Newbie - First daft mistake

[ste1010]

I took my 550d / Canon 70-200 to take pics of my son playing football against a visiting team on tour from the US. At the end of the game I asked if I could get a shot of both teams together.

They lined up in the goal mouth only for me to realise to get them all in the shot I had to stand somewhere near the half way line. To say I felt a bit stupid is an understatement.

The moral of the story is go prepared, and take more than one lens just in case.

anyone else done anything equally or more stupid

 

[brman]

If it makes you feel any better I was recently reading a comment in some magazine by a wildlife pro. He had spent 3 days getting to some remote location only to discover he had his camera, long lens and tripod but not the quick release plate required to hold them together.......

My usual trick is to take a dozen shots before remembering I'd previous been using massive amounts of exposure compensation or the wrong focus mode or sometime similar. However much I check my settings I always forget something.... :bonk:

Toby

 

[swavis]

My usual trick is to take a dozen shots before remembering I'd previous been using massive amounts of exposure compensation or the wrong focus mode or sometime similar. However much I check my settings I always forget something.... :bonk:

Toby

Ha ha, I do this all the time. I'm getting better though :bonk:

 

[Chris Primadona]

I managed to get to a shoot ten miles away without my camera. Had the bag, laptop, tripod and all the lenses though! Lucky for me the studio owner had an old battered 5d laying around that I was able to use instead!

 

[taz]

My wife went to a dog show a couple of weeks ago specifically to take some photos.
She asked me to charge her battery before she went as it was a little low (being a new D7000 we only have the one battery).
When she got there, having paid £5.50 to get in (exhorbitant for a dog show), she couldn't understand why she couldn't take any photos - until she realised she'd forgotten to but the battery in and it was sitting on her shelf at home!

 

[Deleted member 34016]

Not me- I always take a compliment of lenses on any shoot- but I am Perfect

:Les

 

[Chris Primadona]

Not me- I always take a compliment of lenses on any shoot- but I am Perfect

:Les

You just jinxed it, next shoot you you do you will turn up in your pajamas with flat batteries, no storage cards and you will lock your keys in your boot.

 

[MWHCVT]

Not me- I always take a compliment of lenses on any shoot- but I am Perfect

:Les

Me too, I just take all my gear with me...if I have it all with me I cannot forget it, though I did one have to pay over the odds for a new SD card at a large retailer as I left home with no cards what so ever :bang:

I did have a friend come out with me to take photos one day and after 150miles getting to where we were going realised his memory cards were still at home, he was on CF so I couldn't even lend him a card

Matt
MWHCVT

 

[sam_cat]

I did have a friend come out with me to take photos one day and after 150miles getting to where we were going realised his memory cards were still at home, he was on CF so I couldn't even lend him a card

And that is one of the reasons I keep a 4gb CF card in my wallet.... I know one day I will forget to take one as it was out having data copied off...

Sam

 

[ste1010]

My usual trick is to take a dozen shots before remembering I'd previous been using massive amounts of exposure compensation or the wrong focus mode or sometime similar. However much I check my settings I always forget something.... :bonk:

Toby

Yeah, first time out took pics of mys son playing cricket. Only realised after he had batted I had the AWB set to indoor. Pics were terrible. Tried to fix on PS as best I could.

not sure I can post link in this forum but they are on here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ste1010/sets/72157627075767474/

The colour diff is plain to see. My excuse is I had only had the camera a day

 

[CrazyJay]

One day whilst working on the newspaper I managed to load up a film I had already used. Totally ruined 2 important shoots and obviously dind't know about it till I developed the films back at the darkroom. By which time it was too late to re-schedule either story!.....

At least with digital. If there is a problem, you generally know about it while you are still on site.

 

[Xenon54]

Yeah, first time out took pics of mys son playing cricket. Only realised after he had batted I had the AWB set to indoor. Pics were terrible. Tried to fix on PS as best I could.

This is one of the main reasons I shoot RAW ..... as a safety net for when I goof up. Its saved my bacon a few times.

 

[hairboy]

Remember, always, to take that lens cap off before shooting

 

[Chris Primadona]

Remember, always, to take that lens cap off before shooting

The amount of times I lift my camera to my face before remembering this is terrible. I always get caught doing it too!

 

[Scots_quine]

Or I forget to switch it on and then can't understand why the shutter won't click!

 

[gembobs]

I had been doing some night time long exposure shots last summer. Didn't use my camera for a couple of days, and when I went to use it again for some wildlife shots, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I had such a rediculous shutter lag; I had checked all my settings as a matter of course, but had forgotten I had used mirror lock up the last time I had used it. :bang:

 

[Mank]

And that is one of the reasons I keep a 4gb CF card in my wallet.... I know one day I will forget to take one as it was out having data copied off...

Sam

I did this once. I had a SD card in my wallet (forgot at the time), went out with a friend for some photos and realised I didn't have a card in the camera, I said thats it game over. So went for food and I didn't realise until I paid for food and noticed an SD card in there!

 

[hairboy]

I had been doing some night time long exposure shots last summer. Didn't use my camera for a couple of days, and when I went to use it again for some wildlife shots, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I had such a rediculous shutter lag; I had checked all my settings as a matter of course, but had forgotten I had used mirror lock up the last time I had used it. :bang:

Done that too. And it's always when you are after that 1 shot!!! :bang:

 

[Deron]

Always forget to switch image stabilisation back on after I've used my camera on a tripod...

Then wonder why all my pics are blurry...

Once I forgot to switch AF back on too.

 

[Xenon54]

My most common is forgetting my metering is in spot mode, followed by a loud "Doh!" as I chimp my picture. Always seems to happen when taking people shoots, so I have to ask them to pose all over again...

 

[u8myufo]

It`s more fun with a 7-200 when you stay where you are and ask people to move back a bit

 

[tdodd]

And that is one of the reasons I keep a 4gb CF card in my wallet.... I know one day I will forget to take one as it was out having data copied off...

Sam

When I remove the battery for charging I leave the battery door open. When I remove the card for downloading I leave the card door open. That way, when I do go to pick up the camera, I have an instant reminder that something is missing.

 

[ste1010]

This is one of the main reasons I shoot RAW ..... as a safety net for when I goof up. Its saved my bacon a few times.

Yep, thats was my first lesson learnt, the hard way, the second was not leaving my SD card in the card reader when I went to my daughters sports day. My wife kept asking when I was going to start taking pictures.

 

[chphoto]

It`s more fun with a 7-200 when you stay where you are and ask people to move back a bit

A 7-200mm lens would be something to behold Wouldn't mind trying one of those!

 

[Toggerman]

My usual trick is to take a dozen shots before remembering I'd previous been using massive amounts of exposure compensation or the wrong focus mode or sometime similar. However much I check my settings I always forget something.... :bonk:

Toby

Remember, always, to take that lens cap off before shooting

The amount of times I lift my camera to my face before remembering this is terrible. I always get caught doing it too!

Or I forget to switch it on and then can't understand why the shutter won't click!

I had been doing some night time long exposure shots last summer. Didn't use my camera for a couple of days, and when I went to use it again for some wildlife shots, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I had such a rediculous shutter lag; I had checked all my settings as a matter of course, but had forgotten I had used mirror lock up the last time I had used it. :bang:

I've done all these many, many times

 

[lucyloopy]

My wife went to a dog show a couple of weeks ago specifically to take some photos.
She asked me to charge her battery before she went as it was a little low (being a new D7000 we only have the one battery).
When she got there, having paid £5.50 to get in (exhorbitant for a dog show), she couldn't understand why she couldn't take any photos - until she realised she'd forgotten to but the battery in and it was sitting on her shelf at home!

I've done this, only I'd taken it on holiday so couldnt take any nice ski shots.

 

[brman]

...... or the wrong focus mode or sometime similar. However much I check my settings I always forget something.... :bonk:
Toby

Having written that earlier, guess what I did today? A nice sunny day photographing helicopters on Salisbury plain and I got to about 1pm and 200 pictures in before wondering why the focus tracking wasn't working very well. Yep, it was on single shot focus mode. :bonk::bonk::bonk::bang:
I am dreading looking at the results......

Toby

 

[towershot]

Going to shoot models naked,for the model to say "it's us that have no clothes on" boom boom.

I always carry a camera,well.......nearly always.........

Vulcan bomber coming to-wards me couple of days ago at 200 feet max!

no Bl@@dy camera is as good as no card or battery........:bonk:

 

[Barks]

Going to shoot models naked,for the model to say "it's us that have no clothes on" boom boom.

I always carry a camera,well.......nearly always.........

Vulcan bomber coming to-wards me couple of days ago at 200 feet max!

no Bl@@dy camera is as good as no card or battery........:bonk:

I had something similar happen to me a week last thursday. We'd gone to Brixworth Country Park/Pitsford Reservoir with a picnic. I'd taken my camera and we had the picnic and then went for a wander around. It was getting late and it started to get a bit drizzly, so I decided to put my camera away. Put my camera away, zipped my bacpack back up and put it on my back.

Now while i'd been putting my camera there was what sounded like Harley Davidson type bikes going along the road (which was close by). Suddenly the engine noise got much louder, then louder still, then really loud and the ground started to shake and then over the trees, at no more than 300 metres away and not much over tree top height, flew over what was i'm guessing is the Battle of Britain fly over tribute thing. Lancaster bombers, a couple of spitfires and the whole lot

To say i was gutted, and that the missus was not impressed by my sudden, profuse cursing, are both understatements.

And on the lines of messing up your camera settings, last sundau morning i went for a walk around Daventry Reservoir with my camera, I was taking landscapes across the reservoir and was planning on having a proper go at some HDR on photoshop when I get home. Set the aeb setting on my camera fine, then when i was pressing the shutter all i was getting was one picture and a blinking light in the viewfinder. After a good 5 minutes of dialling in the aeb settings again and trying the shot again and no luck and general confusion and starting to think that my camera was on the blink it dawned on me that it would probably help if I put the camera in to continuous shooting instead of single shot :bonk:

 

[iamchrisphoto]

And that is one of the reasons I keep a 4gb CF card in my wallet.... I know one day I will forget to take one as it was out having data copied off...

Sam

Ahhh. So I'm not the only one does this!

My other half thinks I'm mad carrying Compact flash cards everywhere with me, but I made the mistake of leaving them all at home once, never again!

 

[alexmonkeychops]

The amount of times I lift my camera to my face before remembering this is terrible. I always get caught doing it too!

haha me too, so many times as well :bonk:

 

[Chris Primadona]

I'm going to put a sticker on the back saying "check lens cap!"

 

[ste1010]

I am starting to think now the biggest mistake of all was getting a DLSR in the first place. £500 for the the body, £60 for a kit lens off another forum, and then borrow a Canon 70-200 F4 off my brother with a view to buyng.

Now I am thinking, a few hundered quid for this lens to shoot this, and maybe another lens to try that etc etc. I can see the £££'s quickly being spent. the missus is already going mental.

 

[Barks]

Agreed it's not a cheap hobby to get in to, but if it just a hobby you have no need to spend £1000's on an l series lens for example when there's quite probably an ef/efs equivalent that you'll be more than happy with.

And if you ever do need/want a decent lens for a specific trip/shoot/wedding etc then you can always rent lenses.

I'm going to the peak district for a week soon and i've not got a decent wideangle lens, and ideally i'd be buying an ef l 14mm f2.8 but seeing as i don't have £1500 to spare i'll be hiring one for 10 days for around £125. Or even the efs 10-22mm for even less than that.

Photography can be a very expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be

 

[peteredwards]

haha me too, so many times as well :bonk:

YOu are not alone guys! :bonk::bonk::bonk:

 

[ste1010]

Photography can be a very expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be

I guess your right, however my next purchase will be something to capture my daughters gym comps. Problem seems there is no lower cost alternative for fast glass.

 

[Barks]

I guess your right, however my next purchase will be something to capture my daughters gym comps. Problem seems there is no lower cost alternative for fast glass.

I know nothing of gymanstics but i guess events like those come along pretty regularly so in the long run buying will probably run out cheaper than renting all the time. Sadly you're right that if you need a fast lens then they don't come cheap. I believe there's some decent sigma's that hold f2.8 all through the range and go up to about 200mm for about £500-600.

There's always places like ebay and i believe there's quite a lot of bargains to be had in the classifieds on this site, but i've not yet been a member long enough to look at them

Also try local car boot sales, a friend of mine picked up an old canon film slr with 3 lenses, the longest of which is about 300mm i think, in "they might work, they might not" condition for £30 and all work perfectly.

Seems like people don't want film these days, but i don't know why. I don't currently own a film slr myself, but i will do when cash or the right bargain allows.