Here's where I've learned and figured out ways to be a successful Digital Road Warrior whilst on the road. It can be cumbersome, what with a large camera bag in the front seat, a camping Cooler of Sustenance for the day, laptop with GPS installed so I can get lost and still find my way back, plus whatever else I might think I need.
A fairly damp wash cloth, placed in a plastic zip bag, and stored in the ice cooler. In Iowa, it can get hot, dry, dusty and humid, all in the same day. It's a great refresher to wash your face off after driving around. Include a dry towel, too. It will not only help keep you dry, but also it can be used to cover your equipment for protection from the sun, or prying eyes if you go to public places.
An ice filled Cooler of Sustenance for the day, with food and drink. It beats trying to find some place that has what you have at home. Also, a cell phone and weather radio can be an asset.
Plan your route, or at least have an idea. Take state maps, county maps, city maps and tour guides. Most of these maps are available at the level of government they represent (state, city, county, local). Start with your local state Department of Transportation and state Tourist Department, then work down from there. If you do a lot of outdoors photography, check with your local DNR for parks and recreational facilities. Visit the USGS website for topographical information about where you're going. This could help you determine terrain conditions if you're looking for a specific type of area to photograph.
Field guides and Identification books can be very useful. Here's a list of what I use to get you started:
This last entry, County Roads of Iowa, is basically a running commentary of what one traveler (the author) found off the beaten path. He describes the more interesting local flavor and character you don't always read about in tourist guides. Given that, maybe there's something similar in your Local Interest section of your favorite bookstore. The books I've listed aren't specifically recommended by me, but meet my needs for their use. Get whatever looks the best for you to use.
Olympus 2500L filmless digital camera
Sony MVC-CD1000 CDR digital camera
Compaq Presario 1200-XL119 Laptop, with 12v car cord
PC Card (PCMCIA)
GPS locator for the laptop from Rand McNally
One 64 meg Compact Flash memory card (and one 32 meg Smart Media card)
My Custom Made Batch Files for transferring the Images
These two DOS batch files, each with only one line, will transfer files from the Olympus camera to the laptop by only double clicking on them. You will need to edit each line for your particular setup. You can create your own DOS batch file by opening Notepad, typing in your command line, similar to what I have here, then save the file by first selecting All Files from the drop down menu (this will keep Notepad from automatically assigning a TXT extension), give it a name that you'll understand, then add BAT for the extension. You'll need to check your camera's default pathway it writes to the card, which would be different from this example, unless you have the exact camera I have. Store them on your computer someplace, then create a shortcut of each one, and place it on your desktop for easy access, or assign them to an function key. This is a very quick and easy way to manage the photos you've taken by getting them onto your computer.
copy H:\Dcim\100olymp\*.* C:\_digimag
Where H:\ is the letter of the Flash Card drive, and C:\ is the letter of the destination drive in the laptop, the rest is the directory path for each. Your pathway will differ from the example shown here.
del H:\Dcim\100olymp\*.*
Where H:\ is the letter of the Flash Card, and the rest is the pathway on the Flash Card that will quickly delete the images once you have them copied. Your pathway will differ from the example shown here.
A laptop, car adapter for the laptop, MS MapPoint (or Expedia Streets and Trips works just as good) map software so I don't get lost (and know where to eat, too!), two memory cards, memory card adapter to load into the laptop's PCMCIA card slot, extra sets of camera batteries, and car charger for the batteries.
If you're really into road tripping, then hook your laptop up to a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit, run the software, and see exactly where you're at. And don't forget the cell phone to connect to the web via the laptop for that file you need while on the road! (tougher than it seems - you need to have the right cell phone, cell phone adapter to laptop with the right modem, and your cell phone provider has to support that type of connection!)
A digital camera, rechargeable batteries and memory cards - they're not cheap. So, how do you survive a day taking pictures and not run out of batteries or memory cards?
For me, the way I handle this is to use a car charger for the batteries, having two sets of batteries (you may need more depending on your shooting habits and how your camera drains the batteries), one memory card of 64 meg, and a laptop computer.
When I fill up the memory card, I simply download it into the laptop. It only takes a few seconds. When I did a price comparison of buying ten, 64 meg memory cards, which I figured on the best JPG image format would save roughly about 24 or so exposures to each card, equal to a roll of film. I sometimes shoot ten rolls in a day, so the amount of money tied up in ten memory cards would just about equal a laptop. So I bought a laptop instead, figuring I'd get more of my money's worth being able to use it for other things, too.
First, get a camera that has a Thru The Lens (TTL) viewing. They are more expensive, but much nicer to use in the long run. Cameras that have a separate viewfinder, meaning the camera lens sees a slightly different view of your subject than you do as you look through the viewfinder, suffer from what is called parallax error. The ones that only have the LCD for a viewer (and not a standard eye point viewer) really drain the batteries to keep the screen on. Also, keep the batteries from draining needlessly by turning off the LCD screen on your camera at all times during recording, even the view option (like mine) that briefly shows the image you just took, right after exposure. You can always go back and edit out the pictures of what you don't want later. I also have my camera set to shut off after so many minutes if not used. I figure by them I'm either on the road, or I fell asleep.
Take it along. You never know if you might need it. If you have screw-in filters for your camera, get an adapter ring, called a Step-Up ring, to use your existing filters with your digital camera. Most film camera filters will be bigger than most filter sizes used on digital cameras, but that isn't always the case. If your filters are smaller, you don't really want a Step-Down ring, because the edges of the filter, since it's smaller than your camera's lens opening, will show on the image. They are available, but should only be used if need be.
First, and always, buy a Skylight 1A filter, or a UV Haze filter to protect the front lens element on your camera. They don't change the colors or exposure to any noticeable degree, and can be left on the camera at all times. They can take the grime and grit and cleaning, and are cheaper to replace than the front lens element if they become damaged.
Filter sizes work this way: Most cameras have screw threads in the front of the lens to accept filters. Since this is in the front of the lens, you go from that to the filter size you're adapting to. My Olympus takes a 43mm screw in filter. My Nikon takes a 62mm screw in filter. I don't want to buy a smaller version of a filter I already have in a 62mm size, so I would use a Step-Up ring. To know whether it is step-up or step-down, you start at the front of the camera lens, and if the filter you want to add is bigger, you Step-Up, if smaller, you Step-Down. You always start at the camera lens first. Now, not all sizes are adapted to, so you may need to get more than one adapter, and screw them together. This is much cheaper than buying a whole set of filters again. In my case, I have a bunch of older 52mm filters, so I would need a 43mm-49mm, and a 49mm-52mm, both screwed together to get from the 43mm camera filter to the filter size of 52mm. However, I would not want to use the 52mm filters on my lenses that take a 62mm size. I would have to Step-Down, and the edges of the filter would cut into the outer edges of the image. It would be like looking through a hole smaller than what the lens is intended for.
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Two step-up rings, 43mm-49mm and 49mm-52mm ready to be used to adapt the camera to 52mm size filters. |
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A side-by-side comparison |
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Both step-up rings screwed together. |
But, if you're just starting out, or only have a few filters to none, and want to have both a digital and a film camera to use and explore the world of filters with each, check out the Cokin Creative Filter System . This is a system where you buy one filter to use on all your cameras via the use of their adapters. A very cost-effective way to go, if you plan to use more than one filter size for more than one camera. Now that I have gotten a digital camera, and I will still be using my film camera, all my old filters won't fit, so I am going with this system. With this type of system, the adventurous can actually make their own custom filters. It is rather cool, so be sure to check them out.
Cokin Example Filter:
On the left is a typical Cokin filter, the almost transparent plastic piece sitting on top its case, which is basically a square piece of optical quality plastic, while on the right is the filter holder which will hold up to three Cokin filters at one time. The filter holder screws into your camera filter mount. You only need to buy one adapter to hold the filters.