DSLR with your gear?

[+Kohavis]

caught the strap on a branch and had it yanked off my shoulder, just barely grabbing on in time to keep the DSLR from crashing on some rocks.

 

While starting to set it down the water came on full force but luckily the camera was not under the stream. That would of been a major dee-dee-deeeee move.

 

It wasn't your day to bring that camera, apparently

[+infiniteMPG]

It wasn't your day to bring that camera, apparently

Definitely! I just need to find the almanac that lists what those days are BEFORE I load up

[+sbell111]

The camera's buffer size and the size of the images that you are saving also play into this. My 20d shoots 5 pics a second, but can only burst 7 pics in RAW before the buffer fills. Switching to the largest sized JPG allows me to shoot about 25 pics in a burst before the buffer fills and I have to slow down to about 2 per second. Swapping out the card to a high speed CF increases this number, but still doesn't guarantee that I won't max out the buffer. A few weeks ago, my wife and I were at the gymnastics finals and I often maxed out the buffer shooting in the biggest JPG and saving to an ultra high-speed card.

Guess I still kind of have a personal debate on when to shoot in RAW or JPG.... Unless I'm totally displeased with the compression the camera itself does it's just a lot of photo editing after the fact on a ton of pictures.

I'm with you. In fact, I nearly always pass on RAW in favor of the largest JPG setting. The quality is almost as good and using the picture is much easier. Unfortunately, this doesn't solve the buffer issue in all circumstances. Using a smaller JPG setting would completely solve the problem, but the reduction in quality isn't worth it for me.

[+infiniteMPG]

I'm with you. In fact, I nearly always pass on RAW in favor of the largest JPG setting. The quality is almost as good and using the picture is much easier. Unfortunately, this doesn't solve the buffer issue in all circumstances. Using a smaller JPG setting would completely solve the problem, but the reduction in quality isn't worth it for me.

This is where I get into a bind. We'll do a weekend at a state park or something and over that couple days I'll shoot 350 pictures. When I get back I don't mind browsing thru them and yanking out the ones I want, cropping and resizing them and popping them into a shared album. Now if I shoot all in RAW when I get back I can either go thru them picture by picture with PS and edit them or enhance them and convert them to JPEG's, or I can batch convert them to JPEG's and be stuck with the compression settings being the same for each picture. A short task shooting in JPEG, a mega-task shooting in RAW.

 

Question is what do you all do? And when you get all these bazillion neat cachin' pix, what do you do with them? How do you share them? We started a webpage, not just for caching stuff but for Florida outdoors stuff at infiniteMPG.com and put some of the better ones in a customized album but we have gig's of them sitting at home that have never been sorted or posted. Not expecting to be some top photographer but like sharing shots. Kind of curious what all you other photo-bugz do with yours....

 

And if you share them online, what do you think is the best site? Kodak? Picasa? (been using Kodak forever but don't like you can't get big images like Picasa).

[+sbell111]

And if you share them online, what do you think is the best site? Kodak? Picasa? (been using Kodak forever but don't like you can't get big images like Picasa).

I like Flickr.

 

I am currently working on uploading and organizing a ton of the pics that I have taken over the years. I'm starting with our recent Asia trip, but hope to go back and add pics from teh dozens and dozens of CDs that are gathering dust at home.

[+Damin69]

 

And if you share them online, what do you think is the best site? Kodak? Picasa? (been using Kodak forever but don't like you can't get big images like Picasa).

 

I use and Like www.pbase.com

 

Link to my pbase is www.pbase.com/damin69

[+infiniteMPG]

I use and Like www.pbase.com Link to my pbase is www.pbase.com/damin69

Nice shots. Tractor pulls.... makes me miss the good ol' days before I moved down to Florida from NC.... ::sigh::

[+Dgwphotos]

And if you share them online, what do you think is the best site? Kodak? Picasa? (been using Kodak forever but don't like you can't get big images like Picasa).

I like Flickr.

 

I am currently working on uploading and organizing a ton of the pics that I have taken over the years. I'm starting with our recent Asia trip, but hope to go back and add pics from teh dozens and dozens of CDs that are gathering dust at home.

 

I use Flickr myself (see the link in my sig). The only thing I've come to not like about it is that you have a max of 200 images that can be seen if you have a free account and I've maxed mine out.

 

For geocaching, I generally use JPEG's unless it's really important. If you have a RAW+ JPEG setting, you can review the JPEG's, then choose the RAW files that you want to convert. Plus you can upload the JPEG's to the internet while you are converting the RAW files.

[+J10fly]

The biggest thing I don't care for about the Oly point and shoots is that they generally use the xD cards instead of the more common SD cards for memory, though some have dual slots, one for SD and one for xD. The water resistant Pentax's use SD.

Yup, the Pentax uses the SD but the Olympus Stylus series uses the microSD. I agree, microSD isn't very rugged.

 

Seems like a tough call between the 1030 SW and the Optio W60. The 1030 SW seems more rugged and has an automatic lens cover but the W60 has a 5X optical zoom rather then the 3.6X and uses the SD card while both of them have super-macro settings that allow focusing under 1".....Hmmmm.....

 

Out of curiousity, those of you that are using SD and microSD, how fast is you shooting? My a350 uses high speed compact flash which the one i am using right now writes at 133x and i can get off about 3 shots a second with that. Was thinking about trying one of the new 8gb 300x cards and see if it is any different.

 

I think microSD cards only come in one speed. They are mostly used for cell phones, certain portable gaming systems, and gps units, none of which demand much speed. SD cards come in muitiple speeds, though not as high as CF cards yet. You're not likely to gain much by using the 300x card, as few cameras use the protocol that allows that kind of speed, mostly high end cameras like the Nikon D3 or Canon's high end models. Also, the burst rate is generally restricted more by the camera than the card. The only place you might see a speed gain is in image transfer from the memory card to the computer, and only with certain card readers. BTW, I highly recommend using a card reader if you are not already, as it saves battery life, and it's likely to be faster in moving images to the computer, as most, if not all use USB 2.0, while many older cameras still use USB 1.1, like my D70. Plus, with another memory card, you can still use the camera.

 

I'll have to check and see what Sony says the diff. would be. I know it does use high speed protocol for putting the images onto the card. I know if you dont use a high speed CF card it will not shoot bursts. I tested it with one so i know that at least between non high speed and high speed there is a huge difference.

The camera's buffer size and the size of the images that you are saving also play into this. My 20d shoots 5 pics a second, but can only burst 7 pics in RAW before the buffer fills. Switching to the largest sized JPG allows me to shoot about 25 pics in a burst before the buffer fills and I have to slow down to about 2 per second. Swapping out the card to a high speed CF increases this number, but still doesn't guarantee that I won't max out the buffer.

 

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were at the gymnastics finals and I often maxed out the buffer shooting in the biggest JPG and saving to an ultra high-speed card.

 

I gotcha! That makes total sense to me with the buffers. Didnt think about it that way.

[+J10fly]

I'm with you. In fact, I nearly always pass on RAW in favor of the largest JPG setting. The quality is almost as good and using the picture is much easier. Unfortunately, this doesn't solve the buffer issue in all circumstances. Using a smaller JPG setting would completely solve the problem, but the reduction in quality isn't worth it for me.

This is where I get into a bind. We'll do a weekend at a state park or something and over that couple days I'll shoot 350 pictures. When I get back I don't mind browsing thru them and yanking out the ones I want, cropping and resizing them and popping them into a shared album. Now if I shoot all in RAW when I get back I can either go thru them picture by picture with PS and edit them or enhance them and convert them to JPEG's, or I can batch convert them to JPEG's and be stuck with the compression settings being the same for each picture. A short task shooting in JPEG, a mega-task shooting in RAW.

 

Question is what do you all do? And when you get all these bazillion neat cachin' pix, what do you do with them? How do you share them? We started a webpage, not just for caching stuff but for Florida outdoors stuff at infiniteMPG.com and put some of the better ones in a customized album but we have gig's of them sitting at home that have never been sorted or posted. Not expecting to be some top photographer but like sharing shots. Kind of curious what all you other photo-bugz do with yours....

 

And if you share them online, what do you think is the best site? Kodak? Picasa? (been using Kodak forever but don't like you can't get big images like Picasa).

 

I agree, I havent touched the RAW format in there, I have stick with the highest JPEG. RAW seems to be great for being able to adjust the image better, at least that was what I gathered but it seemed like more of a hassle with each individual image then it's worth. I guess if you are using the shots for like modeling or a magzine cover or something maybe.

[+sbell111]

And if you share them online, what do you think is the best site? Kodak? Picasa? (been using Kodak forever but don't like you can't get big images like Picasa).

I like Flickr.

 

I am currently working on uploading and organizing a ton of the pics that I have taken over the years. I'm starting with our recent Asia trip, but hope to go back and add pics from teh dozens and dozens of CDs that are gathering dust at home.

 

I use Flickr myself (see the link in my sig). The only thing I've come to not like about it is that you have a max of 200 images that can be seen if you have a free account and I've maxed mine out.

Agreed. I recently upgraded to a 'pro' account so that I wouldn't have a limitation to how much I could store or upload each month. It was only around $20 a year. It's worth that to me to be able to put a ton of pics online and share them with family or anyone else who wants to look.

For geocaching, I generally use JPEG's unless it's really important. If you have a RAW+ JPEG setting, you can review the JPEG's, then choose the RAW files that you want to convert. Plus you can upload the JPEG's to the internet while you are converting the RAW files.

I used to shoot RAW + JPEG, but the utility that I received from having the RAW files (with my poor PS skills) wasn't worth the storage problems.

Edited September 12, 2008 by sbell111

[+broccili]

I also have the Sony a100.

Bring it with me on nearly every cache.

 

I have two bags, both by LowePro:

 

Inverse 200 AW, primarily for hiking.

and the CompuTrekker AW (this rarely has the laptop while hiking... but it makes a great way to travel with camera and laptop).

I also have a very cheap looking, although insanely functional camera box/bag. Hard sides, hold the camera with lens, spare lens, and room for batteries, memory, etc. Small, carries well.

 

In short... you can't catch fish if your pole is in the truck. Same holds true with your camera, ain't gunna get many pictures if it isn't accessible.

 

Good luck!

[Clan Riffster]

"The good photo you took with the cheap miniature camera you carried is a lot better than the great photo you didn't take with the SLR you left at home."

A perfect, (dare I say "picture perfect"?) example: I'm a snake buff. I raised snakes of all varieties as a youth, and I love finding them out in the wild. I was setting up a fairly complex, 26 stage bushwhacking multi in an area known for Eastern Diamondbacks, and lugged my high end Olympus religiously, day after day, in the hopes of getting some good snake shots. Nada! Zip! Nuthin'! The one day I left that heavy sucker in my truck, I encounter a beautiful 4' female Diamondback. The rest of the time I spent out there I dragged that camera with me, and as before, I didn't see a thing. I started to refer to that camera as my snake repellent.

[+Dgwphotos]

I started to refer to that camera as my snake repellent.

 

[+infiniteMPG]

I also have the Sony a100. Bring it with me on nearly every cache.

What lens(es) do you use and are you more manual settings or automatic? I'm still learning and stumbling more then walking (or crawling).

I have two bags, both by LowePro:......In short... you can't catch fish if your pole is in the truck. Same holds true with your camera, ain't gunna get many pictures if it isn't accessible.Good luck!

Have to check them out. It's a tough balance between protecting and hiking comfortably and having it readily available for snapping the quick shot. I still have 'yakking to keep in mind, too.

[+Kit Fox]

And if you share them online, what do you think is the best site? Kodak? Picasa? (been using Kodak forever but don't like you can't get big images like Picasa).

I like Flickr.

 

I am currently working on uploading and organizing a ton of the pics that I have taken over the years. I'm starting with our recent Asia trip, but hope to go back and add pics from teh dozens and dozens of CDs that are gathering dust at home.

 

One of the best features at Flickr are the photo competitions. My wife has a blast entering her photos into all the contests. The feedback from the "pros" has helped her improve her shots.

Edited September 15, 2008 by Kit Fox

[+dew cache]

I didn't want to take my heavy/expensive DSLR so I bought a Fujifilm FinePix S5200 which is a light weight only 5.1 mega pixel with a 10X optical and 5.7X digital zoom as well as a micro mode and it fits in a baggie in my backpack to keep it dry in case I fall in to some water. I also carry it in my car in the center console just in case I need it like when I am going somewhere and forget my DSLR last week.

[+MtnRubi]

I take my 20d with me to every cache.

 

And yes, one day, I tripped while crossing a stream. Luckily, my camera was in it's tiny lowpro bag. The bag went to the bottom of the stream (1.5 feet or so) with my full body weight on it, and I jumped up as fast as I could, yanked the bag out of the water.

 

When I opened the bag, there wasn't a drop on the camera. The inside of the bag was wet, but it only filled up about an inch, and the camera sits in a cradle above the floor of the bag.

 

Lucky day. That was 3 years ago, and I still take the camera everywhere..

[+NeoAddict]

A friend of mine is an avid birder. She's often out in the elements and is not extremely good on her feet. While it may not be for everyone, she sewed her own case to fit her telephoto lens attached to her Nikon, and it works very slick around her neck. It certainly isn't a waterproof bag, so I wouldn't suggest it for kayaking, but I know you can get deck bags that are waterproof for several brands of Kayaks.

[+infiniteMPG]

A friend of mine is an avid birder. She's often out in the elements and is not extremely good on her feet. While it may not be for everyone, she sewed her own case to fit her telephoto lens attached to her Nikon, and it works very slick around her neck. It certainly isn't a waterproof bag, so I wouldn't suggest it for kayaking, but I know you can get deck bags that are waterproof for several brands of Kayaks.

Not a bad idea and we have seen some deck cases that sit in front of the cockpit opening and seal water tight. My problem is we were at Boca Grande right after I got my A100 and paddling open water (salt). I pulled my camera out to shoot and a roge wave bumped against the side of my 'yak and splashed a drop right on the top of my camera body and I FREAKED OUT. I wiped it off as best I could. sealed it in the water proof bag I had and didn't take it out again the rest of the paddle.

[+infiniteMPG]

Here's a real kicker, not really a GC issue but it's the gear I use for GC. We took my Sony A100 to the Tampa Bay Ray's MLB win over the Boston Red Sox at the Trop in St. Pete last night. Had good seats behind home plate but snuck down to the dugout and snapped a load of great shots. Didn't get bumped until the 2nd inning and got great shots at the plate and on 1st. Went to our seats and snapped some more. When to take a shot and saw a red E on the rear display. Didn't know what that was so I powered off my camera, checked it out and saw nothing out of sorts. Powered it back on and the message came up saying CANNOT ACCESS CARD - FORMAT?.... ACK!!!! The 2Gb compact flash card appears to of died along with all my great pictures!!! DOUBLE ACK!!!! Tried everything I could at home and even tried things like DataDoctor and nothing. Grrrrrrr............ Took a little of the fun out of the victory.