I recently had a conversation with one of my students. I had called for a break during the lecture and I've discovered that a lot of students take this opportunity to ask me questions. :D

One student complained that he since his 256MB CF card prevented him from shooting in Camera RAW format. He cited the fact that he could only fit a few images into his CF card compared to shooting in JPEG.

I asked him if that were such a bad thing. At least it would force him to think about what he was shooting since his number of shots would be limited.

He told me the next meeting that he had started using Camera RAW and it wasn't so bad to have to think before pressing the shutter trigger. :D

I have to admit I take a lot of shots just to get that one blow-your-mind photo, especially in organized shoots where the model isn't at your beck and call. One PiPho member (forgot who!) at the first OWG meet told me that he first studies the subject and then takes calculated shots. Saw his in-camera photos and they were breathtaking.

Still I can't get rid of the trigger-itch. Is this a newbie thing? I'm always afraid I might miss a good shot if I just limited my shots. =(

before, i used to have a a sigle 512mb CF card and one instance, i had to shoot something in camera raw format...and to my surprise...i still have 10 remaining shots...so to extend the shoot...i changed my format to jpeg mode. hehehe! its good that CF cards now have bigger capacity and cheaper.

I take a lot of shots for insurance. But I guess there is some merit to thinking about your photo first before you press that shutter button.

Like Mitz, what do you guys think, is it a newbie thing?

I have alway been limited.. I have 2GB and I shoot RAW. This gives me only 121 frames on my D200... so I really have to be conservative on photo ops. :D

i only limit my shot if i dont get enough storage to stuff in to, but as long i brought along more than enough CF cards...shoot all i can. MOMENTS are priceless!

But I guess there is some merit to thinking about your photo first before you press that shutter button.

I think that Photography is all about the thinking that goes before pressing the shutter button. Otherwise it would be Point and Shooting. (No offense to the P&S crowd... im not referring to equipment)

Personally, I still have this "one shot, one kill" mentality, which is strange considering I totally skipped film photography. I half press a lot... (I get a kick out of hearing the focus confirmation beep hehe) but I dont trip the shutter most of the time. Aside from being more fulfilling, this system also relieves me from the stress of choosing after downloading to the PC because having too many similar images to choose from also drives me nuts.:D

I just fire away and pray :Grin:

I guess I still have to develop that "one shot, one kill" mentality. I think that my "hosing down" style was born out of my love for sport photography... :D

Good thread sir Jo, does remind us to think before we shoot.

using a small memory card just won't make it if you shoot in RAW...there are lots of photo ops out there and having more card memory in the cam will give you a shooting chance of capturing that great pic(s).

well, somehow we all start from point and shoot and having more bullets is the name of the game, but some who have the "talent" and "skills" develop overtime are called to be snipers.. thats is "one shot, one kill"

I have it on the balance considering the low cost of additional sd/cf cards.
who knows, in several instance all are worth to be captured :Grin:


nice thread Jo.
looking forward with you Guerilla Shooting Techniques :Grin:

I think of each exposure that my CF card can give me as if it were slide film; and I also think that in every click I make--my shutter is slowly dying... so I make each shot count as if it were the last... Well, this is just me... How we look at things and set our disciplinary parameters vary according to our individuality...
Discover what works for you. :)

I guess it really depends on the situation and equipment.

If your equipment is not "high-performance" like a P&S or small cam, and you're shooting in poor lighting, you don't really have that much chances to "wait for that perfect shot" scenario since you have small lens, shutter lag, focus lag etc to contend to...

If you're shooting portraits, stills, bright lights etc... Then you probably have more lee-way... But if you're shooting indoors, kids, action shots with your P&S or lower end cam, you'll surely miss quite a few good shots if you wait don't "carpet bomb"...

when i was also using 256MB CF Cards before i also trained myself to be conservative with my shots, and i carried it on when i used 1GB cards, but that was shooting still life and food, i guess it's a case to case basis, when shooting events or action you have to shoot more to get that shot!

Shoot less and hope for the best?:) I'd rather shoot more to score....

I have 1CF Card and shoot in raw. I shoot and delete, shoot-delete some shots na d ko type. Para pili na. :D

I guess I still have to develop that "one shot, one kill" mentality. I think that my "hosing down" style was born out of my love for sport photography... :D

ditto! :)

i'm a low shutter count kinda guy and still manage to end up with a lot of crap in my cf :)

having said that, the one shot mentality is probably based on the assumption that you more or less already know what you want to come out of that shoot. there are days when i get into the zone and days when i just want to experiment to see if there are happy accidents that might come my way.

i'm neither for or against it. the sad thing here is if you just keep on snapping without having any sort of idea why you're doing it in the first place.

Eversince i've upgraded to 1gig cards my comp memory has been filling up at alarming speeds. But still only a small keeper to shot ratio, I just take more to have more to choose from. Not necessarily spray and pray mentality :)

Most good shots are taken from last moments or at the end of a wedding or an Event, etc..

If you have photobank you dont have to worry about limiting your shots. What you need is just two CF cards.

i have a 512 MB card , for me this most of the time enough.
well , for me , what limits me on taking the shot is feeling that : if i dont like it , i wont shoot it. :-D

Naaah .... I know of some guys who are trigger happy in spite of the fact that they're supposed to be experienced photogs. But it still boils down to how many good shots they actually produce :D

Still I can't get rid of the trigger-itch. Is this a newbie thing? I'm always afraid I might miss a good shot if I just limited my shots. =(

I used to go out on road trips with my 10d and would only use a single 512mb CF cards shooting at RAW.

True, I would have to give up shooting some opportunities. But I didn't mind since it would force me to think ahead and see if I could actually walk away with a good image.

Different strokes for different folks :D

using a small memory card just won't make it if you shoot in RAW...there are lots of photo ops out there and having more card memory in the cam will give you a shooting chance of capturing that great pic(s).

i still use a lot of my 256mb cf cards on my d2x.. its like shooting 36 frames on 135 or 12 frames on 120. good for one layout na yun.

Its really hard not to get trigger happy about your subject specially if you have enough to burn on your CF cards. I started using digital and havent really taken time to shoot film but one thing that amazed me with users of film, traditional techniques and fully manual gears; is that you have to take time composing one shot I think thats the fun of using a non digital. Producing quality compositions depend on the person taking the shot; some like it slow but precise, some shoot a lot and hopefully get one from a hundred.

I have alway been limited.. I have 2GB and I shoot RAW. This gives me only 121 frames on my D200... so I really have to be conservative on photo ops. :D

Hi Rolando,:)
How come on my D70s it's give me at least 181 on my 1 gig CF??:Thinking: are there on NEF Compress or NEF Uncompress???, just Asking. I know D200 is 10 MP compare to 6 MP in D70s, but it seem to low for 2 Gig?:Shock:

Like the earlier D70(fixed with firmware upgrade), the D200 also has the bug which highly underestimates how many pictures can fit in a particular card.

regards.