Johan W. Elzenga

riverman <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Sounds to me like you could lighten your load considerably, and still do all
    > those things, if you carried a good PDA. I just got an HP, and I'm still
    > learning what it can do, but so far I am wondering why the hell I've been
    > lugging my heavy laptop around when I can carry this thing that is about the
    > size of paperback.

Sounds like you have no idea what an avid photographer can produce on
one trip. On my last trip (three weeks in New Zealand) I shot 2500
images in RAW format. That's 2500 x 15 MB (Canon 1Ds MKII), so that's
about 37 GIGAbytes. You'd need quite a PDA to hold that kind of
storage...


--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Hans Martens

Johan W. Elzenga schreef:
    > On my last trip (three weeks in New Zealand) I shot 2500
    > images in RAW format. That's 2500 x 15 MB (Canon 1Ds MKII), so that's
    > about 37 GIGAbytes.

Johan, was that as a test for one of the magazines, or have you switched
"35mm" from Pentax to Canon?

Regards,
Hans

==================================
Hans Martens

Wildlife & Nature Photography
http://www.wildpicture.com
==================================

Johan W. Elzenga

Hans Martens <hans.martens@wildpicture_remove_.com> wrote:

    > Johan W. Elzenga schreef:
    > > On my last trip (three weeks in New Zealand) I shot 2500
    > > images in RAW format. That's 2500 x 15 MB (Canon 1Ds MKII), so that's
    > > about 37 GIGAbytes.
    >
    > Johan, was that as a test for one of the magazines, or have you switched
    > "35mm" from Pentax to Canon?
    >
    > Regards,
    > Hans

I have switched both my 35mm and my 67 Pentax to one new system: Canon
EOS 1Ds MKII.


--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Riverman

"Johan W. Elzenga" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1gr3pkd.128hl0gr4nmnoN%[email protected]. ..
    > riverman <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> Sounds to me like you could lighten your load considerably, and still do
    >> all
    >> those things, if you carried a good PDA. I just got an HP, and I'm still
    >> learning what it can do, but so far I am wondering why the hell I've been
    >> lugging my heavy laptop around when I can carry this thing that is about
    >> the
    >> size of paperback.
    > Sounds like you have no idea what an avid photographer can produce on
    > one trip. On my last trip (three weeks in New Zealand) I shot 2500
    > images in RAW format. That's 2500 x 15 MB (Canon 1Ds MKII), so that's
    > about 37 GIGAbytes. You'd need quite a PDA to hold that kind of
    > storage...

Yowza! OK, you're right, you need the laptop. And a small truck to carry all
your gear!! What did you do before digital??!

What about a PDA and an external HD? My 200GB external HD is only a little
larger than my PDA. I don't know if they can be connected, but it wouldn't
surprise me if it was doable.

On another note, how do you manage all those files? I already cannot keep
track of my own personal pictures...I could not imagine trying to file 2500
images to be individually retrieveable on a moment's notice..

--riverman

Johan W. Elzenga

riverman <[email protected]> wrote:

    > > Sounds like you have no idea what an avid photographer can produce on
    > > one trip. On my last trip (three weeks in New Zealand) I shot 2500
    > > images in RAW format. That's 2500 x 15 MB (Canon 1Ds MKII), so that's
    > > about 37 GIGAbytes. You'd need quite a PDA to hold that kind of
    > > storage...
    > >
    >
    > Yowza! OK, you're right, you need the laptop. And a small truck to carry all
    > your gear!! What did you do before digital??!

I shot 70 rolls of 35mm film on a trip like that. If I took my 67 gear I
would be more selective, but it could still be 150 to 200 rolls.

    > What about a PDA and an external HD? My 200GB external HD is only a little
    > larger than my PDA. I don't know if they can be connected, but it wouldn't
    > surprise me if it was doable.

I would never risk my files by saving them to ONE disk only. Hard disks
can and will crash. I take a laptop and an external bus-powered FireWire
disk for backups.

    > On another note, how do you manage all those files? I already cannot keep
    > track of my own personal pictures...I could not imagine trying to file 2500
    > images to be individually retrieveable on a moment's notice..

First of all, nobody shoots only perfect pictures. I used to throw away
slides that aren't perfect, now I delete digital images that aren't.
Secondly, it's not so much different than before. Having to find one
particular image among 2500 digital files is no more difficult (in fact
it's much less difficult) than having to find one particular slide out
of 2500 slides. There are very good catalog programs, such as iView
Multimedia Pro to keep track of your images.


--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Hans-Georg Michna

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 12:14:24 +0100, "riverman"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >Sounds to me like you could lighten your load considerably, and still do all
    >those things, if you carried a good PDA. I just got an HP, and I'm still
    >learning what it can do, but so far I am wondering why the hell I've been
    >lugging my heavy laptop around when I can carry this thing that is about the
    >size of paperback.


Riverman,

yes, I probably could. But then again I probably couldn't, if I
wanted to do some work, because I need all my tools and all the
processing power.

I regularly use a lot of software that isn't available for PDAs.

But I may be the exception. For most people a PDA may be a very
good solution.

On the other hand, who cares about the load? I don't travel with
a backpack, I always have the jeep. No problems there either. On
game drives I leave the laptop in the lodge, when I stay in one.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

Hans Martens

Johan W. Elzenga schreef:
    > Hans Martens <hans.martens@wildpicture_remove_.com> wrote:
    >>Johan, was that as a test for one of the magazines, or have you switched
    >> "35mm" from Pentax to Canon?
    > I have switched both my 35mm and my 67 Pentax to one new system: Canon
    > EOS 1Ds MKII.

I know, a bit off topic in this Africa Travel newsgroup.

Indeed the 1Ds2 is a great camera. I had read two of your reports
indicating that the 1Ds2 equals the quality of your 6x7. The fact that
you have now switched says enough.

I am using the 1D2 since last spring and although 8Mp is enough for me,
I would love to have fullframe.

A bit more back on topic now: How do you cope with backing up your shots
when in Africa in a lodge with very limited electrical power? Most
laptops will allow just 2-3 hours of operation and if you use an
internal CD/DVD burner even much less.

Regards,
Hans

==================================
Hans Martens

Wildlife & Nature Photography
http://www.wildpicture.com
==================================

Johan W. Elzenga

Hans Martens <hans.martens@wildpicture_remove_.com> wrote:

    > Johan W. Elzenga schreef:
    > > Hans Martens <hans.martens@wildpicture_remove_.com> wrote:
    > >>Johan, was that as a test for one of the magazines, or have you switched
    > >> "35mm" from Pentax to Canon?
    > > I have switched both my 35mm and my 67 Pentax to one new system: Canon
    > > EOS 1Ds MKII.
    >
    > I know, a bit off topic in this Africa Travel newsgroup.
    >
    > Indeed the 1Ds2 is a great camera. I had read two of your reports
    > indicating that the 1Ds2 equals the quality of your 6x7. The fact that
    > you have now switched says enough.
    >
    > I am using the 1D2 since last spring and although 8Mp is enough for me,
    > I would love to have fullframe.

For Africa, the 1.3 crop is an advantage if you ask me. I've considered
a 1D MKII as my second camera (I obviously cannot afford to take only
one camera if I'm on an assignment). The only problem would be that the
8 Mpixel is so much less than the 16.7 Mpixel of the 1Ds MKII, that this
would become a pretty expensive backup camera, which I would not use
much as long as I have the choice between the two. OTOH, if I buy a
second 1Ds MKII I will really use both (with different lenses) as I used
to do when I still shot on film. Guess I'm waiting for Canon to bring
out the 1D MKIII with 14 Mpixels and 8 fps... ;-)

    >
    > A bit more back on topic now: How do you cope with backing up your shots
    > when in Africa in a lodge with very limited electrical power? Most
    > laptops will allow just 2-3 hours of operation and if you use an
    > internal CD/DVD burner even much less.

Downloading a full 1 GB card takes about 3 to 4 minutes, so even after a
very successful shoot it takes less than 20 minutes to get everything in
the computer. It takes less than 10 minutes to backup all those files
over a FireWire conncetion to an external hard drive, so the total time
is about half an hour maximum. That means I can use my laptop without
recharging for at least 4 days. I've never been in a situation where I
couldn't recharge in 4 days.

However, I do not take any risks. I have a 12 Volt to 220 Volt (130
Watt) converter, that plugs into the car cigaret lighter, so I can also
charge laptops and cameras from the car battery if I need to. This
summer I will probably do an assigment in Zambia, where I may spend
quite some time in several bush camps. I'll certainly need the converter
in that case!



--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Hans Martens

Johan W. Elzenga schreef:
    > For Africa, the 1.3 crop is an advantage if you ask me.

Indeed, the 1.3x factor performs practically as a built in 1.4x
converter without the loss of light. So in practice my 500/4 performs as
a 600/4 without the extra size and weight.

    > I've considered
    > a 1D MKII as my second camera (I obviously cannot afford to take only
    > one camera if I'm on an assignment). The only problem would be that the
    > 8 Mpixel is so much less than the 16.7 Mpixel of the 1Ds MKII, that this
    > would become a pretty expensive backup camera, which I would not use
    > much as long as I have the choice between the two.

Well, that would depend on the type of shooting. If you are shooting
animals and specially birds for books or magazines, the 1.3x factor is
an added bonus and mostly 8Mp will be enough.

> OTOH, if I buy a
    > second 1Ds MKII I will really use both (with different lenses) as I used
    > to do when I still shot on film.

Having two 1Ds2 bodies would be great, though they are rather expensive.
For the difference in price you could also get something like a very
nice 300/2.8L IS.

> Guess I'm waiting for Canon to bring
    > out the 1D MKIII with 14 Mpixels and 8 fps... ;-)

That would be nice. There are some romours about the upcoming PMA...

Personally I am also thinking about a second hand 1Ds (first version)
for fullframe. There are quite a few on the market, even hardly used
ones for reasonable prices. But I would rather stay with the mkII extras
(CF and SD cards, video out, big lcd screen etc) and have just one RAW
format (CR2).

    > Downloading a full 1 GB card takes about 3 to 4 minutes, so even after a
    > very successful shoot it takes less than 20 minutes to get everything in
    > the computer. It takes less than 10 minutes to backup all those files
    > over a FireWire conncetion to an external hard drive, so the total time
    > is about half an hour maximum. That means I can use my laptop without
    > recharging for at least 4 days. I've never been in a situation where I
    > couldn't recharge in 4 days.

So you only load the images to your computer and back them up. You dont
do a first scan through all the images to sort out which to keep and
which to throw away? That would mean about an extra hour or so per day.

    > However, I do not take any risks. I have a 12 Volt to 220 Volt (130
    > Watt) converter, that plugs into the car cigaret lighter, so I can also
    > charge laptops and cameras from the car battery if I need to.

I have never used such a converter. Do they work properly? Do you have
to keep the engine of the car running to prevent sucking the car battery
empty? By the way, the 4x4's I have used always had a second car battery
installed.

> This
    > summer I will probably do an assigment in Zambia, where I may spend
    > quite some time in several bush camps. I'll certainly need the converter
    > in that case!

Where are you going?

Need an assistant? :-)

Regards,
Hans

==================================
Hans Martens

Wildlife & Nature Photography
http://www.wildpicture.com
==================================

Liz

In message <[email protected] >
Hans Martens <hans.martens@wildpicture_remove_.com> wrote:

    > Johan W. Elzenga schreef:

    > > This summer I will probably do an assigment in Zambia, where I may spend
    > > quite some time in several bush camps. I'll certainly need the converter
    > > in that case!

    > Where are you going?

    > Need an assistant? :-)

Drat!
Beat me to it!!!
<g>

Slainte

Liz
--
Virtual Liz now at http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"

Johan W. Elzenga

Hans Martens <hans.martens@wildpicture_remove_.com> wrote:

    > Johan W. Elzenga schreef:
    > > For Africa, the 1.3 crop is an advantage if you ask me.
    >
    > Indeed, the 1.3x factor performs practically as a built in 1.4x
    > converter without the loss of light. So in practice my 500/4 performs as
    > a 600/4 without the extra size and weight.

Exactly. It's even a 650mm f/4 to be precise.

    >
    > > I've considered a 1D MKII as my second camera (I obviously cannot afford
    > > to take only one camera if I'm on an assignment). The only problem would
    > > be that the 8 Mpixel is so much less than the 16.7 Mpixel of the 1Ds
    > > MKII, that this would become a pretty expensive backup camera, which I
    > > would not use much as long as I have the choice between the two.
    >
    > Well, that would depend on the type of shooting. If you are shooting
    > animals and specially birds for books or magazines, the 1.3x factor is
    > an added bonus and mostly 8Mp will be enough.

The problem is in the word 'mostly'. For example: Most stock libraries
want 48 MB images nowadays. If I use an 8 Mpixel camera, I'll have to
interpolate, which always goes at the expense of quality. If I shoot
16.7 Mpixels, my images can be submitted as they are.


    > > OTOH, if I buy a second 1Ds MKII I will really use both (with different
    > > lenses) as I used to do when I still shot on film.
    >
    > Having two 1Ds2 bodies would be great, though they are rather expensive.
    > For the difference in price you could also get something like a very
    > nice 300/2.8L IS.

Fortunately, I already have that lens and buying a second one doesn't
make sense. ;-)

    > > Downloading a full 1 GB card takes about 3 to 4 minutes, so even after a
    > > very successful shoot it takes less than 20 minutes to get everything in
    > > the computer. It takes less than 10 minutes to backup all those files
    > > over a FireWire conncetion to an external hard drive, so the total time
    > > is about half an hour maximum. That means I can use my laptop without
    > > recharging for at least 4 days. I've never been in a situation where I
    > > couldn't recharge in 4 days.
    >
    > So you only load the images to your computer and back them up. You dont
    > do a first scan through all the images to sort out which to keep and
    > which to throw away? That would mean about an extra hour or so per day.

I do when I have electricity in the camp. If I don't have that, I save
as much battery power as I can, so I only download and backup.

    > > However, I do not take any risks. I have a 12 Volt to 220 Volt (130
    > > Watt) converter, that plugs into the car cigaret lighter, so I can also
    > > charge laptops and cameras from the car battery if I need to.
    >
    > I have never used such a converter. Do they work properly? Do you have
    > to keep the engine of the car running to prevent sucking the car battery
    > empty? By the way, the 4x4's I have used always had a second car battery
    > installed.

They work flawlessly and you do not have to keep the engine running. I
never tried how long they work before your car battery is depleted
though. ;-) The best method is to charge the laptop and/or the camera
battery while you drive, so you have two to three hours working time in
the evening.

    > > summer I will probably do an assigment in Zambia, where I may spend
    > > quite some time in several bush camps. I'll certainly need the converter
    > > in that case!
    >
    > Where are you going?

The itinery is not finalized yet, but I'll certainly be in Luanga Valley
for a week or two, and perhaps some other areas as well.

    > Need an assistant? :-)

I'm married to my assistant. ;-)

--
Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl
Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl/

Hans Martens

Johan W. Elzenga schreef:
    >>Hans Martens <hans.martens@wildpicture_remove_.com> wrote:
    >>Well, that would depend on the type of shooting. If you are shooting
    >>animals and specially birds for books or magazines, the 1.3x factor is
    >>an added bonus and mostly 8Mp will be enough.
    > The problem is in the word 'mostly'. For example: Most stock libraries
    > want 48 MB images nowadays. If I use an 8 Mpixel camera, I'll have to
    > interpolate, which always goes at the expense of quality. If I shoot
    > 16.7 Mpixels, my images can be submitted as they are.

What kind of files do these stock libraries want: 48MB in 24bit colour
(16 megapixel) or 48MB in 48bit colour (8 megapixel)?

The biggest file I ever needed myself for a magazine publication (A4
covershot) was only 6 megapixel (scanned Velvia slides). That's why 8Mp
is enough for me.

    >>Having two 1Ds2 bodies would be great, though they are rather expensive.
    >>For the difference in price you could also get something like a very
    >>nice 300/2.8L IS.
    > Fortunately, I already have that lens and buying a second one doesn't
    > make sense. ;-)

Great lens, isn't it? Together with the 500/4 my favourite for Africa.

    > They work flawlessly and you do not have to keep the engine running. I
    > never tried how long they work before your car battery is depleted
    > though. ;-)

Wouldn't you want to get stuck in the bush??? :-)

    > The best method is to charge the laptop and/or the camera
    > battery while you drive, so you have two to three hours working time in
    > the evening.

Just make sure the laptop is secured so the harddrive is being bumped
around.

    >>>summer I will probably do an assigment in Zambia, where I may spend
    >>>quite some time in several bush camps. I'll certainly need the converter
    >>>in that case!
    >>Need an assistant? :-)
    > I'm married to my assistant. ;-)

Can't compete with that! :-)

Before I make such trips also with my wife. That got her interested in
photography too. So now we can fight over who gets which lens and the
best view. :-)

But since we have two little children now, I guess we won't be able to
make such trips into the African wilderness anymore for a while. A year
and a half ago we made a trip to South Africa with our one year old son.
But now with a 7 month old girl as well, we'll have to stay closer to
home for a while.

Regards,
Hans

==================================
Hans Martens

Wildlife & Nature Photography
http://www.wildpicture.com
==================================