[onlineflyer]

I once shot dozens of fantastic shots of eagles with my Nikon F2a and a borrowed 300mm ED IF lens... only to realize there was no film in the camera.

In my younger days I shot a roll of film in my KX, only to discover the film never advanced due to my incorrectly loading the leader in the take-up spool. That taught me to always check the tension of the film before shooting. In addition, I put the film box flap in the little holder on the rear of the camera, removing it when I unloaded the film to let me know if I had loaded film and remind what type of film I had loaded.

[UncleVanya]

In my younger days I shot a roll of film in my KX, only to discover the film never advanced due to my incorrectly loading the leader in the take-up spool. That taught me to always check the tension of the film before shooting. In addition, I put the film box flap in the little holder on the rear of the camera, removing it when I unloaded the film to let me know if I had loaded film and remind what type of film I had loaded.

The full story is that I was certain I had loaded film and the F2 would go past 36 exposures. I was worried the film had come off the spool n the 35mm cannister end. So I found a dark closet at the site (grandfather mountain) and opened the camera to see if I had broken film. Nope. It was empty. Egg on my face. Sigh. Lol. I typically did check the take up reel tension so it was a fluke.

[digitaldaydreams]

Thanks all for your comments. Part of the problem I was almost always looking thru the optical viewfinder at some small birds I was taking photos of during a continuous shooting burst. Trying to catch one in flight required all my attn to be on the birds.
I was not paying any attn to the LCD which does briefly show the message says "no card in camera" then disappears.
I thought about leaving memory card door open, but was concerned I might break the open door, stuffing this camera in a bag the next day not noticing the open door.
So since I have more than one card I'll adopt a policy of always swapping a card out for another card.

[MrB1]

As an extra "insurance policy" you might consider setting a longer time for Instant Review in Camera Menu 5 which will display the "No card in the camera" message when applicable.

[digitaldaydreams]

Unfortunately not. There is a warning icon on the LCD though.

The solution I have come up with is to always chimp the first shot in any shooting session. And have spare cards in all of my camera bags. I also do what Keith just suggested.

Another strategy is to import images to your computer with a USB cable, and never remove the card.

Then there's always the option of buying a camera with two card slots

Hey Sandy, you said "I always chimp the first shot in any shooting session." Is CHIMP an acronym" or a typo where you meant to say CHECK?

[Sandy Hancock]

Hey Sandy, you said "I always chimp the first shot in any shooting session." Is CHIMP an acronym" or a typo where you meant to say CHECK?

It's an established term. HERE'S a bit from Wikipedia.

[normhead]

That only happens tome when I see a photo opportunity that is not going to last long, and my camera isn't set up. My solution, reset all settings to the desired default, format the card an have the camera ready to shoot, as soon as the images have been uploaded from the card.With the wildlife passing through my yard etc., I know I'm going to from time to time grab the camera and start shooting without having time to check everything first.

I'm not the kind of personality that adjusts easily to that type of discipline, but experience has pounded into my head the need to do so over and over again. I get excited, things move quickly, the camera has to ready to shoot.

The same applies to ISO and f-stop. I had an opportunity the other day for some great shots, but after firing off 20 frames I realized I was shooting at 3200 at the fastest possible shutter speed. Those images could have been shot at 100 ISO (the ones that followed were) and the 100 ISO images were much better. After each shoot, return your camera to the ideal settings, for me on a K-3, that's 400 ISO ƒ5.6. That will get you something decent in most situations, then adjust if you have to. But I want to have the best chance I can for an acceptable image acceptable image, if I just pick the camera up and fire away, right off the table, and have the camera set up for that. After I get a few images if it turns out to be an extended shoot, I'll have time to optimize my settings, more appropriate to the environment I'm shooting in, but I'll have something good in any case.

Just in case people are wondering why my first images are often shot at ƒ5.6 and the rest of the series may be shot at ƒ4 or 8 and a different ISO. My philosophy is get something good right away, then go for something excellent.

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Last edited by normhead; 04-17-2018 at 07:21 AM.