how do you guys dump you pictures at a wedding?

[michaeldavidphotography]

do you guys bring a laptop or a portable hard drive to dump your pictures on

to so you can keep shooting?

[ellis_vener_photography]

more CF cards. they are cheap now. I carry about 30GB in Sandisk Extreme III & IV cards now.

[picturesque]

Most photographers have enough memory cards to cover the whole thing, and then some, so no dumping required at all. Some photographers use a portable hard drive to copy cards as they are filled but DO NOT erase and reuse the cards. The hard drive is just a measure of security in having two copies of all the files before leaving the event. I sometimes do the latter with my Wolverine MVP drive. One nice thing about these is is makes it easier to copy files to the computer later, and avoids file/card corruption due to the card reader.

[bill_clark___minnetonka_mi]

I don't dump cards at a wedding. Problems can happen while doing this at a fast paced timed

event. Besides, my cameras each hold a cf card and an SD card and I have it write each file to

both cards.

 

Best.

[conraderb]

mike - when I started shooting weddings, I had four CF cards and a wolverine drive. it was stressful and annoying. this was when 1 gig cards cost $100 - about 4x what they cost now. I was a cheap photographer and it was all I could afford.

 

it is a lot less stressful to just buy a lot of cards. it's an investment, just like everything else.

 

buy cards.

[conraderb]

that said, never format a card until you have TWO confirmed copies, and I mean confirmed like you have browsed both files in your raw browser, AND confirmed the # of gigs in the source and destination folder.

[wedding-photography-denver]

I use a flashtrax 40gig when the wedding is scheduled for more than 6 hours. Its a one button download and has been bulletproof.

 

I use 16gig cards now, so I rarely get to the end of a card and there fore don't even remove the cards from the cameras any more while at the event. Safer, I belive.

[Matt Laur]

Yes indeedy. Just shoot, swap cards, and shoot some more. Considering that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FSanDisk-SDCFX3-4096-901-Extreme-CompactFlash-Package%2Fdp%2FB0008D76L0%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Delectronics%26qid%3D1193110495%26sr%3D8-2&tag=uplandlife-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325"><b>4gb SanDisk Extreme III</b></a> CF cards are right around $50, it's a no-brainer to just set them aside and load up a clean one. No formatting cards until you've got two copies in other forms!

<br><br>

Something else to consider, though, is where you put your spares and your used cards. Some sort of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPelican-Compact-Flash-Memory-Protective%2Fdp%2FB000W3ZDBQ%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Delectronics%26qid%3D1193110666%26sr%3D1-20&tag=uplandlife-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325"><b>serious card wallet</b></a> is worth a few dollars. They prevent crud from getting into the card's connector area (so you don't bend pins in your camera!), keeps a hot sweaty pocket from monkeying things up, and if it falls from your pocket or bag, you're likely to know - as opposed to a small single card rattling around. And something like that Pelican product in that link is sturdy enough that if you sit or even step on it, you haven't lost your irreplaceble work. Memory's too cheap to fuss with transfer to a portable device WHILE shooting an event.

[conraderb]

I second matt. I use the gepe extreme card wallets - not cheap at $20 each, but once they are locked, the only thing I worry about is someone shooting the wallet with a handgun, in which case, I have greater problems than losing images, or a zombie invasion, in which case...

 

you know, a zombie invasion wouldn't really scare me. it's not like zombies have amazing dexterity, do they?? they would probably try to chew on the wallet for a second and then toss it aside in favor of my fleshy body. but maybe the acid from their saliva would burn through the wallet. in any case, I hope I never have to find out...

 

when I'm not dealing with the zombie apocalypse, the think tank card wallet allows me to quickly access 10 cards. not as secure as the extreme, but good for casual shooting.

[savagesax]

Here is someone thats experienced bad cards...I tried the laptop thing at 3 or 4 weddings, showing images as I take them. Didn't help business, so now I just shoot RAW only and upload to a Wolverine storage hard drive to make sure no errors happened, such as a bad card. With the Canon 1ds mark 2 I use the SD and the CF cards together, again just to be safe and upload those as well to the Wolverine. I do not delete these cards for fear of something screwing up. I've had issues at 2 weddings during the 6 years of shooting digital. I still mainly use 1 gig cards for the formals. If something gets messed up I know about it and can recover the pics. It's pretty hard to make up 70 plus shots with 2 gb cards or about 250 on an 8 gb card.

 

Back in the film days it is the same reason I never went with long 70mm film backs on the hassys. If the lab messed up look out! 100 pics gone. Yikes!

 

Interesting that the cards that messed up were 1 Lexar and 1 Kingston. Never had an issue with SanDisk. I'm not giving an opinion, just an observation. I'm sure someone will say Sandisk cards failed them.

 

I carry around 20 gbs. 10 are for the formals and are 1 gig, the reception I use 2 gb cards, with the exception of the cake cutting toast, first dance, things like that. Weird thing is I only use about 4 cards for the formals. (125 shots or so) I just carry extras in case things get wild!

 

I believe 15 to 20 cards is a safe amount for a normal wedding. I average around 400 to 500 shots and I know I shoot on the light side compared to some friends that hit 2000 to 4000 per wedding. But at some weddings I've been known to pop off 700 to 1000 shots.

[danielserrano]

take plenty memory cards...

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste1664880652]

I second Conrad's first post.

[jc5066]

NO WAY! No dumping at the wedding. You should have too much to do at the wedding to be dumping. Cards are cheap, but enough to do the job. Worry about that latter.

 

(I would never let an assistant handle my cards)

[jc5066]

Just wanted to add, DO NOT get 4 or 8 gig cards. Thats just playing with fire. Do you want that many images on one card? A two gig card holds 60! Thats a lot too. I prefer 1 gig cards, but will use 2 gig for the reception. If one fails I haven't lost 1/2 the wedding.

[tonylarcombe]

Conrad, if you do encounter a zombie attack could you make sure that you fire off a few shots first, preferrably with the 85 1.2, a zombie with great bokeh, now that's a money shot right there.

 

Tony.

[savagesax]

I also back up for another reason. Since I've been robbed twice this year I like the idea of the Wolverine storage, as you can work while uploading. Clips to your belt. So you have flash cards and the wolverine. A nice safe backup system. If you get robbed chances are you will have a complete wedding to show the B&G.

 

If interested, a wallet and 2 lenses went bye bye.

[schnellimages]

I am not so sure about zombie dexterity thing right now. I believe the traditional thinking was: walking dead = slow and clumsy. However, there is anecdotal data now that seems to suggest a much more faster gait. Of course, either field of thought ignores completely the question of overwhelming numbers. Refer to Max Brooks excellent 'World War Z' volume for an inciteful examination of this question.

I would like to question Conrad's point about acid in zombie saliva. This is a new and, for this reader, totally unheard of phenomena. I did see an interesting article in the New England Journal of Zombie Medici....

 

I'm sorry, what was the question? Oh yes, Mike - I would agree that investing in memory cards is the way to go. I did the download to a portable HD at a wedding earlier this year and did not like it, too worried about what I was missing.

 

Dear god, I have to get some work done.

[Matt Laur]

I'm not a wedding photographer, but many of the weddings I've attended have, in fact, been largely populated with zombies. They seemed fairly benign, though, since they appear to be sedated - at least temporarily - by cheap Pinot Grigio.

<br><br>

My event shooting is outdoors, <a href="http://www.uplandlife.com/eventphotos/" target="_blank"><b>among people with dogs and shotguns</b></a>. Zombies are the least of my worries! Dropping CF cards in poison-ivy-and-briar-infested mud pits is more my thing, and is why a waterproof card wallet is a REALLY good idea. 4GB cards seem to be the magic number for me. Gives me lots of time to find a lull in the shooting.

[lfoley]

No dumping here either! I copy the cards to a Hyperdrive during the day but never erase anything.

[wedding-photography-denver]

Hmmm

 

"Jon Curtis, Oct 23, 2007; 08:47 a.m.

 

Just wanted to add, DO NOT get 4 or 8 gig cards. Thats just playing with fire. Do you want that many images on one card? A two gig card holds 60! Thats a lot too. I prefer 1 gig cards, but will use 2 gig for the reception. If one fails I haven't lost 1/2 the wedding."

 

Well, I hear your theory, but it just doesn't work that well.

 

A) Smaller capacity cards fail as much as big ones

 

B) Smaller capacity cards get used to their full capacity more often if not all the time. That is a reason for some errors on CF cards, and larger cards rarely get filled (at least by me) so that is not so much and issue

 

C) more insertions of a physical card means the card WILL fail sooner than one that is rarely removed

 

D) Small cards can be dropped between changes and images lost that way.

 

E) Smaller cards mean you have to change cards and something may be happening while you are fiddling around with the change, resulting in more lost images

 

F) If you have all images in your cam/large card, you don't usually stand any chance of loosing it/them. Smaller cards can get misplaced and lost on site more easily.

 

G) Ok, that will do for now....

 

 

The point is, you are taking chances all the time weather or not you're using small or large cards. That part is just a choice you have to live with.

 

I won't use a 4gig card unless its an emergency (having exhausted the other 120+ gigs of large cards), I use 16gb or at a push 8gb. I don't change the cards at an event any more (usually) and have not had one go bad.

 

I test all my cards pretty extensively before use.

 

Having read all the white papers on these things I can find, I have established (for my own satisfaction at least) that CF cards fail either at the beginning of their life (first few full cycles) or near the end of their life (around the 8 - 10k insterions mark). Other factors play a role in failure such as the handling (removal and insertion in a camera) or the storage of them (open to dust etc. which affects performance in electrical circuitry).

 

From reading on this subject for what seems like years now, I have chosen my path, YMMV.

[conraderb]

tony - good point. my only concern is that zombies move quickly, and the 85mm 1.2 L mark 1 doesn't focus very fast.

 

zombies also attack at night frequently, and I HATE on camera flash...

 

so maybe I will have to lure the zombies into a softbox trap that I will put up on the street corner...and probably use the 17-55 b/c it focuses much faster...

 

the only question - when the apocalypse is over, are there any zombie interns who will be able to post process my images? of course, I wouldn't be caught dead (literally) with JPGs in my camera. a zombie deserves a RAW capture, despite what ken rockwell says!

[grant g]

"No dumping here either! I copy the cards to a Hyperdrive during the day but never erase anything."

 

Same here. Dumping leaves too much room for error. I use an HD80 with a 60GB drive for backup.

 

The sad thing is I still have more money in my stack of 1GB cards than my stack of 4GB cards :(

 

Buy until you have enough space for the events you shoot.

[bakarichavanu]

Portable hard drive for me. I got a good refurbished Epson P-2000 in which I can keep

about 3-4 wedding jobs on at a time. So as I'm shooting, I transfer the cards to the P-

2000, create an album for all the photos captured at the event, and then transfer them

all to Aperture, in which they get backed up on a external drive.

 

If I could afford a P-5000 model I would get. This portable drive is a serious time saver,

and is great insurance because I can backup files during the shoot.

 

Finally, I would like add that I often delete as many really terrible (washed out, dearly

black, etc.) "photos" as I can while I'm on a shoot.

[fotografz]

I don't dump. Tried it once and it's a big PITA when on the move and paying attention to what

I'm there for... shooting.

 

Card size has pro and con arguments. They have been discussed to death. My solution is

shooting to two cards at once. That virtually eliminates card failure. If the camera fails, I'll

know it right away and switch cameras using new cards.

 

Nikon's new D3 has the best solution yet: two CF slots. Perfect. Get two matching 12 or 16

gig CFs ( with some smaller back-up CFs) and you're good to go for the whole wedding.

[ShunCheung]

Marc is exactly right. The theory to use small-capacity cards is old school. Modern high-end DSLRs such as the Canon 1Ds series and Nikon D3 have dual card slots. If I used a D3, I too would put two 16G cards into the slots and get two copies of each image, one on each card. In 5+ years of shooting digital, I have yet to have one memory card failure. Having two copies for each file will be extremely safe.

 

If you are juggling with 10, 15 1G cards in a wedding, you are really risking losing or misplacing some cards. That is a much bigger problem than card failures. Twin 16G cards should last you the entire wedding such that you don't even need to worry about changing cards for the entire day.