Dumb on me, majorly !!!

[olshroom]

I use a Tamron 28-75MM for my portrait and green screen shoots. The pictures have always been tack sharp..
The last three sessions I shoot were iffy at best. Some photo's would be ok sorta on focus and ouhers would be a bit out of focus. What is happening to my great lens??? I checked all setting on my D700. No problems. I cleaned my lens, didn't help. Smaller f-stop, nope... So one day sitting in my office looking at the camera and lens I noticed something. The auto focus had been turned off and it was set for manual. DAA!!! how did that happen??? Oh the mysteries of camera life. That will theach me to check EVERYTHING next time I go to do a shoot. Thanks for listening...

 

[cdnpilot]

I have never done that.... and if you believe that....

 

[Palouse]

Oh, me neither . . .

 

[Allan]

I make mistakes - like arriving at a shot without a battery - but nothing over 3 years. I shoot with long lenses most of the time. DOF is so shallow that I know I would have caught that one.

 

[pictureted]

Sorry Jim, happened to me too. Now I try to remember to check everything before shooting. Try is the applicable word.

 

[olshroom]

Thanks everyone. It makes me feel better knowing that I am not the only one who has made mistakes with my camera. I have left out the card a couple of times, but always have had the battery in place. Now as for the auto focus. I hope that will never happen again. I have learned to check everything, A person would think after all these years that would not happen but I guess I/we assume every thing is correct. And I am sure you know what it means when something is (Assumed),

 

[Cleanimage]

Jim - It happens to all of us. When I was in Alaska in May I was out one day shooting pictures and couldn't figure out why my exposures were all over the place. Well, duh, I had set the camera to bracket shots for HDR and then hadn't set it back when I was done. Fortunately the D810 has good dynamic range and I was able to save the shots I took by editing in LR but I still felt pretty dumb for getting carried away with the scenery and not resetting my camera after I was done with the HDR shots. Also, I remember that the AF switch on the D200 was easy to move to M just by brushing it when I removed the camera from the bag. After a few times when I couldn't figure out why my camera wouldn't autofocus, I got used to checking it every time I pulled it out of the bag.

 

[Superbaldguy]

Never happens to me, either - I shoot at f/16 for everything What I have had occur more than a few times is leaving my D300 on the C (continuous-tracking mode) instead of single shot AF-S.

 

[olshroom]

Perhaps what we need is a check list like pilots use. Check everything before we are ready to shoot..

 

[cdnpilot]

"Checklist? We don't need no stinkin checklist..."

 

[olshroom]

"Checklist? We don't need no stinkin checklist..."

I think you are correct, Kevin. Just ask your Mrs. if she remembers the last time she was in the airplane and if everything was OK. Then it is safe to taxi and take off..

 

[olshroom]

CAMERA CHECK LIST
​

1- Do you have the correct camera
2- Is there a card in the camera
3- Is the card empty or have pictures on it
4- Is the battery in the camera
5- Is the battery charged
6- Is the ISO correct
7- Is the camera in the correct mode
8- Is the camera set to take single frame photographs
9- Do you have the correct lens
10-Is the lens glass clean
11-Is the lens set to auto focus or manual
12-Is the white balance set correctly

Fell free to make any additions

 

[Growltiger]

Is the exposure adjustment set to zero?

 

[cdnpilot]

One of the easiest ways is to start on the left side of the camera then up the top and down.... When I learned to fly it was drummed into me to use a written checklist.... when I trained to fly Harvard's (T6) I was told to memorize it.

 

[olshroom]

Is the exposure adjustment set to zero?

I dunno - I forgot to check

 

[olshroom]

One of the easiest ways is to start on the left side of the camera then up the top and down.... When I learned to fly it was drummed into me to use a written checklist.... when I trained to fly Harvard's (T6) I was told to memorize it.

OK, which one do you use now??

 

[cdnpilot]

OK, which one do you use now??

Heck, I can't even remember what I had for lunch... I use a paper checklist when flying.

 

[Beagledog]

One of the easiest ways is to start on the left side of the camera then up the top and down.... When I learned to fly it was drummed into me to use a written checklist.... when I trained to fly Harvard's (T6) I was told to memorize it.

Ya, same here, my instructor made me memorize the checklist, radio frequencies the works. He was old school and this was in the 1970's Now I use checklists for everything that is important.

cheers,
alexis and Georgie Beagle.

" if I had a nickel for every time mom forgot to check the camera settings prior to shooting....." -Georgie Beagle...

 

[Baywing]

Happens regularly with my 70-200 VRII. Something about the way it slides into the Think Tank pouch that moves that switch to MF ever time. I've also spent a day shooting before noticing that pesky red light in the VF and figuring out it means there ain't no card in the camera!

 

[pixel_a_ted]

Is the exposure adjustment set to zero?

and the (separate) flash compensation. And is sensor clean?