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing but it limits photography to fairly static objects.  I started photography many decades ago shooting with old film cameras that only provided manual focus and manual exposure so shooting in all manual modes is nothing new for me.  

I've been spoiled by my Sony cameras in recent years though because they have lightning fast and very accurate auto-focus.  My plan is to continue to use my best Sony camera for wildlife, sports, and our fast moving grandchildren and I'll use this new Fuji camera for landscapes, local travel, portraits, and walking around.  This is a larger and heavier than average camera so I don't think I'll want to travel far with it in my luggage but local day trips and long weekend trips would probably be fine.  

For the long cross-country trips that Sheila and I seem to take every few years, I always struggle with which gear to pack.  How wide do I need to go?  Will I need big, long lenses for shooting wildlife or sports?  Will I be shooting in dark environments?  Will I benefit from having a second camera body with me?  It is always a struggle to guess which gear I might wish I had with me on a long trip with many destinations.  Adding in a whole new camera system to make coming to a decision even more difficult!

As you can see in both of these photos below, the tonal qualities are exceptional.  I love the smooth fall-off from the subject while the subjects (the brushes) are in perfect focus...

I'm also loving the deep colors that this camera produces.  These colors aren't over saturated but are deep.  They can be very saturated if that is what I desire but I desire deeper, darker and warmer colors as seen in these two photos.  For instance, many cameras would render all the wood in this scene as a much brighter orange tone instead of the warm brown tone seen in these photos.  

I'm looking forward to getting outside with this camera especially when our local landscape begins to turn green again for a few short months and especially for the couple of weeks of soft pastel colors of spring.  (Spring is incredibly short here in Vermont...  we're still very much in winter and snow and it is almost April.)  Most modern digital cameras tend to render greens and reds in almost fluorescent shades but I prefer deeper colors and actually abhor overly bright and saturated fluorescent shades.  For instance, "Christmas red" should be closer to a deep burgundy rather than a bright fluorescent red.  Those bright fluorescent colors really grate on my nerves!  When cameras render colors that way it really grates on my nerves.  It matters not whether the fluorescent color was "real"...   I refuse to see it that way.  In fact, I'll capture in black and white if the colors are too annoying and distracting just to avoid those annoying overly bright fluorescent colors!

Indoors, it is clear that this camera can handle the reds beautifully.  I'm hoping the same happens with the greens when I finally get outdoors (with the right adjusted image settings).  We're still covered in snow here at the moment so there is no green to be seen for now.  We just have dirty, filthy snow and a dirty brown landscape peaking through the snow in places.

It would be nice to find a couple of auto-focus lenses for this camera at some point.  I'm not sure that will happen anytime soon though.  There is a kit zoom lens that is pretty inexpensive on the used market but I haven't decided if that is the route to go.  It might be better to wait a bit and put that money toward a better lens.  Then again, this kit zoom lens I'm thinking of is small and lightweight which is nothing like all the other auto-focus lenses for this big medium format camera so it might be best to start with this inexpensive kit zoom lens because it is small and lightweight.  Time will tell...