What tricks do you use, to prevent errors?

[Vickko]

What tricks do you use, to prevent errors?

- set the meter ASA at the start of the outing
- carry only ONE speed of film
- check that your camera does 220, before taking a handful of 220 film
- take off the lens cap
- check the rewind knob before opening the back (only good for 35mm)
- shoot the entire roll and wind up the roll. Don't leave partial rolls in the camera overnight


.... yours?

 

[charjohncarter]

On some cameras I have printed lists for all the sets so I can see them before I shoot. On flashguns I have printed simple instructions for fill flash, and regular flash. I also use masking tape to write which film I have in a particular camera. But taking off the lens cap is a hard one.

 

[one90guy]

Piece of tape with film asa and date on camera base. But lately I'm have only been using a couple of different films, Acros 100 or Kodak Tmax 100. Have not decided which I like best.

 

[menos]

Always set each body and lens back to a standard setting to start from (mostly lens wide open, ISO 400, AE or 1/125 for manual bodies)

Always put good cameras into the bag, no bodies set to ISO 3200 or T or bodies with empty batteries.

A few days before an event or a journey, check up RF settings and lenses and correct if necessary.

Always have fresh extra batteries, SD cards/ film with me.

 

[Mackinaw]

When I shoot portraits with multiple cameras using both color and B&W film, I try to use the same speed film, e.g. Porta 400 and Tri-X. Lessens the chance of me messing up.

Jim B.

 

[zauhar]

Piece of tape with film asa and date on camera base. But lately I'm have only been using a couple of different films, Acros 100 or Kodak Tmax 100. Have not decided which I like best.

Same here. I use artists' tape which sticks tight but is easy to transfer. I keep film in cans already labeled with film type and a place to mark the speed, then transfer the tape to the camera body when I load the film (marking the ASA I am shooting at).

When I unload the film it goes in a can, tape is transferred from body to can, and I label the tape with the date (and hopefully the camera/lens) so I know it is exposed.

Randy

 

[Sparrow]

Not making mistakes works for me ...

 

[nikon_sam]

Carry a Sharpie to write on the exposed roll (35mm) the Date/Event...

 

[thegman]

Depends on the camera, but I tied brightly coloured ribbon to my dark slides when I shot a roll in my Fotoman with the dark slide inserted.

 

[S.H.]

with old bodies, I do nothing special, I do not have much problems. With digital, I should do something because I often end up with inadequate ISOs (it is a submenu on my M8) 🙄

 

[t.s.k.]

Test your shutters before putting the gear in your bag.

Once, a Rollei 3.5 jammed on my first exposure. That's a lot of dead weight to carry around for a day
On another instance, the magnets on my Mamiya 6 50mm lens somehow got misaligned. Since the shutter is so quiet, I didn't notice through an entire day of shooting.

 

[petronius]

Learn to love your errors and pretend the pictures were planned this way;-)

 

[Greyscale]

I learn to love my mistakes. Yeah, those two rolls I shot at the wrong speed yesterday? I am sure that I will love them.

 

[hepcat]

with old bodies, I do nothing special, I do not have much problems. With digital, I should do something because I often end up with inadequate ISOs (it is a submenu on my M8) 🙄

Can you walk me through the finding the "inadequate ISO" menu on my M8, please? I haven't found that submenu under ISO yet. <chuckle>

On the serious side, I too have learned to check the ISO and white balance settings regularly on my digital bodies when I take them out of the bag, and then periodically again through a shoot.

 

[doolittle]

I set the iso to the lowest or highest setting on cameras with no film in them to remind me they are empty. Also means I remember to set the proper iso when I load them.

 

[Spanik]

I only use a single sort of film and always put the card on the camera. When there is no roll in the camera I remove the card or turn it over. And when I'm not sure, I note the counter (I sometimes dry fire) and then check in a change bag.

Now I need to work out something for rangefinders. The lens cap should be off, I should use the additional viewfinder when using something else than the standard lens, and use the right additional viewfinder and use the range finder to focus because what you see in the auxillary finder (and the rangefinder for that) is always in focus.

Learn to love your errors and pretend the pictures were planned this way;-)

Rather hard if you forgot to put film on the camera in the first place.

 

[brusby]

A good night's sleep!

 

[Roger Hicks]

A good night's sleep!

YES!

I've seen it asserted that when it comes to automobile accidents, lack of sleep is a close second to drunk driving -- and possibly second only because (a) drunk driving is much easier to test for and (b) driving without having had enough sleep is much more socially acceptable (though about equally stupid).

Otherwise: use camera bodies with which you are so familiar that every setting or check is second nature. Constantly chopping and changing is fun if you want to play with different cameras but sometimes risky if all you want to do is take pictures.

Cheers,

R.

 

[menos]

Never put the bottom plate on a digital Leica M, if there is no fresh battery and empty card in first!

Empty film cameras, that can be checked from the outside, if loaded, I check before packing them.
On other cameras, I put a film reminder wrong side around on the camera, so I know, it is not loaded.

Cameras with film reminders right side around I treat as loaded with that film - if in doubt, if I messed up, I will use that camera only for shots of children, cats and camera gear.

I have all my digital batteries labelled with a number.
Fresh batteries go into my battery bag, so I can read the label and know they are fresh.
Dead batteries go inside label down, so I won't grab them.