memory cards for trip

[jeanie]

going to japan soon.
can advice what reso u guys usually shoot at for travelling?
i use jpeg fine large file.is it overkill if i dont print them?
dun tell me shoot raw pls.i havent reach the stage on how to process the pics digitally.

i only have a 2GB mem card.for 8 days trips, you guys think it's enough?

and if i already have 18-200, will getting a 12-24 nikon makes any difference?is the distortion bad at 12-15mm?cant justify spending 1.6k for this baby though i very gian.:heart: :heart:

any advice for travel photos?big aperture values?

 

[ymmij]

if you are concern about limited memory storage, i would suggest the following:

1. bring more memory cards (buy, beg, borrow, steal)
2. bring along a portable storage device (psd) for transfer of files
3. shoot at large normal format instead of large fine. this is not going to make a hugh difference if you are not printing big, but you could practically double your shots.
4. shoot less.

what camera are you using? size (megapixel) matters...

 

[zoossh]

going to japan soon.
can advice what reso u guys usually shoot at for travelling?
i use jpeg fine large file.is it overkill if i dont print them?
dun tell me shoot raw pls.i havent reach the stage on how to process the pics digitally.

i only have a 2GB mem card.for 8 days trips, you guys think it's enough?

and if i already have 18-200, will getting a 12-24 nikon makes any difference?is the distortion bad at 12-15mm?cant justify spending 1.6k for this baby though i very gian.:heart: :heart:

any advice for travel photos?big aperture values?

suggest that u get a portable drive. i haven't make up my mind if i'm going to upgrade my 20GB portable drive to go on to something much larger. but if you are interested, can pm me.

and yah, that last few mm makes a difference. if you are tight on budget, consider other 3rd party lens. the distortion is sometimes part of the fun. big question is how heavy are you willing to carry around. 2 lens? are you going to change lens as you walk around?

 

[tmfwy]

Well I would suggest getting an 8gb CF card. Microdrives are fairly cheap and even at the largest best jpeg setting on an 8.2 megapixel camera, it is more than sufficient for 8 days ( unless you are trigger happy and shoot alot per day.. )

If not, bring a notebook / portable drive with you.

 

[catchlights]

tho CF card is cheap now, but rant a portable storage device for this trip will be a better chioce,
Or you can find some places able for you to download and burn into DVD with a cost.

 

[Hoky]

tho CF card is cheap now, but rant a portable storage device for this trip will be a better chioce,
Or you can find some places able for you to download and burn into DVD with a cost.

There are three main problems w/ PSD.

1. You still need battery. (Difficult if you go to rural areas or Nepal... etc) Lose power in cold temps as well.
2. Depending on your thermal insulation (or your body heat to warm it up:bsmilie: ) They don't work well in extreme cold temps coz the read /write head, spindle... etc contracts.
3. They are not exactly shock proof. Once you drop it, thats it... the worst case that can happen is to drop it on your way back.

I'm not against the PSD. But I would prefer a slim notebook and lotsa of memory anytime.
Store in CFs during cold temperatures and transfer and burn into DVD whenever possible.

 

[Hoky]

going to japan soon.
can advice what reso u guys usually shoot at for travelling?
i use jpeg fine large file.is it overkill if i dont print them?
dun tell me shoot raw pls.i havent reach the stage on how to process the pics digitally.

i only have a 2GB mem card.for 8 days trips, you guys think it's enough?

and if i already have 18-200, will getting a 12-24 nikon makes any difference?is the distortion bad at 12-15mm?cant justify spending 1.6k for this baby though i very gian.:heart: :heart:

any advice for travel photos?big aperture values?

If you are going for "snowy" places. Get yourself some ND filters.

 

[catchlights]

If you are going for "snowy" places. Get yourself some ND filters.

why need ND filter?

 

[wind30]

going to japan soon.
can advice what reso u guys usually shoot at for travelling?
i use jpeg fine large file.is it overkill if i dont print them?
dun tell me shoot raw pls.i havent reach the stage on how to process the pics digitally.

i only have a 2GB mem card.for 8 days trips, you guys think it's enough?

and if i already have 18-200, will getting a 12-24 nikon makes any difference?is the distortion bad at 12-15mm?cant justify spending 1.6k for this baby though i very gian.:heart: :heart:

any advice for travel photos?big aperture values?

I am also thinking what resolution to shoot for my 11 day Japan trip next week. I have like 12GB of storage. I am thinking of actually shooting RAW which is 25meg per file for my camera.

You should at least shoot the highest quality Jpeg. That is like at most 5meg a file. Travel pictures is always better to take higher resolution as you may not have a chance to go back to the same place again. I am not sure how many pictures you take a day but for my case, 2gb is not enough. I take around 100 shots a day on my travels.

For portable storage, there are a lot of options. like portable harddisk, ultra moble PCs, small media players like ipod, zen vision, epson P2000, etc.

I am bring on a 12-24 tokina lens for landscape and 28-75 f2.8 Tamron lens for portraits. You can always buy the 12-24 second hand and sell it after the trip. That case you will not lose much money. At most $100.... peanuts compared to the trip money

 

[Hoky]

why need ND filter?

The snow white surfaces is going to "bounce" aka reflect a lot of light back to your metering system, therefore tricking it.

You could try to underexpose it, but I prefer using a ND to cut down light.
In this way, I can use a larger exposure with greater DOF... the outlines of the snow is contrasted from the skies (assuming white / gray skies in winter) as well.

 

[jeanie]

how much is a microdrive?

i'm always skeptical about getting huge memory cards, like 8GB....cos when it crash, you lose 8GB worth of pics.can u imagine?
i prefer to split them up into a few 2GB.
i think i'll go get a few more 2GB cards.sigh...more $

no one has the 12-24mmnikon?
any reviews or any pics taken with this lens?

anyway, this is the first time i'm following tour group and i'm not expecting to take much pics.you noe lah..tour group hor...maciam chasing ducks around a farm.very rush one lah.
but this is really more like a impromptu tour, so no choice lor.

will try and share my pics with you guys for your 'ken lim's' style of c&c:bsmilie:

 

[jeanie]

btw, d200 with VR on 100% of the time,
2 batts enough?i reckon i can charge everynight.
but can 2 batts last me from 8am to 8pm ah?
:dunno:

 

[Madmax]

IMHO, a portable storage device is the way to go. I doubt you will have problem getting access to electrical powerpoints in Japan. Just remember you may need an adaptor as the electrical powerpoints are similar to US - 2 flat pins.

Shoot RAW since you got a D200. It allows for mistakes to be rectified.

2 batts for 1 day shoot? Should be more than enough. How many shots can you take in 1 day?

 

[catchlights]

The snow white surfaces is going to "bounce" aka reflect a lot of light back to your metering system, therefore tricking it.

You could try to underexpose it, but I prefer using a ND to cut down light.
In this way, I can use a larger exposure with greater DOF... the outlines of the snow is contrasted from the skies (assuming white / gray skies in winter) as well.

Are your talking about gradual ND filter or just ND filter?
if it is ND filter, can to share with everyone how you use the ND filter in the snow scene? like how you meter the scene... and when you attach the filter....
btw, also don't understand what you mean have larger exposure, and greater DOF...

 

[catchlights]

btw, d200 with VR on 100% of the time,
2 batts enough?i reckon i can charge everynight.
but can 2 batts last me from 8am to 8pm ah?
:dunno:

why you need VR on 100% of the time? is it good? does it help?

 

[jeanie]

IMHO, a portable storage device is the way to go. I doubt you will have problem getting access to electrical powerpoints in Japan. Just remember you may need an adaptor as the electrical powerpoints are similar to US - 2 flat pins.

Shoot RAW since you got a D200. It allows for mistakes to be rectified.

2 batts for 1 day shoot? Should be more than enough. How many shots can you take in 1 day?

i really dunno but i'm a trigger happy person.:bsmilie:

portable storage also a risk.
the last time i went to spain with my ipod, it hanged on me.even brought it to ipod spain and they said beyond repair.in the end came back to sgp to change.:angry:

can u imagine saving all your pics into a storage device and whole thing kaput?wah lau!:bigeyes: :nono:

 

[jeanie]

why you need VR on 100% of the time? is it good? does it help?

small petite gal, d200 with 18-200 and vertical grip is really abit heavy for me.
so to prevent camera shake, i reckon my pics will be better with VR on all the time.

anyway, since the lens came with VR, so why not use it?that's my own humble opinion lor

 

[Hoky]

Are your talking about gradual ND filter or just ND filter?
if it is ND filter, can to share with everyone how you use the ND filter in the snow scene? like how you meter the scene... and when you attach the filter....
btw, also don't understand what you mean have larger exposure, and greater DOF...

Depending on the skies. If everything is really bright (which is unusual for winter) I would prefer a ND filter... (cuts down the glare). Also by using that, I would require longer exposure since I would set F/11 or F/16 for snowfield landscapes.

Well, a gradual gray (unless you want other colors :bigeyes: )ND would work the same as well for the separation of "light" and "dark" zones.
I'm still pretty newbie about this as I've only been to limited snowy places during winter... Aust. Alphines (Snowy Mtns, Buller) and the States (NJ, NY, RI, CA, NV...) Their skies sucks during winter, esp mid winter and gradual ND doesn't work well. Not sure about JPN, KOR, CHN during winter... maybe TS can show us some wonderful pics of JPN.

Alternatively, you can forgo the filter by underexposing your shots in order to compensate for your meter's setting as it will be fooled by the bright snow. If you meter and expose the snow at the camera's setting, the snow will be underexposed and look very gray.

I use my camera's center metering selection to meter the snow in bright sunlight and add about one and a half to one and two-thirds more stops of exposure than the camera's suggested meter reading. (With the ND, I don't have to adj. anything)

Oh, btw, I had a typo... it wasn't larger exposure... I was trying to type "smaller aperture and longer exposure", but the hands not co-ordinating well with the brain in the morning lar... :bsmilie:

 

[catchlights]

Depending on the skies. If everything is really bright (which is unusual for winter) I would prefer a ND filter... (cuts down the glare). Also by using that, I would require longer exposure since I would set F/11 or F/16 for snowfield landscapes.

Well, a gradual gray (unless you want other colors :bigeyes: )ND would work the same as well for the separation of "light" and "dark" zones.
So far I've only been to limited snowy places during winter... Aust. Alphines (Snowy Mtns, Buller) and the States (NJ, NY, RI, CA, NV...) Their skies sucks during winter, esp mid winter and gradual ND doesn't work well. Not sure about JPN, KOR, CHN during winter... maybe TS can show us some wonderful pics.

Oh, btw, I had a typo... it wasn't larger exposure... I was trying to type "smaller aperture and longer exposure", but the hands not co-ordinating well with the brain in the morning lar... :bsmilie:

So you are refering ND filter only, not gradual ND filters.

Do you meter the snowfield landscapes with the ND filter on? with manual mode? P mode, S mode or A mode?
Or you meter without filter first, than attach the filter after you get the exposure setting?
so you perfer a longer exposure for your snowfield landscapes. can tell us how long is the shutter speed you prefer?
And please tell us how a ND filter could cuts down the glare?

 

[Hoky]

:bsmilie:

So you are refering ND filter only, not gradual ND filters.

Do you meter the snowfield landscapes with the ND filter on? with manual mode? P mode, S mode or A mode?
Or you meter without filter first, than attach the filter after you get the exposure setting?
so you perfer a longer exposure for your snowfield landscapes. can tell us how long is the shutter speed you prefer?
And please tell us how a ND filter could cuts down the glare?

Wah... you going to snowfields also ar?? so envious... This December only enough to go Cambodia... sianz... So much leave but not enough money... :cry:

Doesn't matter which mode to use... Pardon me for being newbie, I only know how to use Av, Tv, and M mode on my DSLR and my ex-G5. Even for my Ixus 400, I've been using M all the way... (The Auto bumps the ISO too high and it's so noisy)

I meter with the filter at the sky.This way, I no need to underexpose. With the ND, it would take longer to expose the "film" than one without. Without filter, you may have to underexpose your shots. It may be psychological effect, but I find that with the ND, the effects are better (more punch) when taking the shots as compared to underexposing. Shutter speed would be dependant on skies and subject....
My fav mode is Av (Not adult video hor :bsmilie: ) mode (most the time F/11 or F/16), and I don't really care much about shutter since I'm taking static landscape shots.... no subjects shot since my gf don't like to take photo... If you have human subjects, freeze him / her before taking the shots.. :bsmilie: (Sorry, breathe in too much haze, a bit cranky)

As for ND filter, it's just like your sunglass... In a bright day, you cannot open your eyes right? And you have to close your eyes to the smallest to see... With the sunglass, you can see better and ogle longer (exposure) at pretty gals... The difference is that you wear sunglass, gals dunno you staring at them... :sweatsm: