the zoo - DPChallenge Forums

Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Aspherical ED Super Wide Angle Zoom

02/21/2004 09:33:28 PM · #1

Hi, my dad is taking me to the zoo soon, and I was wondering how much memory do you think I will need. I want to shoot in 5mpx and have just over 400 megs of memory. Will this be enough. I believe its around 150 shots. Will I need more? I will be going to the Miami Metro Zoo.

JPR

Sony Alpha a55

02/21/2004 09:37:28 PM · #2

It all depends on how many photos you tend to usually take. For something like zoo photography I tend to take a lot of photos of each animal in an attempt to get them in an interesting pose. The memory can fill up very quickly when I do that, especially if I use burst mode. I've been in the situation where I delete the bad photos of each animal before I move on to the next one, which worked fine for me. I often find that not bringing enough batteries is more of a problem than not having enough memory. Have fun at the zoo. Look forward to seeing some shots.

edit: ha, me and faidoi said the same thing! BRING BATTERIES

Message edited by author 2004-02-21 21:38:26.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

02/21/2004 09:37:29 PM · #3

It's almost never enough. If you start accumulating memory don't forget to get an extra battery. What's memory when you run out of juice.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

02/21/2004 09:43:43 PM · #4

Well, my battery lasts for 2.5 hours, and I dont have another, when I stop to eat lunch, and take a break or something, ill let it charge, for about an hour or so.... battery shouldnt be a problem. Is there any kind of storage unit, like 5gb, xdrive or image tank thing for like 150?

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

02/21/2004 09:44:27 PM · #5

You're prolly correct about 400 meg being about 150-175 pics on the 717, at least by the file sizes on the DPreview samples.
I'd say 150 pics at the zoo is a pretty short day. But you could always cull the group in-camera to free up space. That's a PITA tho, and not the best way to judge quality. You can easily get rid of the real clinkers, others are much more difficult to call.

Second the "extra battery" suggestion.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

02/21/2004 09:45:30 PM · #6

I might look into one of those small image tank things. like 5 gb.

Shelley

Nikon D200

02/21/2004 09:48:06 PM · #7

Remember, you can never be too rich, or too thin, or have too many memories cards with you. I was at the zoo the other day and went thru a ton of cards. I agree with Jason, that I tend to take more pictures at the zoo to get the great shot. But in between animals you can always review and throw out the obviously bad stuff.

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

02/21/2004 09:59:51 PM · #8

Do they make something around 5gb storage devices? And where to get them.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

02/21/2004 10:01:01 PM · #9

20GB Digital Photo Library Works with most Flash memory cards, including CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Secure Digital and MultiMedia Card formats.

$179.00- $30.00 mail in rebate =$149.00 Good until March.

There's a downloadable owners manual that you can check out. I know that 1 dpcer has this one, but don't remember who. Check some of the old digital wallet thread for the owner.

Message edited by author 2004-02-21 22:06:22.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

02/21/2004 10:04:36 PM · #10

I'm no expert in what's available in the hard-drive based storage units, but since they use 2.5 inch laptop hard drives, I suspect you will not find many with capacities lower than 20GB.
Look for one with USB 2.0 connectivity, it is sooo much faster than USB 1.1 (assuming of course that your PC supports USB 2.0).

moodville

Nikon D100

02/21/2004 10:07:47 PM · #11

I have a 512mb card and with my camera that gives me 151 possible shots at the biggest jpg setting. I go to the zoo fairly often and average between 100 and 200 shots. I've only taken a tripod in there once and so handheld you are likely going to have a lot of throwaway shots. It's digital so several shots of the same animal doesnt hurt and just review and toss any obvious shaky shots. How many you end up taking will depend on the zoo and your style. If you have a tendency to shoot anything and everything then you'll be running out quickly. If you pace yourself then you may lose out on early opportunities thinking you'll need the space later. If it's a zoo that you wont have the opportunity to revisit anytime soon then you could go to their website and review their map and plan out the day, taking note of which particular animals you want to photograph. You can never have enough space or enough battery power - although you may not necessarily need it. Better safe than sorry, as it were.

kaycee

Olympus C-750UZ

02/21/2004 10:34:16 PM · #12

Harrison -

I've been looking into the "Terapin Mine" which you can get on eBay for about $140. It has 10gb storage, and master/slave USB config so you can download pix from your camera via USB (might save taking mem card in and out of your camera) and from your Terapin Mine to your computer. It has an LCD display, but I think it's only for manipulation of controls - not to display images, but you can connect it to a PC or TV and use it to run slide shows - plus it is compatible with MP3's so you can store and play music from it as well.

On another note, if you haven't been to the Miami Zoo before, it is huge (at least compared to Central FL zoos). We went several years ago - it was really neat, but too hot when we went. I want to go back in the winter months some time when we're going down that way.

I probably won't get one at this point as I just got a new to me laptop with 30gb, so it's gonna have to do for a while.

02/21/2004 10:43:57 PM · #13

Originally posted by kaycee:

Yeah, last time I went to the metro zoo, was like 6 years ago. You mentioned you were from central fl, have you been to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa? I was there about two years ago, before I got my camera. its a pretty nice zoo.

kaycee

Olympus C-750UZ

02/21/2004 10:48:27 PM · #14

No, I haven't been there either - it's on our list of places to go "one day" 'cuz I have heard it's a nice one. We went to the Brevard Zoo year before last, and it was pretty nice - they were getting ready a nice renovation which was to have been completed last summer, so we may try to go there again this spring. Our zoo closest to us is very small (Central Florida Zoo in Sanford) but they're trying to renovate as well I believe.

02/21/2004 10:50:32 PM · #15

theres only one listing for the terapin mine on ebay, and it doesnt look like that person has a return policy. I dont feel comfortable doing business through here.

kaycee

Olympus C-750UZ

02/21/2004 10:59:55 PM · #16

I can understand that - I'm very cautious about who I do business with on eBay as well. I thought I'd seen a second one listed - it's here:

//cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3078231927&category=11024

At least this listing gives a few more specs.

At any rate, happy hunting! It's past my bedtime, LOL, so I'm signing off.