Photographers notebook?

LouiseTopp

LouiseTopp

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Hi do any of you know or can you recommend a photographers notebook that I can write notes in, setting like ISO etc from?

I'm looking for one I can take on field trips with me?

Many thanks.
 
LouiseTopp said:
setting like ISO etc from?
Click to expand...
•


This is kinda old fashion nowadays since all relevant information
is recorded in the metadata of every single RAW file and are all
retrievable in your RAW converter.
 
Any notepad will do, or Evernote on phone/tablet.
 
As said above any notepad you feel happy with will be fine. I can understand using some other recording medium for info about location, access, potential other shots at different times where it could be useful but it will be one more (or two more with pen or pencil) thing to carry about and aperture, ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation, WB, focal length of the lens, whether the flash fired are recorded by the camera and available on the LCD screen.

Dave
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•


This is kinda old fashion nowadays since all relevant information
is recorded in the metadata of every single RAW file and are all
retrievable in your RAW converter.
Click to expand...

Not if the OP is shooting film though!
Only time I record that type of info is when I am shooting film.
Otherwise, no point, as all info is embedded in the file. Even GPS for an exact location if needed, (If using the right gizmo, obviously ! )
 
Fuji did some nice ones as freebies with the X-Pro1 welcome pack some time ago, I got too and grabbed another for £7.99 from them, I don't know if they still do them in the fuji uk shop
 
They gave one away with Amateur Photographer in the 80's.
I used to have one.
Never used it then and doubt I would now to be honest.
 
What a good idea - once I write something down it becomes "real" and I can look back at it time and again and remember how I felt and what I was doing at that moment. My wife and I were talking about something similar yesterday so today I shall follow your lead Louise. So how about something like this for the wet days http://evaq8.co.uk/OUTDOOR-Waterproof-Notebook.html?gclid=CJ7nwqL7rcsCFa0V0wodY-kGGQ notes can then be transcribed into a journal or other permanent records - software based maybe if you prefer.

BTW there's also one of these http://www.fisherspacepen.co.uk/ - the wonderful, write anywhere Fisher Space Pen, I got one for a birthday present a few years ago, about 2inches long when not extended.

Digital is great but sometimes analogue is.
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•


This is kinda old fashion nowadays since all relevant information
is recorded in the metadata of every single RAW file and are all
retrievable in your RAW converter.
Click to expand...

The problem is that some of the information I want isn't. For example, sometimes I'll take a few shots of the same thing all with the same settings, but some with the AF coming in from infinity, and some coming in from near focus. Some will be sharper than others, but only if I keep notes will I be able to see if the differences in focus are just random or systematic. The same goes for exposure. All the settings are recorded in the EXIF, but how I arrived at them, and why, isn't.
 
chris malcolm said:
Some will be sharper than others, but only if I keep notes will I be able to see if the differences in focus are just random or systematic. The same goes for exposure. All the settings are recorded in the EXIF, but how I arrived at them, and why, isn't.
Click to expand...
•
If you have a systematic approach to you gear and way to work,
randomness finds little or no room to play into your photography.
I still make mistakes that I can identify quickly and resolve swiftly
but random is only my attention level, not my workflow.

Granted, focusing points are not recorded in the metadata; not re-
corded but may be deducted. Knowing that the DoF spreads equally
before and after the PoF taken in relation to the relative set aperture.
 
Thanks for your replies, think I'll stick with an indexed notebook.
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•
If you have a systematic approach to you gear and way to work,
randomness finds little or no room to play into your photography.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there is a distinct random element in the operation of some of my camera techology. It's quite marked in the operation of all the camera AF systems I've tested. Repeated AF on the same target with an unmoved camera on a tripod will produce a small amount of random variation in focus. If the target is low contrast in dim light the variation is increased. If I use the camera handheld and try for the same target the variation is increased. That's due to my own human inaccuracies in pointing and holding which are not going to get any better. Thirty years ago they were better. Mostly this variation is trivially within the depth of focus and therefore negligible. In difficult conditions and when trying to optimise detail resolution it isn't.

I still make mistakes that I can identify quickly and resolve swiftly
but random is only my attention level, not my workflow.
Click to expand...

I can see you weren't ever trained in the documenting of experimental results in a laboratory :)

Granted, focusing points are not recorded in the metadata; not re-
corded but may be deducted. Knowing that the DoF spreads equally
before and after the PoF taken in relation to the relative set aperture.
Click to expand...

That's only true if there are no random or systematic biassed elements in the operation of your camera's AF. There are both in the AF systems of every camera I've owned. You also have interestingly talented lenses. I suspect all of mine have an uneven spread of focus before and after the point of precise focus. This is not an educated guess. I can see the differences in before and after spread quite visibly by switching on the focus peaking display.

But we shouldn't get distracted into arguments about AF. The point at issue is needing extra photographic notes than are provided in the camera's EXIF. The EXIF do not record purpose. They do not record method of camera stabilisation. They don't record the aperture of lenses which don't report aperture. I have one lens with two different aperture irises. It reports the aperture, but not which iris was in use. I'm pleased to hear that you need no notes. I hope to have persuaded you that my need for notes is not a defect in my technical procedures.
 
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All this fuss over a notebook? :LOL:

If you want to be a poseur about it get a moleskine (I use them for work - prefer soft cover myself as it wraps around the pen and is nice and tactile)

If you want decent quality at slightly less cost get a blacknred (I avoid the spiral bound types as they have perforations to make them easy to pull out, which I don't like as the pages are prone to coming loose - their softcover ones look nice)

If you just want to write stuff down go to Asda and get something for 10p.
 
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