mwooten
light user
This morning I went to my fiancee's Kindergarten class. Liz wanted me to shoot the children wearing Santa caps to send home for Christmas. In the past I've used my Nikon D70 and all went well. This year I decided to use the RD1, and knowing that I might need it I brought my Nikon sb28 flash.
Well the shooting went great, the flash did its thing, and the kids looked real cute. However, when we got back to the classroom things started to go very un-great, and caused me to fear camera failure. I changed lens from the 50 Nokton to the 35mm to get some group shots of the kids, but the shutter speeds seemed to not work. I shifted the shutter speed dial from 125 to 'A' and tried again. Still no joy. Being in a Kindergarten classroom didn't allow me give voice to my dismay (cuss words being highly frowned upon). I though, "I've got to pack this thing up, and mail it to Robert White all the way across the Atlantic, and hope Epson doesn't screw it up more than it already is screwed up." I switched the camera off in the hope that a restart would fix things, but it didn't. I removed the battery, put it back in, turned the camera on, and still the shutter speeds didn't work properly.
"Well," I thought, "at least the kid's photos came out great and Liz and the kids' parents will be happy, but I f'-up my camera with the speedlight somehow and have to send this sweet camera away."
And when it all seemed lost, I remembered something one of the folks on this forum wrote in defining the characteristics of a rangefinder -- "If you can take a photo with the lens cap on, it may be a rangefinder."
Thanks y'all for all the answers and questions.
Michael
Well the shooting went great, the flash did its thing, and the kids looked real cute. However, when we got back to the classroom things started to go very un-great, and caused me to fear camera failure. I changed lens from the 50 Nokton to the 35mm to get some group shots of the kids, but the shutter speeds seemed to not work. I shifted the shutter speed dial from 125 to 'A' and tried again. Still no joy. Being in a Kindergarten classroom didn't allow me give voice to my dismay (cuss words being highly frowned upon). I though, "I've got to pack this thing up, and mail it to Robert White all the way across the Atlantic, and hope Epson doesn't screw it up more than it already is screwed up." I switched the camera off in the hope that a restart would fix things, but it didn't. I removed the battery, put it back in, turned the camera on, and still the shutter speeds didn't work properly.
"Well," I thought, "at least the kid's photos came out great and Liz and the kids' parents will be happy, but I f'-up my camera with the speedlight somehow and have to send this sweet camera away."
And when it all seemed lost, I remembered something one of the folks on this forum wrote in defining the characteristics of a rangefinder -- "If you can take a photo with the lens cap on, it may be a rangefinder."
Thanks y'all for all the answers and questions.
Michael
SteveM(PA)
Poser
Awesome! Quite a little rollercoaster. 
I took all my Santa pictures last year with the cap on my Jupiter 9 with Fed 3. At least you had TTL to warn you...I didn't realize until i got home. Broke my heart. What the heck are Santa's helpers there for anyway?
I took all my Santa pictures last year with the cap on my Jupiter 9 with Fed 3. At least you had TTL to warn you...I didn't realize until i got home. Broke my heart. What the heck are Santa's helpers there for anyway?
Terao
Kiloran
lol, btdt
See also trying to shoot without an SD card
See also trying to shoot without an SD card
iml
Well-known
LOL. I haven't done this yet, but it's only a matter of time...
Ian
Ian
Didier
"Deed"
mwooten said:
Oh yeah, are you the neighbour of Miss Posh Beckham?
Didier
JeffGreene
(@)^(@)
Clearly, lenscapped rangefinder photography isn't limited!
Didier
"Deed"
But now seriously - flashes with too high voltage may cause real damage to the electronics of a R-D1 (Epson Website: "Please note when using flashes that they do not use high voltage, since the flash shoe of the R-D1 is not equipped for it"). Unfortunately I did never find out WHERE the limit is. 7V? 25V? 100V? Some Metz models go up to 600V, but with my (rarely used) Nikon SB-20 I'm on the safe side (5.5V), and Michael's SB-28 has even less.
Here's a link for the voltage of the most common flash models.
Didier
Here's a link for the voltage of the most common flash models.
Didier
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Didier
"Deed"
Contest for lenscapped rangefinder photography
Contest for lenscapped rangefinder photography
May I post my personal lenscapped rangefinder photography masterpiece here? Critiques and comments welcome - and show me your masterpieces!!!
Didier
Contest for lenscapped rangefinder photography
JeffGreene said:Clearly, lenscapped rangefinder photography isn't limited!
May I post my personal lenscapped rangefinder photography masterpiece here? Critiques and comments welcome - and show me your masterpieces!!!
Didier
lushd
Donald
Oh yes - I've done that with both my Leica M6 and my Bessa R and it's taken me ages to work out why the damned meter won't give a readout. With film cameras one has an added feature - it's possible to shoot with the lenscap on and the film not engaged properly on the take up spool. They're always the best pictures you have never taken!
Come to think of it I once called the IT department when my computer wasn't plugged in. Doh!
Come to think of it I once called the IT department when my computer wasn't plugged in. Doh!
pfogle
Well-known
One advantage of taking pictures with the lens cap on, is that you get very good compression ratios in the jpg.
iml
Well-known
I always use an IR filter when shooting with the cap on, just to make sure it renders the black properly.
Ian
Ian
iUser
Established
Didier said:
The flash of 300V or less is preferable.
pfogle
Well-known
LOL - you should post this in the M8 forumiml said:
pzillig
Member
The Posh Shot: ROFL! I had some years ago my very best effect with 90mm hood on 28mm lens. Children don't try this a home.
zetablues
Established
lens cap photography has a further advantage: no blown highlights!pfogle said:One advantage of taking pictures with the lens cap on, is that you get very good compression ratios in the jpg.
Didier
"Deed"
zetablues said:
Yes, and the bokeh is lens-independently creamy.
But there's one danger: hot pixels! The may overexpose your capped shot
Didier