memory cards for trip

[Hoky]

Here's a photo I took with my Ixus 3 years ago...
It was in the Snowy Mtns, NSW, Australia. Had to "trick" the P&S then...

 

[Snowcrash]

One idea is considering you are 'renting a few CF cards" for the trip when buying those new 2gig CF cards.

After the trip, sell them here in clubsnap as you don't need them anymore. The difference is the rent you pay for the 8 days trip.

I'm sure CS buyers won't mind getting close to new CF cards at a good price.

My advice is don't keep those card for too long, as the price goes down quickly, epecially if they are sitting 'idle' at home.

 

[jeanie]

just went to cathay today, saw the ultra sandisk 4GB at 220.was told the speed was not as fast as the sandisk extreme3.
hence i bought the extreme 3 2GB at 160.
am i being ripped?:dunno: :embrass:

also, is there really a vast difference for speed in mem cards because i dont shoot 5 frames a second?

 

[Madmax]

High speed is extremely useful if you taking continuous shots, like wakeboarding, shooting fireworks, etc. The write time is shorter and that helps to clear the camera buffer quickly.

If you don't take such shots, normal CF cards will suffice. Try borrowing them from friends.

 

[zoossh]

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:

i think the reason why catchlights can't catch your light is becos there are certain reasoning that you didn't grap very well.

true that by 18% grey, the metering system will set an underexposed snow. in order to compensate for the underexposing by the auto metering, you need to overexpose (not underexpose to compensate stated above) over the metering level by increasing EV or by manually increase the exposure from the auto-metered level, or theorethically spot metering on a shadow area (but that is just as hard to gauge what will turn out right for the snow).

also you can always go for smaller aperture and longer resultant exposure duration with the same amt of light entry. using a density filter does a similar function like a smaller aperture to give a lowered level of light entry at the same exposure duration. if i have f/11 at 1sec without filter, i can get the same with f/8 at 1 sec or f/11 at 2 sec if i use a 1 stop ND filter. so it does not allow a smaller aperture and longer exposure. it allows a bigger aperture at the same exposure duration, or the same aperture at a longer exposure duration. what it helps is to overcome the smallest aperture limit. if my lens can close down smallest to f/22 and i can't go smaller, and the scene is still so bright that it is overexposing still at f/22, or that i wanted a waterfall at 4 seconds but the f/22 is only giving 1/2 seconds which if beyond will underexpose, then the ND/GND will come in handy to give the cutting down of light in a overtly bright day or to lengthen the exposure duration at your smallest aperture size of your lens.

 

[zoossh]

just went to cathay today, saw the ultra sandisk 4GB at 220.was told the speed was not as fast as the sandisk extreme3.
hence i bought the extreme 3 2GB at 160.
am i being ripped?:dunno: :embrass:

also, is there really a vast difference for speed in mem cards because i dont shoot 5 frames a second?

being able to shoot and store just on memory cards is good and light, but it is too expensive to buy too many cards. and you are always at risk of running out of space and you got to become very selective or even delete your previous photos.

ensuring enough storage (more than expected) is always good.

rather than getting faster speed mem cards, recommend that you get faster lens with larger maximum aperture (of cos, do consider the weight). nikkor 50mm f/1.8 is a good lens, minus the lack of zoom and limited composition by zooming.

 

[Hoky]

just went to cathay today, saw the ultra sandisk 4GB at 220.was told the speed was not as fast as the sandisk extreme3.
hence i bought the extreme 3 2GB at 160.
am i being ripped?:dunno: :embrass:

also, is there really a vast difference for speed in mem cards because i dont shoot 5 frames a second?

Yes, you have been ripped... I have seen the prices of 2 Gb Extreme III as low as $130, thanks to Extreme IV... One feature that Sandisk boast about the extreme is the ability to work in extreme temperatures. As low as -25 degrees C... I've been to -26 degrees C in the high altitude regions and my hagiwara works fine... perhaps should be okay with most brands with temperatures.

Btw, I was offered the Ultra II at $208 (4Gb) at the forth level shop in front the escalator in Funan... Can't remember the name but it has a yellow signboard.

 

[Hoky]

i think the reason why catchlights can't catch your light is becos there are certain reasoning that you didn't grap very well.

true that by 18% grey, the metering system will set an underexposed snow. in order to compensate for the underexposing by the auto metering, you need to overexpose (not underexpose to compensate stated above) over the metering level by increasing EV or by manually increase the exposure from the auto-metered level, or theorethically spot metering on a shadow area (but that is just as hard to gauge what will turn out right for the snow).

also you can always go for smaller aperture and longer resultant exposure duration with the same amt of light entry. using a density filter does a similar function like a smaller aperture to give a lowered level of light entry at the same exposure duration. if i have f/11 at 1sec without filter, i can get the same with f/8 at 1 sec or f/11 at 2 sec if i use a 1 stop ND filter. so it does not allow a smaller aperture and longer exposure. it allows a bigger aperture at the same exposure duration, or the same aperture at a longer exposure duration. what it helps is to overcome the smallest aperture limit. if my lens can close down smallest to f/22 and i can't go smaller, and the scene is still so bright that it is overexposing still at f/22, or that i wanted a waterfall at 4 seconds but the f/22 is only giving 1/2 seconds which if beyond will underexpose, then the ND/GND will come in handy to give the cutting down of light in a overtly bright day or to lengthen the exposure duration at your smallest aperture size of your lens.

Zoosh, nice explanation...
But I still differ on your opinion on the overexposing part of the snow...
I tried that before and there's no "outline" of the snow from the skies... (Esp the sky is mostly gray; will post some pics to show). Maybe I've not been around to enough places / haven't seen much places in order to gauge...

 

[jeanie]

being able to shoot and store just on memory cards is good and light, but it is too expensive to buy too many cards. and you are always at risk of running out of space and you got to become very selective or even delete your previous photos.

ensuring enough storage (more than expected) is always good.

rather than getting faster speed mem cards, recommend that you get faster lens with larger maximum aperture (of cos, do consider the weight). nikkor 50mm f/1.8 is a good lens, minus the lack of zoom and limited composition by zooming.

ya i know.i try to go for f2.8 lenses but it's VERY heavy.
i have afs80-200, 17-35, and i've already gotten a 50 f1.4.the 50f1.5 equates to about 75mm on the d200 right?not very useful for travelling imho.
i'll just bring my 18-200 for the trip i reckon.am speculating getting the 12-24mm.
what say you?:dunno:

 

[jeanie]

Zoosh, nice explanation...
But I still differ on your opinion on the overexposing part of the snow...
I tried that before and there's no "outline" of the snow from the skies... (Esp the sky is mostly gray; will post some pics to show). Maybe I've not been around to enough places / haven't seen much places in order to gauge...

pardon me for intrusion between your conversation...

but i swear i read for shooting snow scenes, overexposing compensation is the way to go?
which is why i'm confused now:dunno:

 

[jeanie]

Yes, you have been ripped... I have seen the prices of 2 Gb Extreme III as low as $130, thanks to Extreme IV... One feature that Sandisk boast about the extreme is the ability to work in extreme temperatures. As low as -25 degrees C... I've been to -26 degrees C in the high altitude regions and my hagiwara works fine... perhaps should be okay with most brands with temperatures.

Btw, I was offered the Ultra II at $208 at the forth level shop in front the escalator in Funan... Can't remember the name but it has a yellow signboard.

i just called lords and even they are selling at 165 lei:dunno:

you sure can get 130?:dunno: :dunno:

i think i'll get ultra ii 4GB from cathay.$220.
someone told me the speed only matter when you download pics to your pc.it doenst matter when you are shooting.at least, no significant difference.:dunno:

can anyone justify these claims?

 

[Hoky]

pardon me for intrusion between your conversation...

but i swear i read for shooting snow scenes, overexposing compensation is the way to go?
which is why i'm confused now:dunno:

Save yourself confusion and take Zoosh's advice for now.
He's good and have been to lots of places... must be right... :bsmilie:

If not correct, since you're having a DSLR... shoot again with other settings to compensate.. :bsmilie:
There's always another alternative playing with your NEF..

 

[Hoky]

i just called lords and even they are selling at 165 lei:dunno:

you sure can get 130?:dunno: :dunno:

i think i'll get ultra ii 4GB from cathay.$220.
someone told me the speed only matter when you download pics to your pc.it doenst matter when you are shooting.at least, no significant difference.:dunno:

can anyone justify these claims?

Depending on your write buffer and camera write speeds... And most importantly, your usage.
If you are shooting multiple frames at any one go, my advice is get the fastest card your camera can support.
I have made a post sometime ago with regards to CF cards... and have got myself a 133X 1Gb Lexar.. (2 days ago) although my camera don't support WA.

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=227140&page=2

This post states some links to write speeds.
http://forums.clubsnap.org/showpost.php?p=2516260&postcount=25

Remember, camera retailers are not always the cheapest when coming to flash memory.
Do your research at SLS or Funan... Lastly, I missed out typing the Ultra II at $208 4Gb in my earlier post.

 

[catchlights]

pardon me for intrusion between your conversation...

but i swear i read for shooting snow scenes, overexposing compensation is the way to go?
which is why i'm confused now:dunno:

Yes, when it is to much white in the scene, the camera meter will be fooled to underexposed it, so you need to compensate it by overexpose.

You may print this Basic Daylight Exposure Guild to keep in your camera bag for reference.

If you can understand mandarin, you may find this Chinese poem is useful.
Nature Photography Techniques



.

 

[compro_1975]

...
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.

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

well, even if it is on the laptop, the hd still hav the possibility to crash and is rather heavy to carry this walking around. if the storage is well protected there should not be a problem. but after seeing your ipod incident i wonder should i still buy a portable storage. (i also hav the same problem as you.):dunno:

just went to cathay today, saw the ultra sandisk 4GB at 220.was told the speed was not as fast as the sandisk extreme3.
hence i bought the extreme 3 2GB at 160.
am i being ripped?:dunno: :embrass:

also, is there really a vast difference for speed in mem cards because i dont shoot 5 frames a second?

next time, make sim lim square your first choice, chiong to the 5th floor and there is the best deal

 

[ryuggen]

well, even if it is on the laptop, the hd still hav the possibility to crash and is rather heavy to carry this walking around. if the storage is well protected there should not be a problem. but after seeing your ipod incident i wonder should i still buy a portable storage. (i also hav the same problem as you.):dunno:



next time, make sim lim square your first choice, chiong to the 5th floor and there is the best deal

Does that mean we can trasnfer photos directly from a camera to an ipod without a medium? I'm looking at creative. Looks cheaper with more functions.

 

[lurgee]

Just some 2cents from me.

I would say renting a portable drive would be good. Shoot as much as you want and just transfer them in when the card is full. If you're worried, you could upload them into a laptop if you're bringing one..if not go to one of the many internet cafes and have your photos burnt into cds.

Sandisk Ultra II and Extreme III cards are the way to go if you ask me and I read that you already got the Extreme III. Good choice. I used both the Ultra II and Extreme III while I was enjoying the snow in USA last year without any problems. I've got a brand new unused 2GB Extreme III card if you wanna consider getting another one.

 

[AReality]

Aiyo.
u dun compensate to "overexpose".
u compensate to "expose it correctly".


.

 

[MDZ2]

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?

Even if you have no intention of printing your pics, there is still some merit in using the highest possible resolution ie. If you decide you prefer a tighter crop of your pics, you don't have to worry as much that they will start to pixalate too much. And what if you do decide to print?

 

[jacker]

last week i buy 1 portable photo storage
casing - $79 [ Digimate III - Photo Bank]

http://www.exeltek.com.au/secure/ca...d/708?osCsid=2193bb125fe953d8d7dd4171ac5ea4d1


2.5 " [notebook HardDisk ] - $95 = 60GB *Use my own, not include in the package.
total spend = $174
i get 60 GB space. by this way i can get big file size for this.

this portable photo storage is use external battery. - continue run is 2hours
this storage is a [ card reader + external HD self run no need to connect to any computer to transfer photo from CF card to this. ]
1GB CF card transfer the photo into the storage just 7mins. [all image].

someone need help for this, alway welcome.

Jacker - [i not the seller, just a IT user.]