Never run out of memory again!

[ajrbrown]

Hi

I’m currently looking at replacing my digital camera setup – see the “Thinking about upgrading my digital camera” thread – and one of the cameras I’m investigating is the Nikon P1.

As well as a number of very nice features (esp for diving), the camera has a wireless imaging transfer function, including a ‘Shoot & Transfer’ mode to enable you to transfer shots off the memory card to a computer as you shoot them or in a batch.

I have to confess to knowing nothing about the technical side of this (or much else tecnical), but would a wireless (wifi) connection work through water?

If so, theoretically if you filled up your memory card on a dive you could swim to within 100ft of your liveaboard (with laptop on board) download (or upload?) your pics, clear some space and carry on snapping without ever running out of space.

Is this realistic or as daft as it sounds? eyebrow


Andrew

 

[ArthurGerla]

The signal won't penetrate through water, so you would have to surface to transfer your pictures. Anyway, with todays huge memory cards (and harddisk cameras on the way) you are limited by battery life, not storage space.
Even so, not having to open your camera to transfer your pics has to be a Good Thing (TM) as this reduces the chance of it flooding.

 

[dsafanda]

I have never, not once, filled up a card in a single day of diving. I can't imagine taking so many "keeper" photos that I would need to transfer in between dives.

Don't get me wrong. It sounds like a nice feature but I just don't think you would ever actually need to use it in the way you've described.

Memory is relatively cheap compared to the many other expenses involved in underwater photography. Get the biggest card you can find and you don't need to worry about ever running out of memory in the course of a single day. I use a 2 Gig card and even on the highest quality setting I can take more than a hundred shots. If you're getting over a hundred shots per dive that are worth keeping I’d suggest you quit your day job immediately and go to work for Nationl Geographic.

 

[RonFrank]

As well as a number of very nice features (esp for diving), the camera has a wireless imaging transfer function, including a ‘Shoot & Transfer’ mode to enable you to transfer shots off the memory card to a computer as you shoot them or in a batch.

I have to confess to knowing nothing about the technical side of this (or much else tecnical), but would a wireless (wifi) connection work through water?

If so, theoretically if you filled up your memory card on a dive you could swim to within 100ft of your liveaboard (with laptop on board) download (or upload?) your pics, clear some space and carry on snapping without ever running out of space.

Is this realistic or as daft as it sounds? eyebrow


Andrew

The reality is that there are some serious things to consider in working with WiFi Underwater... first it does not work underwater, so as you suggested you'd have to swim to the surface. Second, I'm not sure if it will work when the camera is in a housing, at the very least it would decrease the range which on the D2H is about 100feet.

Likely the most limiting factor is that one would need a PC on the boat, running, with a WiFi hookup ready to receive the images. This would need to be a Laptop, running as a server with FTP server software (TCP/IP protocol). Server versions of an OS are considerably more expensive vs. the off the shelf workstation version. My information is based on the D2H implementation of WiFI as there does not seem to be much out on how the P1 will work, so the server maybe off base, but you WILL need something to receive the data, and a server makes sense.

So if one had their own boat, this setup would be somewhat practical as you could dedicate a dry spot for the computer to live. On a charter, this could be problematic, and a nice way to ruin a laptop :06:

I'd suggest a large memory card is a LOT more practical.

The technology is here! If nothing else it may eliminate the need to open the housing between dive days which is not a horrible thing. That of course depending upon battery life which ironically will be decrease (possibly drastically) by the use of WiFi to transmit images.

 

[ajrbrown]

I'd obviously go for a big memory card - i struggle to get my pc to link up with a router thats on the other side of the room!

I had assumed that it wouldn't work through water, i'd just conjured up an amusing image of the new 'Photogaphers Safety Stop' on a dive when all those holding a camera ascend to 100ft to transfer files, whilst on the dive deck a row of laptops are laid out awaiting images.

Mind you, it would be great to relay that Hammerhead Shark shot to your buddy who'd decided to sit out the morning dive!

 

[alcina]

I use a 2 Gig card and even on the highest quality setting I can take more than a hundred shots. If you're getting over a hundred shots per dive that are worth keeping I’d suggest you quit your day job immediately and go to work for Nationl Geographic.

This is a little flawed reasoning. No, all of your shots might not be keepers. But it's relatively easy to fill even a huge card with a day's diving - depends on what you call a day 1, 2, 3, 4 dives? 100 minutes total underwater? How about 3 hours underwater? Five hours?

And having the bigger memory allows you to shoot the "keeper" and experiment with all manner of things: lighting, angles, apertures, shutter speeds. It allows you to use the AIservo mode or continuous shooting mode to try to capture just the right pose of a fast moving fish. I believe one should never worry about "filling" a card - if you're coming that close routinely, buy a bigger one! One of the great advantages to digital is the ability to Shoot, Review, Adjust, Shoot, Review,Adjust...

I almost never delete anything underwater. You'd be surprised at how much you can learn and retain from keeping your not so hot shots and looking over them again. You can train your brain to recognize problems, solutions and compositions by seeing what went wrong - maybe even more so than by seeing what went right as you have to think more on a "wrong" shot.


Get the biggest card you can afford. Shoot til your fingers bleed Have fun!

 

[ABQdiver]

I almost never delete anything underwater. You'd be surprised at how much you can learn and retain from keeping your not so hot shots and looking over them again. You can train your brain to recognize problems, solutions and compositions by seeing what went wrong - maybe even more so than by seeing what went right as you have to think more on a "wrong" shot.


Get the biggest card you can afford. Shoot til your fingers bleed Have fun!

I like this statement! I found that taking the time to download and look at the photos can show a lot about your technique (or lack of) underwater. I think I've learned as much from my crappy shots as from getting lucky on the nice ones!

 

[RonFrank]

I agree, I don't delete anything when shooting, that includes topside where we can do a LOT more shooting, especially people like myself who are landlocked :06:

There is one exception, and that is a shot that is obviously OOF. However don't bother deleting ANYTHING underwater NOT just because you may learn from it... you may, but more importantly while you are screwing around with your camera trying to figure out if you have a keep, that Whale shark may just cruise by, and you with your head in the LCD :11doh:

ABQDiver, while there is some definate LUCK in getting good shots, a good photographer is prepared to strike when the LUCK occurs. That is IMO not luck, but the definition of skill!!