The lesson I learned today...

[Dmitri]

.. buy a backup battery, or learn not to trust your cameras judgement on what constitutes "full"

 

[tinfish]

I've learned that lesson before as well.

 

[Overread]

just to save you time - also buy a back-up memory card -- for very much the same reasoning (plus there is always just one more shot you just have to get! )

 

[Dweller]

I bought a backup battery when I bought my camera and have only needed to change in the field one time, but it was nice having it. Like has been mentioned, backup battery and memory card both are good ideas I think.

 

[Garbz]

Interestingly enough the D200 is right on the mark with how full the battery is when in the camera, but add the grip and it seems the battery goes from full to empty in the last 20 minutes of a daylong shoot.

I suggest to all who buy grips, take the AA adapters with you. You can get AAs at the local SevenEleven in case of emergency but they don't stock Nikon LiIons

 

[RyanLilly]

Interestingly enough the D200 is right on the mark with how full the battery is when in the camera, but add the grip and it seems the battery goes from full to empty in the last 20 minutes of a daylong shoot.

I suggest to all who buy grips, take the AA adapters with you. You can get AAs at the local SevenEleven in case of emergency but they don't stock Nikon LiIons

Good advice, Plus you probably have a bunch of AA's for your flash(es) anyway.

 

[RyanLilly]

So Seven Elevens are common in Australia also? What brand gas do they sell now, or are they just the store and not a gas station?

 

[Dmitri]

just to save you time - also buy a back-up memory card -- for very much the same reasoning (plus there is always just one more shot you just have to get! )

ha! I learned that one a couple of weeks ago when I started to shoot in RAW, and my whopping 2gig card got full real quick.

 

[manaheim]

I also like the backup battery just for everyday stuff because I can keep shooting while one is charging. I tend to carry the charger wherever I go... particularly easy to do since, between my d100 and d300 charger AND the extra one my Aunt had from losing her D70... I got lotsa chargers!

 

[Garbz]

So Seven Elevens are common in Australia also? What brand gas do they sell now, or are they just the store and not a gas station?

British English:
Propane, which is unfortunate because LPG would be a much more useful gas considering how many cars here run on it these days. But the only stations with LPG tanks seem to be Caltex BP and Shell in our area.

American English:
Petrol and Diesel, no word yet on Ethanol at our local SevenEleven.

 

[cochiece]

ha! I learned that one a couple of weeks ago when I started to shoot in RAW, and my whopping 2gig card got full real quick.

I know how you feel! I felt obligated to buy a 12 GB card after my 2GB was filled with RAWs within a couple of hours of shooting!

 

[reg]

American English:
Petrol and....

Failed from the first word.

 

[Battou]

.. buy a backup battery, or learn not to trust your cameras judgement on what constitutes "full"

This sounds like an issue with battery memory, You need to completely drain a battery like that every now and then to eliminate this memory then charge it full.

 

[JerryPH]

I have a D200 withe the MB-D200 grip. It's not come off since I bought the grip and I have 2 batteries in it. However, I (almost) always carry a 3rd battery as a spare. I don't always recharge after every shoot, but my last church shoot ended short becuase I forgot the spare at home, and also forgot that I was playing the previous few days with lighting setups and portraiture at home.

I had taken about 30 photos when the camera went dead. Right away I knew what it was and cut my day short a little. Oh well!
Spare cards are not an issue, I have 2 8gb cards, several 4gb cards and if needed, 2 2.2gb cards in my bag.

 

[Overread]

ha! I learned that one a couple of weeks ago when I started to shoot in RAW, and my whopping 2gig card got full real quick.

I have found 4GB to be a good minimum size of card for shooting in RAW = that is about 400ish shots on my 400D - of course this varies between cameras.