Tech Tips March 1996

by Wayne R. Palmer

I was going to put in some tech tips from the 25^th anniversary issue of Shutterbug that had been submitted from readers until I looked them over. Using Styrofoam cups for light diffusers, diaper bags for camera bags, and blowing out the dust in your camera with drinking straws. Are these people from Mars? You spend good money for your equipment, why take a cheap route to save a few pennies and potentially ruin your pictures or camera?

So here’s a few tips from my 25+ years of experience.

If you have to set the film speed for your camera….double check.

If your camera is a manual loading one…know how to tell if it is loaded and if you loaded it correctly. Check periodically. (And yes, I mean by ways other than opening the back.)

Always carry more film than you will need. You won’t be sorry. Film is cheap. Retaking a photo is not.

Take that extra effort to keep that film in a cool dry place…even when traveling.

When traveling by plane, put all your film w/o the canisters into a clear plastic ziploc bag and show up early enough to prevent a problem with them X-raying your film. Supposedly several exposures of x-rays will not hurt. But if it is important to you, why take a chance?

Carry extra batteries with you….for your camera and your flash. Having to buy a lithium battery at a 7-11 can be a costly lesson.

Bracket…..bracket…..bracket…if not for the exposure reasons then for the reason that somebody always blinks.

If you have a removable flash, test it before shooting to be sure the connection to your camera is secure.

If you have a camera that requires you to set the shutter speed for flash, be sure you do.

Never…never…try an untested piece of equipment or an untested technique on an important shot.

When using an auto focus lens in manual focus mode...remember to switch it back later.

15 year old film stored in a freezer still works.

Nicad batteries are a pain, but they do recycle a flash quickly.

Off-brand films work well for snapshots. In fact they do not suffer from the bad reputation they had years ago.

Stay away from Seattle Film Works film and its clones.

If you purchase mail order, never give your credit card information until you confirm they have the item and a date they will ship.

Never assume that what the film processor gives you as a print is always the best it can be.

Did you put film in the camera? No really….did you put film in the camera?

How did I come up with these? Let’s say ….I learn from mistakes.

Do you have any words of wisdom from your experiences? Share them with us!