Digital overload ?

[dee]

I was out with the recently revisited M8 when i found that the 1 gb SD card was full with less than 250 shots ...
The expectations of hundreds of shots from an 8GB card seem a touch OTT considering that I was recently in London, content with a 2x 36 carefully considered snapshots with the Kiev/Contax !
I can't afford to use reversal film these days , but maybe I should stick to 1GB or 2GB cards to revive that extra consideration.

dee

 

[Godfrey]

I've now standardized on one 32G card and one backup 16G for each camera. I don't know how many exposures from the M-P that amounts to yet ... I rarely make more than 15-50 exposures on a typical shooting session and I usually reformat the card after I move the photos to the computer.

Sometimes, a roll of film in the Hasselblad takes me two months to expose. A pack of Impossible Project film in the SX-70 can similarly take me two weeks to expose.

Suffice it to say that I'm rarely constrained by a 36 shot roll of film, and with the digital cameras I hardly think about it at all. It's not why I shoot slowly, and in small numbers... 🙂

G

 

[jesse1dog]

Coming from a film background I find that I rarely take more than 20 or so shots during a session - today's total was 15, 5 this morning and 10 this afternoon.
All are now on computer and backed up on two drives. I'll now reinsert the 2GB card into the camera and clear it. I always use a portable card reader and never connect camera to computer.
j

 

[Mcary]

I use 4 and 8gb SD cards with my M8 and generally don't even come close to filling a card. Also if I'm on a multiple day outing I try to bring a card for each day plus a few back-up and start each day with a fresh card.

 

[taemo]

i'm never happy with my color neg scans so I think I'll stick to B&W for film and occasional slides for color due to cost.
that said, I find that after shooting film for a while, my film shooting habit carried over to digital.

for those limiting yourself to very few rolls at a time, I've lost moments because I was busy reloading my camera or I was out of film

 

[Godfrey]

I just can't shoot a keeper with digital.

You can work on that, if you choose.

G

 

[Calzone]

for those limiting yourself to very few rolls at a time, I've lost moments because I was busy reloading my camera or I was out of film

This is one reason I generally carry two film cameras so one is always ready. Diane Arbus use to carry three Rollieflexes in a knapsack. Also from Diane Arbus I learned a lot about editing from her contact sheets; I learned to shoot a subject in three round bursts like an assassin (three different shots/POV's) so that I can at least have three shots to pick from.

B&W film is still inexpensive, even though prices have doubled for me over the past 5 years. I can shoot 20 rolls in a day because I live in NYC and there is just so much to shoot, but more typically half that.

With a digital-M I use a 16 Gig SD card and carry a second card just in case. Mostly I download and reformat in camera right away. 8Gig for me would be too small.

Cal

 

[rscheffler]

I keep a 128GB card in the M240 and incrementally download it after each day's session. I can get about 5000 compressed DNGs on it.

I figure, however much I shoot, it's still a fraction of the 1.8 billion images uploaded each day (according to LL). 🙂

For me it's a process. I need to work a scene or location and am not concerned if I get it in one shot or after 100...

 

[Calzone]

I just can't shoot a keeper with digital.

Ned,

I use to be a B&W film only die-hard.

Digital made me into a better photographer. Digital rewards precision, and perfect exposure is just that. Focus is also more critical with digital. Well worth the effort.

On my MM9 the 10 zone histogram along with my clipping indicators set at 1% are great tools that speed up the learning curve. Feedback is fast.

BTW I didn't give up on film and still shoot a lot of it.

Cal

 

[xenohip]

I just can't shoot a keeper with digital.

I've only ever shot one keeper with digital.

 

[Michael Markey]

I've only ever shot one keeper with digital.

You need to try harder then ...

 

[NeeZee]

if you think you ever shot a keeper on any medium you have to work on your editing 😉

 

[Daniel Teoli Jr.]

I gave up on hi cap cards. I just use 8 gig. I use them like film. 16 is too big for me to edit.

 

[willie_901]

I suspect you meant digital bloat.

File sizes increase because the information content is higher. The information content is higher because consumers (casual, serious practitioners and professionals) want more resolution. While some hold more resolution is redundant or even gratuitous... the market place has spoken. Personally I am happy with 16 megapixel sensor raw file compared to 12 MP data. I suspect someday I'll be happy with 24 MP. At the moment 36 MP does not appeal. If I could sell extremely large prints that seem to be popular in some art shows/galleries, I might even need 36 MB files.

It's fortunate storage media are relatively inexpensive and reasonable data backup methods are uncomplicated.

 

[Calzone]

I suspect you meant digital bloat.

File sizes increase because the information content is higher. The information content is higher because consumers (casual, serious practitioners and professionals) want more resolution. While some hold more resolution is redundant or even gratuitous... the market place has spoken. Personally I am happy with 16 megapixel sensor raw file compared to 12 MP data. I suspect someday I'll be happy with 24 MP. At the moment 36 MP does not appeal. If I could sell extremely large prints that seem to be popular in some art shows/galleries, I might even need 36 MB files.

It's fortunate storage media are relatively inexpensive and reasonable data backup methods are uncomplicated.

Willie,

You make a great point about print size and resolution. My MM9 is only 16MP, but because it does not have a Bayer Filter Array the resolution I think is comparable to a 24MP camera. On some files that were perfect exposures shot at high shutter speeds, that are in perfect focus the size gets really big that one could print. On occassion one might discover that one could perform a Salgado and print mucho huge.

Recently my gal bought me a Nikon D3X (24MP) to use for her fashion blog. This D3X had less than 5K actuations and came boxed, but I find that the higher resolution requires an even higher level of precision to get the IQ I get from my MM9. It almost is like diminishing returns. I find the D3X requires a higher shutter speed to get full resolution, and the D3X does not have the wonderful high ISO performance of the plain D3S. I'm not saying that I don't like the D3X, but you are spot on that the jump from 16MP to 24MP makes a camera a different beast.

Not sure how this translates into say comparing my MM9 with a M-246: one being CCD and 16MP; and the other CMOS and 24MP.

Cal

 

[Sparrow]

You need to try harder then ...

... harsh ... but fair I suppose

 

[jsrockit]

Each person should photograph as much as they need to to get the photos they want. There is no wrong way to photograph and there is no harm in photographing a lot.

 

[Bille]

but maybe I should stick to 1GB or 2GB cards to revive that extra consideration.
dee

And here´s for double extra consideration:
http://gizmodo.com/5025423/sandisk-worm-write-once-sd-cards-cant-be-altered-last-100-years

 

[photomoof]

What is a "keeper."

An image that has been paid for and published?
An image your dealer has shown and sold?
An image you use as a reference for other work?

What does that mean? Just wondering.

Personally I pretty much "keep" everything, it takes so little space. With respect to the OP, I use lots of 8Gb cards, nothing bigger.

 

[Godfrey]

Each person should photograph as much as they need to to get the photos they want. There is no wrong way to photograph and there is no harm in photographing a lot.

+1

What I do is what works for me. I offer it as one possibility for others to consider without any dogmatic fiat.

I've been doing this stuff a very long time and am still learning. 🙂

G