Rookie error

[Glenda]

I think I need to go back to "Lplates" after this morning. Took my new little Olympus out on my morning walk and was testing out different settings, had taken about 10 shots when I suddenly noticed at the top of the viewfinder the words "no card". I had left it in my computer. I'm so used to having 2 cards in my dslr where it doesn't matter if I forget to replace the card immediately. I'm also not used to live view coming on automatically and here I was thinking I was viewing the initial preview of the shot I'd just taken . Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

[nardes]

Hi Glenda

Is there a Menu option or Setting that you can change to “Disable shooting with no card in camera”? My Canon DSLR comes out of the box allowing an image to be taken with no card, I guess to allow the sales folks in shops to demo the camera. I then change this to prevent taking photos when there is no card in the camera.

Although this setting will not cause a card to magically appear, it will immediately prevent you from taking any shots, thus alerting you early on.

Cheers

Dennis

[Glenda]

Hi Glenda

Is there a Menu option or Setting that you can change to “Disable shooting with no card in camera”? My Canon DSLR comes out of the box allowing an image to be taken with no card, I guess to allow the sales folks in shops to demo the camera. I then change this to prevent taking photos when there is no card in the camera.

Although this setting will not cause a card to magically appear, it will immediately prevent you from taking any shots, thus alerting you early on.

Cheers

Dennis

Thanks Dennis, will check that out.

[Ross M]

While I'm in a mood of disclosure, I picked up a brand new Canon 1300D to take some quick portraits and didn't realise for several shots that there was no memory card present. After all, I could see them in immediate review and there was no warning.

Admittedly, it was a bit of a rush to get the lens on and set up the date and time and then do the photography in a crowded tavern forecourt (at a birthday party) while many guests were almost ready to leave.. I was already frustrated that the setup menu listed the date first and then the format, which I now know has to be set first (makes sense now). I had to ask a Canon shooter how to enter the date. Why wasn't the format field listed first, I wondered? Then I struggled with fitting the lens for a bit because I'm not accustomed to the green and red alignment marks on the face of the mounting ring and not a single, easily visible, one on the side. But I'm sure Canon shooters have a longer list of gripes about Nikon. I was just so embarrassed with my goofs, as the declared expert teacher for the first-time DSLR owner!

[Jorge Arguello]

Wow... that mistake would be more appreciated on Film days where you saved a few dollars. Still, a bit frustrating for a photographer.

Think that you can go out again to take photos, and you saved the time on computer by not looking at them on screen, you need to walk again.

[ricktas]

Almost as good as going out to take photos and going to turn the camera on... and remembering the batteries are on the charger..at home... on the kitchen bench.

Not a rookie error... senior moment.

[tandeejay]

I have a camera that can take several photos without a card... stores them internally. keeps working until the internal memory is full. once you put a card in, there is an option to move the internal photos to the card, otherwise only way to get them to your computer is via USB cable. Not sure if your olympus does that... that was with an older Kodak camera, and my nikon Coolpix P520. The kodak could store about 35 photos internally. The coolpix does about 3 before complaining that storage is full

[Glenda]

No, there was nothing on the camera John. It wasn't devastating as I was only testing out some of the different settings and not taking anything particularly important.

[Mark L]

I don't understand why any of the above can happen.
Don't you all check things before you walk out the door to take them photos you want?

[Glenda]

I don't understand why any of the above can happen.
Don't you all check things before you walk out the door to take them photos you want?

In a perfect world maybe - mine isn't a perfect world.

[Mary Anne]

In a perfect world maybe - mine isn't a perfect world.

Mine isn't perfect either, though in all the years since I bought my first camera I have never, left anything at home.
I format my card in camera, charge the batteries and pack my camera bag the night before.

The only thing I have done is not buy enough Batteries for my Olympus E-M1 I had 2 Olympus Batteries. So bought another one just in case.
I found that for a full day at SeaWorld I needed more batteries shooting LF+RAW, being a small camera you naturally get a small Battery.
When I was shooting with my Canon 5DMk11 FF camera I could get around 1000 shots from a new fully charged battery, size sure makes a difference.
This smaller camera was only giving me around 300 shots on a fully charged new Battery, so quite a Shock on my 1st full day out
Thankfully there are other ways to charge your Batteries up now when out and about. You have to love technology these days.

[Glenda]

Mine isn't perfect either, though in all the years since I bought my first camera I have never, left anything at home.
I format my card in camera, charge the batteries and pack my camera bag the night before.

The only thing I have done is not buy enough Batteries for my Olympus E-M1 I had 2 Olympus Batteries. So bought another one just in case.
I found that for a full day at SeaWorld I needed more batteries shooting LF+RAW, being a small camera you naturally get a small Battery.
When I was shooting with my Canon 5DMk11 FF camera I could get around 1000 shots from a new fully charged battery, size sure makes a difference.
This smaller camera was only giving me around 300 shots on a fully charged new Battery, so quite a Shock on my 1st full day out
Thankfully there are other ways to charge your Batteries up now when out and about. You have to love technology these days.

Damn, wish I was so organised Mary Anne . Batteries I'm usually good with and having 2 cards in the dslr is a bonus for I've often forgotten to remove my card from the computer. Yes, I think I will be ordering a spare battery for the Olympus and also a wrist strap.

[John King]

All Mirrorless cameras tend to have a run time limit, rather than a shot limit. The E-M1 MkI has a run time of about 3 hours, regardless of whether one shot or 5,000 (literally).

Strategies for maximising battery life are:

Turn camera off between shots;

Set all sleep and timeouts to the shortest time possible;

Make sure the eye sensor is not turning the viewfinder on when hanging from your neck (turn off between shots ... ).

If seriously shooting all day with my E-M1 MkI, I take three fully charged batteries. With my E-M1 MkII, I take two.

My E-30 and E-510 both had dual card slots, but one of them was the unloved and unlovely xD card. Still useful though. The E-M1 MkII has one UHS-II and one UHS-I slot.

[Mary Anne]

Thanks John. Good Tips for the new to Olympus Camera shooters

Yes I know all that now, though not 4 years ago when I first got the camera I have learnt a lot in that time.
The way I was shooting the fish in the huge Aquariums and the Penguins that day it would have been useless turning off the camera between shots.
Probably use more power doing that then leaving the camera on.

[John King]

I know what you mean, Mary Anne .

Sometimes the counsels of perfection just don't apply! That's when you just need to have a pocketful of batteries, or a grip. I also have a cheap Chinese knock-off one for my Mk1.

[arthurking83]

I think I need to go back to "Lplates" after this morning.

... snip

... had taken about 10 shots when I suddenly noticed at the top of the viewfinder the words "no card". ....

Fair enough, going back to L-plates seems fair and reasonable for such a transgression.

BUT!
What (plates) would I have gone back to, when I forgot the battery for the camera!

When I used to work as a courier, I used to take basically all my gear with me in the bag, in the car .. as you never knew where I'd end up for the day.
Basically before bed, I'd make sure the bag was all setup ready to be grabbed and go(kind'a thing).

One night I noted that the battery was a bit on the low side(even tho I also have a car charger thingie too) .. I pulled battery and placed it in the charger a couple of stretches away and behind .. so out of mind and sight.
Bag packed, but left open to remind me .. which of course I forgot to remember.
Next morning I just closed said bag up, grab it, in the car off to work.
Ended up in a nice spot, grab camera .. initially I thought it was broken as it had nothing on any screen, then remembered the battery!

ps. handy point about cameras with dual card slots.
Work with only the one card as the main method, leaving the other card as a just in case back up system.
Just in case you take too many shots(ie. overflow onto the second card), or corrupted primary .. or in this case, relegation to L-plater due to forgetfulness!
(oh! and don't worry I've done that with the D800 too .. forget the main card in the USB reader .. but it has the secondary slot so I was saved by a well thought out feature set )