Camera Overkill

jonbeeza

jonbeeza

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My and the missus had to take the Granddaughter into York yesterday, as this was University related we could not be with her. So we knew we would be kicking our heels for most of the morning and afternoon, I decided to take my cameras. I wanted to try out the Fuji XF1 that I have just recently got, but with the battery life not being too good, I decided to take my other old cameras. I managed to get an old Nikon D80 with the 50mm 1.8D lens attached, and an old Canon Powershot, and the Fuji XF1 all squeezed into a small camera bag.

Things did not go to plan, York Centre was very heavy with traffic with a bit of difficulty finding a suitable place to park. Other things happened that I wont bother to go into, but suffice to say I did not get as many shots as intended. I managed to get a few shots of the missus with each of the cameras, and I was still impressed with the photos that I got from the very old Canon Powershot. But I really did like the photos that I got from the old Nikon, I thought the images from the Fuji were great for a little compact. I even managed to to get some video from the Fuji, I wish I had of known I could have used exposure Comp in video mode, as the video was very over exposed!

Next time I think I will only take one camera for busy places, and that will be a compact as the DSLR caused a bit of aggro. Too many cameras too much fiddling time, I will keep it simple next time :)
 
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viewfromthenorth said:
There's something to be said for keeping it simple, like you I've learnt that the hard way! Unless it's a dedicated photography trip, it's normally an SLR and one lens (usually a prime) or a compact. And I still end up using my iphone half the time anyway....
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Yes I do admit I even managed to get a few with the iphone also, yes most deffo learned :)
 
Keep it simple every time. For a trip like that, I would have had my Canon S100 in my pocket and left the DSLR at home. Takes great shots and is tiny and very portable as well as being very unobtrusive for urban/street shots.
 
Quicksnapper said:
Keep it simple every time. For a trip like that, I would have had my Canon S100 in my pocket and left the DSLR at home. Takes great shots and is tiny and very portable as well as being very unobtrusive for urban/street shots.
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I won't use a DSLR again in a busy area like that, I was taking photos with the DSLR near York Castle Museum. A man in a suit came running over to me shouting who am I taking photos of and whats going on etc. I did not realise the building I was near was York Crown court, I said to him I am taking photos of the missus. He calmed down when I put it away and carried on with my compact, me and the missus were both tired, and we could not be arsed arguing.
 
jonbeeza said:
I won't use a DSLR again in a busy area like that, I was taking photos with the DSLR near York Castle Museum. A man in a suit came running over to me shouting who am I taking photos of and whats going on etc. I did not realise the building I was near was York Crown court, I said to him I am taking photos of the missus. He calmed down when I put it away and carried on with my compact, me and the missus were both tired, and we could not be arsed arguing.
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Oh dear. I think I'd have loved to have said "This is York, UK, not North Korea. Bog Off." But, in reality this is why I just don't bother if people are around as it seems that there are just too many just waiting and eager for a chance to instigate a confrontation.
 
woof woof said:
But, in reality this is why I just don't bother if people are around as it seems that there are just too many just waiting and eager for a chance to instigate a confrontation.
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From now on I will just take my little fuji compact, for out and about photos. Besides I like its wide angle, I like getting more street scene in the frame.
 
Last holiday, I took my old D70, an X-20, an XF-1 and an HS30 bridge, all for slightly different purposes. Over 90% of the shots I took were with the baby Xs and only a couple with the D70. The HS39 was used for a few shots of a buzzard which was sat on a telegraph pole but wasn't really up to the job - you can tell it's a buzzard but that's about it! This year, I'll be taking the baby Xs again and at least one of the X CSCs with a couple of zooms, although I might be tempted to let the baby X take care of the 25-100 (or 28-112) end and just take the 55-200 on the X-T. Decisions, decisions! (First world problem...) In the past, I've taken the full SLR kit (well, one body and a range of lenses) but in 2012 was too ill to carry it once there so only took one shot with it! If/when we go to a completely different place, I'll probably go overkill again but probably with the Fujis rather than the full SLR kit - mainly due to the weight restrictions on hand baggage.
 
jerry12953 said:
I feel that one will (almost) always take better photos if one is 100% familiar with your camera. With a total of four different ones in your arsenal I'm not sure how this could have been the case!
Overkill? Definitely!
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I have no idea what I was thinking taking so many Cameras, I have to hold my hands up and say yes I was a complete idiot. I knew exactly were exposure comp was on the DSLR, a quick press with the index finger and a quick flick with the thumb and I had exposure comp immediately at my finger tips. Cross over to the fuji, and I could not recall how to access exposure comp! Got the Canon Powershot out, and started turning the jog dial to dial in a wide aperture, until I finally realised it does not even have A/S modes !

I did finish off with the little fuji, and I realised that's what I should have been using from the start :confused:
 
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Well said, that man!

I know from my own experience that whenever I use a new piece of kit for the first time, and often many times afterwards, I'm all at fingers and thumbs with it. This extends to tripods and tripod heads, anything that takes one's mind away from the actual process of picture making.

The changeover from Contax film to Canon digital was a nightmare which took about two years......
 
jonbeeza said:
I won't use a DSLR again in a busy area like that, I was taking photos with the DSLR near York Castle Museum. A man in a suit came running over to me shouting who am I taking photos of and whats going on etc. I did not realise the building I was near was York Crown court, I said to him I am taking photos of the missus. He calmed down when I put it away and carried on with my compact, me and the missus were both tired, and we could not be arsed arguing.
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Strange, I live behind the Minster and regularly take photos all around York, with SLRs, medium format and large format gear, never had a single issue, apart from a word from one of the ghost tour operators who mistook my red and black dark cloth used with my Linhof for a vampire cape and thought I was muscling in on his turf! We both had a laugh about that one.
 
markmullen said:
Strange, I live behind the Minster and regularly take photos all around York, with SLRs, medium format and large format gear, never had a single issue
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Must be my shifty looking face then :)
 
>Other things happened that I wont bother to go into,
Funny! Left up to our imagination, it seems you had a really bad day.
If you just take one camera with you, it will make finding a parking space easier too.

I got chased and pulled over by the US cops last month for taking sunset pictures too near a refinery. Apparently terrorists like taking sunset pictures. Or something. They let me go after a while.
 
ianp5a said:
>Other things happened that I wont bother to go into,
Funny! Left up to our imagination ..
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Nope just personal things between me and the missus ;) But most deffo travel light next time, well and truly learned my lesson.
 
Steve Smith said:
Doesn't matter. You can photograph court buildings if you want to.


Steve.
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No you can't Steve, the law is quite clear about this.

It is a criminal offence (contempt) to take a photograph in any court of any person, being a judge of the court or a juror or a witness in or a party to any proceedings before the court, whether civil or criminal, or to publish such a photograph. This includes photographs taken in a court building, or the precincts of the court.

The ignorance of law is not a defence !
 
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jonbeeza said:
My and the missus had to take the Granddaughter into York yesterday, as this was University related we could not be with her. So we knew we would be kicking our heels for most of the morning and afternoon, I decided to take my cameras. I wanted to try out the Fuji XF1 that I have just recently got, but with the battery life not being too good, I decided to take my other old cameras. I managed to get an old Nikon D80 with the 50mm 1.8D lens attached, and an old Canon Powershot, and the Fuji XF1 all squeezed into a small camera bag.

Things did not go to plan, York Centre was very heavy with traffic with a bit of difficulty finding a suitable place to park. Other things happened that I wont bother to go into, but suffice to say I did not get as many shots as intended. I managed to get a few shots of the missus with each of the cameras, and I was still impressed with the photos that I got from the very old Canon Powershot. But I really did like the photos that I got from the old Nikon, I thought the images from the Fuji were great for a little compact. I even managed to to get some video from the Fuji, I wish I had of known I could have used exposure Comp in video mode, as the video was very over exposed!

Next time I think I will only take one camera for busy places, and that will be a compact as the DSLR caused a bit of aggro. Too many cameras too much fiddling time, I will keep it simple next time :)
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I'm sorry that you didn't have a positive experience in York yesterday. It's starting to get very busy here and next weekend (Easter) will be one of its busiest weeks.

I live in York and know it well. I'm happy to give you, or any TP member any assistance, guidance and even take you to some of the highlights with a bit if notice.

Feel free to drop me a PM

General rule of thumb is to plan for an early shoot before all the visitors arrive.
 
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Have you not thought that the guy in the suit may well have been a defendent at the court who thought he was being photographed? Probably just put his can of extra strength lager down before approaching you.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
No you can't Steve, the law is quite clear about this.

It is a criminal offence (contempt) to take a photograph in any court of any person, being a judge of the court or a juror or a witness in or a party to any proceedings before the court, whether civil or criminal, or to publish such a photograph. This includes photographs taken in a court building, or the precincts of the court.
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This all relates to the interior of the court. We were discussing taking photographs of the building - from a public place outside.


Steve.
 
Steve Smith said:
This all relates to the interior of the court. We were discussing taking photographs of the building - from a public place outside.


Steve.
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It doesn't just relate to the inside of the court Steve, the precincts are still defined in statute as the exterior of the building, including the court room itself. This is the very reason why the OP was challenged and asked what he was photographing. The issue is not so much the building but 'anyone involved in the trial'

That said, People often photograph outside courts everyday. You can't turn on the National News without someone emerging from the Old Bailey and being photographed.

In fairness to the OP, the courts look more like a museam than a court, Here's one I took late last year complete with a set of gallows. This was erected for the BBC Drama ' Death comes to Pemberley' incidentally, the court was not in session at the time and it was shut, even though there was a murder trial on that week !



Taken with a Fuji X10 - ideal camera for keeping in your pocket. I seldom leave the house without it while I'm in town. Having a pocket camera can make the difference from grabbing a shot like this or missing it completely.
 
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I though murder trails only happened in Oxford and Midsommer?
 
Imagine turning up to the murder trial with those gallows outside!
You'd have a quick doublethink about what the maximum penalties are this year!
 
Ulfric M Douglas said:
Imagine turning up to the murder trial with those gallows outside!
You'd have a quick doublethink about what the maximum penalties are this year!
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I know !

Believe me some of the overheard comments included ' they shouldn't be taken down' etc etc, that was just some of the less extreme !
 
A busker (bagpiper) stands outside the High Court building in Edinburgh (High Court of Justiciary) most days and must have hundreds of pictures taken of him every day. It's also at the top of the pedestrianised section of the Royal Mile which is used during the Fringe festival in August and will also have street performers (living statues etc) and people promoting their shows outside, again with loads of people taking photos. Never had any issues in York either when I lived there and again lots of tourists in that area as Cliffords Tower is opposite.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
I'm sorry that you didn't have a positive experience in York yesterday. It's starting to get very busy here and next weekend (Easter) will be one of its busiest weeks.

I live in York and know it well. I'm happy to give you, or any TP member any assistance, guidance and even take you to some of the highlights with a bit if notice.

Feel free to drop me a PM

General rule of thumb is to plan for an early shoot before all the visitors arrive.
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Does that include a biscuit and a cup of tea ? Of course only joking :) Our visit to to York was not planned as a day out for photos, but was for our Granddaughters interview at York University, so depending on the outcome of that will determine if we will be back this year. We don't tend to travel over that part of the country, as we generally tend to stay local. But you never know, we just might be tempted, especially if the biccies are custard creams lol.

Oh and thanks for your offer ;)
 
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Steve Smith said:
I just did... and now I have an appointment with the gallows posted earlier!

And a question for the OP:

How is a D80 old? I can show you really old cameras!!


Steve.
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I know it's not old as in old, but more in the terms of how fast new stuff comes out. Get the latest camera, and before you know it a newer model soon follows. It's not my oldest camera, my oldest is the Nikon F60, not worth anything now maybe a fiver if I am lucky.
 
I have a couple of Nikon Fs. Introduced in 1959 and made until 1973. It's hard to imagine a modern camera model lasting so long. After a couple of years now, they are old and need to be replaced!


Steve,
 
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