When I first started filming, when my hair wasn't grey, I used to use a ton of tapes. I learned to be far more selective in my shooting since. Usually I will bring 6 or 7 tapes on a 12 day trip and use, maybe 3 at most. This helps a great deal in post production as there is less crap to sort through and log and capture. Of the 3, I usually keep maybe 15 or 20 minutes of footage. There are some exceptions, when in Lembah I came back with 15 tapes worth, most all of it with excellent and usable footage, or if I am on safari in Kenya, I will come back with quite a bit. Even in the Cocos, my favorite place to dive, I usually only shoot 3 or 4 tapes worth, and, again, only keep a small percentage. I believe in never falling in love with your own footage, it helps to be self critical when editing.
Steve:14: