Getting Setup

[Shadowman]

How come no one ever mentions forgetting to take the lens cap off prior to shooting? I used to see movies and television shows dedicated to this theme for the amatuer photographer. It seems the biggest blunder these days is forgetting to put the memory card back in the camera.

[wilgk]

I have heard it referred to as 'the never ready' cap

[Dave Humphries]

How come no one ever mentions forgetting to take the lens cap off prior to shooting? I used to see movies and television shows dedicated to this theme for the amatuer photographer.

Easy to do with rangefinders, etc. but with P&S digital and DSLRs, you're always framing through the taking lens, so it can't be done, well not unless you're trying for the proverbial black cat in a coal mine

It seems the biggest blunder these days is forgetting to put the memory card back in the camera.

This is easy to do, like not putting a film in was

Cheers,

[Shadowman]

Easy to do with rangefinders, etc. but with P&S digital and DSLRs, you're always framing through the taking lens, so it can't be done, well not unless you're trying for the proverbial black cat in a coal mine



This is easy to do, like not putting a film in was

Cheers,

Luckily my P90 gives me an error message and beep if I leave the lens cap on.

[Wirefox]

For me leaving the lens cap on is all part of the shooting routine. Invariably the first thing I say when I put my eye to the viewfinder is "bl***y lens cap". Its not professional, it exudes no confidence - but there you go

As for the memory card - I never take it out. Well the exception is on holiday when I might change it. I simply do not take enough shots in a session for it to be a problem. I know I have limited time to process so I keep the shots to a minimum. I get worried I am losing my touch if I shoot more than 25 frames on a day out - no seriously - I even delete in camera if I dont achieve composition or potential to crop.

I have to go out for fresh air when I hear talk on 'The Forum that must not be Named" about Hank and his chums shooting 2000-3000 shots a week and then asking why the shutter fails after 6 months on their Rebel Yells. What are they shooting for gods sakes? The net result seems to be a blurred cat licking its bum in the critique section......perhaps they do simply leave the lens cap on

[PaulMiller]

Taking pictures with the lens cap on is a very important and serious activity. How else are you going to count all the hot pixels?

[rob marshall]

I use a glass jam-jar lid as a lens cap. That way it doesn't matter if I forget to take it off (insert very serious smilie here)

[ktuli]

If you ever want to have that 'left the cap on' or 'left the memory card out' feeling again, buy yourself an underwater housing!

I recently bought an Ikelite housing for my 7D, and though I wasn't on a dive trip when I first put it together (of course new equipment had to be tried out as soon as it came out of the box!), sure enough the first thing I did was get the camera all situated in the housing, load a lens on, put the dome port on to cover the lens, then picked up the rig to see how it looked through the viewfinder to see complete blackness.... and of course hear my wife burst out in laughter as she had noticed my error a few seconds before I did.

Though, I think having that first embarrassing experience quickly helped me out as a couple weeks later when I was at the dive resort, I knew to check the camera operation prior to leaving the camera room and heading out to the boat. Stories abound of dive photographers getting in the water, 30 feet down, and go to flip on the camera only to find any of a number of mistakes in the setup that could have been fixed easily on land, but mean you basically get to swim around with a boat anchor for that dive. Oh, and of course as if that wasn't enough, you of course will get the well deserved ridicule of your fellow divers after the dive, so the embarrassment lives on longer than just a regular lens cap left on.... Good stuff!

- Bill

[Donald]

I have to go out for fresh air when I hear talk on 'The Forum that must not be Named" about Hank and his chums shooting 2000-3000 shots a week

Is it humanly possible to do this? The selection process would stress me out too much.

Like Steve, I think I'm failing if I come home with more than about 3 or 4 shots of any one scene. It means I haven't done enough preparation in getting the exposure right and I've just been shooting to cover my bases. And if I have more than two or three compositions/framings of the scene, then I haven't spent enough time looking at it beforehand to get the right shot.

[Shadowman]

Is it humanly possible to do this? The selection process would stress me out too much.

Like Steve, I think I'm failing if I come home with more than about 3 or 4 shots of any one scene. It means I haven't done enough preparation in getting the exposure right and I've just been shooting to cover my bases. And if I have more than two or three compositions/framings of the scene, then I haven't spent enough time looking at it beforehand to get the right shot.

I guess it is if you are these guys.
http://www.break.com/usercontent/200...parazzi-584000