Corrupted memory card? Fear not!

I discovered a great way to sort out corrupted memory cards in Windows XP, completely by accident, this weekend after photographing Jamie T at the Leadmill.

When I tried to transfer the RAW files to my computer for processing, Windows XP produced one of it's all-too-familiar Warning/Error messages stating that the files on my card were unreadable. The problem with shooting RAW is that none of the image recovery programs available recognise the files, leaving the information on the card ignored.

In a frantic panic, I frantically searched www.download.com for a solution to my woes, as if anything is available I'd find it on there, or so I hoped! So I downloaded a couple of freeware applications which professed to be able to retrieve the corrupted data, and drew many blanks. The final program I tried required a reboot before I could use it. I obliged and restarted the computer with my corrupted card still in the USB card reader.

Now the next bit was where the magic happened:

Upon restarting, the blue screen that you'd normally get if you didn't shut down your computer properly appeared saying that the integrity of the CF card needed to be checked using CHKDISK. Fantastic, it skimmed through the card, fixing any errors and restoring *nearly* all the lost data!

All the files I thought I'd lost had been restored, the only problem being that a few images had black space filling a band down one side of the frame. Sod's law dictated that these images would be the best of the night, but I was still relieved to have most restored to their former glory.

So what's the moral of this tale? Don't panic, just reboot and hope for the best! Just as any computer tech support person will tell you to do first time round, 'switch it off, then switch it back on again.'

Sandman Magazine - Issue 127 January 2007

A few bits and bobs of my work can be seen in this month's edition of Sandman magazine.

Images have been used to accompany a feature on Sheffield based six-piece Dead Like Harry, MJ Hibbett's 'Tales from the conference league' column and a review of Dragonforce's performance at the Octagon in Sheffield.

Sandman is the north's free monthly music magazine and is available in pubs, clubs and live venues across the north of England.

Other bands featured in this month's issue include, Bromheads Jacket, Bring Me the Horizon, Sky Larkin, Working for a Nuclear Free City, Rocky Nest, Sally Doherty, and Hayley Gaftarnick.

Dragonforce

Dead Like Harry

MJ Hibbett

Red Stripe.net - New music website

This Christmas, while you may have been catching up with family and friends and eating a little more than could be deemed healthy, the busy people at website have given their website an overhaul - it now includes features on the latest up-and-coming musical talent.

A music-related blog and the features section both bear images taken by yours truly... to take a look, please visit www.redstripe.net.

Bands featured include, The Long Blondes, Tiny Dancers, Situationists and many more.

Unfortunately, due to the beer related content, you will need to verify you are old enough to legally drink booze in whatever country you reside in.

What equipment? - Other stuff

Indeed, there is more to the stuff I use than just the camera and lenses. When I'm out and about, I need to carry my camera in something, plus there's other items such as monitor calibrators and flash equipment to complete my kit.

To help me cart my kit about, I use either a Lowepro Stealth reporter D550AWor Crumpler Company Embarrassment. The Crumpler bag is slightly smaller than the Lowepro, making it perfect for carrying my general kit around. The Lowepro comes into it's own when I have to carry my Nikon 300mm f/4and Tokina 80-200mm f/2.8, as these both fit vertically inside the bag.

The flashgun I use is a Nikon SB-800 Speedlite. This is plenty powerful enough for most applications and provides scarily accurate results when used with my D200'sMatrix-metering. I've modified the supplied Stofen-like diffuser by cutting a notch in the mount, so that the flash doesn't automatically set itself for 14mm wide coverage, as this robs me of too much flash power. You can clearly see the notch in the picture on the left.

I also regularly use a Jessops off-camera TTL cord. This simple, inexpensive piece of kit provides a fantastic amount of flexibility with my flash shooting.

For power, and improved handling of my D200, I use an MB-D200 battery grip. This adds more weight to the camera body, which helps with handholding at slow shutter speeds and also provides enough power for a couple of days shooting. I wouldn't be without it.

Finally, there's no point taking all these photos if I can't edit them properly afterwards. Colour is very important to me, so I use a Monaco Optix XR monitor calibrator to ensure my screen displays accurate colours. Of the calibration devices I've tried, this one provides the most consistent results.

• Back to - What equipment do you use to take your photos?
• What equipment? - Camera
• What equipment? - Introduction to lenses
• What equipment? - Prime lenses
• What equipment? - Zoom lenses

What equipment? - Zoom lenses

99% of photographers will use zoom lenses for most of their work as they provide flexibility for composition at the expense of their light gathering ability.

I tend not to use zoom lenses as I prefer flexibility with exposure. Lots of practice and experience has enabled me to learn to change lenses quickly, and to second-guess what the performer is about to do (in most cases) so that I don't miss too many shots.

I still own a full set of zooms though. I find them especially useful at larger venues, and at festivals where changing lenses can lead to my camera getting filled with crud. I also use them for any general photography I may do, including band portraits and landscapes.

I own the following zoom lenses:

Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX DG
I bought this lens along with my first digital SLR to give me some form of wide-angle back.
The small maximum aperture makes this lens pretty useless for concerts, except at the widest setting in bright venues. The problem is that most venues that warrant such a wide angle are extremely dark and dingy.
I also hate the variable maximum aperture, although I get by with it. The main problem arises when using it with studio lights as zooming in reduces the amount of light gathered, which means I can't really use the maximum aperture if I wish to recompose by zooming. It is also very prone to flare due to the large globe of glass on the front.
Despite its flaws, optically this lens is great producing images which are easily sharp enough for large prints, even wide open.

Sigma 24-60mm f/2.8 EX DG
I haven't owned this lens long enough to get a proper feel for it yet. On the few occasions I have used it, I've been very impressed by it's performance.
My primary reason for buying this lens was for festivals, and general snaps as the range covers moderate wide-angle through to medium telephoto on my D200. It's a very compact design for a full-frame lens that is f/2.8 all the way through, which is ideal.
This particular lens can be quite difficult to find new or used. If I was looking for a lens of this range and couldn't find one of these, I would proabably go for the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG, which is nowhere near as compact, but is supposed to be good for the money.

Tokina 80-200mm f/2.8 AT-X
I bought this lens after shooting Monsters of Rock at Milton Keynes Bowl. That event really opened my eyes as to how difficult shooting with prime lenses can be, plus my camera was filled with more dirt than could ever be deemed healthy by the end of the day.
The build quality of this lens is absolutely fantastic! It's constructed of metal throughout and the zoom ring glides easily from one end to the other. AF is plenty fast enough for my needs as well. Although this lens is not an internal focusing design, the front element is encased inside a tough metal collar, which does not extend with focusing.
Optically this lens cannot compare to my primes, but it is plenty sharp enough at f/2.8 nonetheless, only softening slightly at the 200mm end.
Unfortunately, I think this lens has been discontinued in favour of Tokina's new 50-135mm lens, which is designed for digital only. On the positive side, this surely means that a few used bargains will crop up from time-to-time on ebay. If you're looking for a lens of this range and can't afford the Nikkor 70-200mm VR, I'd keep your eyes peeled for one of these!

• Back to - What equipment do you use to take your photos?
• What equipment? - Camera
• What equipment? - Introduction to lenses
• What equipment? - Prime lenses
• What equipment? - Other stuff