# Any regrets for leaving camera at home?



## gary (Mar 26, 2013)

Today I was just heading to the shops for something and spotted this out of the corner of my eye. Needless to say when you need it you just don't have your camera, luckily I had the cell phone to catch a quick pic before he headed off. Los Angeles is always full of surprises. Does anyone else have similar experiences?


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## robbymack (Mar 26, 2013)

That's the exact reason I love my iPhone. And with great editing apps like snapseed its really replaced any yearning I have for a mirror less or micro 4/3 small walk around.


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## westr70 (Mar 26, 2013)

I was driving out to Agoura Hills one evening and saw the most spectacular sunset with moon and only had my iphone and the shots were horrible. Starting looking for a small pocket camera right after that. Finally settled on getting the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V with 20x zoom but now I'm waiting for reviews on the new Canon 20x that is coming out. We'll see.


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## brett b (Mar 26, 2013)

Very cool! What kind of phone took that pic, Gary?


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 26, 2013)

I live out in the country and see wildlife occasionally and wish I had my DSLR with me. Its usually far enough away that I even my 400mm lens is not enough. No hope of a iphone or my G1X catching it. Maybe a SX50, but light is going to be a issue for a camera like that.


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## Mr Bean (Mar 27, 2013)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I live out in the country and see wildlife occasionally and wish I had my DSLR with me.


Same here. On occasion I see a wombat wandering back to its burrow in the early hours, around sunrise (they are purely nocturnal creatures). Do-able with the 5D3, which I have now made a habit of carrying with me on most weekends.....just in case


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## Don Haines (Mar 27, 2013)

One night, while walking home from the local bar, I saw bigfoot and Elvis, but with no camera to take a picture, nobody believes me....

Seriously though..... the site where I work is secure.... fences all around.... 3 kilometers by 8 kilometers in size, and contains a firing range.... It is the perfect spot for wildlife.... the firing range is crawling with wildlife. (It is a career ending move to shoot anything other than targets). Problem is, no cameras allowed. I have seen deer by the thousands, bear, moose, wolves, coyotes, fox, a cougar, there are several Osprey nests, an eagle nest, scads of Red Tailed hawks..... I keep having to chase wild turkeys away....AND I CAN'T TAKE PICTURES WITH MY CAMERA!!!!!


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## Mr Bean (Mar 27, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I keep having to chase wild turkeys away....AND I CAN'T TAKE PICTURES WITH MY CAMERA!!!!!


LOL. Just take a Nikon and explain that it's not really a camera....
....just kidding Nikonites


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## Sauropod (Mar 27, 2013)

I remember telling myself, "Leave the camera, it is 6am and you are just going to the dump. What shot could you possibly miss???"

My first non-zoo mountain lion is all... Ever tried taking a picture at 6am with a 3 year old Blackberry phone while trembling from excitement? Not the same as my 7D w/ the 70-200 2.8 that is always on it...


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## Hobby Shooter (Mar 27, 2013)

Who hasn't regretted that? Once that comes in mind is about this time last year. I was down in Saigon and me and my American friend were about to go out to dinner when we passed the building made famous by Hubert Van Es' shot taken during the fall of Saigon 1975. An Air America helicopter is lifting people of the roof of the Pitman apartments building in downtown Saigon, the building served as living quarters for CIA staff and Aid staff for some years during the American war in Vietnam. This is not a regular tourist site and you are normally not allowed to go up there. However, me and my friend speaks decent Vietnamese and decided to ask the security officer if we could have a look around and maybe get up on the roof. He let us get up there. Neither of us had a camera, only phone cameras which weren't up to the job in the late afternoon sun. We got ourselves a few pictures at the site, but the quality were just not good. A good memory for both of us though. A couple of weeks later I picked up my S100 which I carry more often and I have a new smart phone with a much better camera.


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## EvilTed (Mar 27, 2013)

Just get a Sony RX-1 or Fuji x100s and carry it with you at all times 

ET


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## gary (Mar 27, 2013)

brett b said:


> Very cool! What kind of phone took that pic, Gary?



I Phone 5, it really does take good photo's


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## c.d.embrey (Mar 27, 2013)

*No regrets ever.* My iPod Touch 4G has a .7Mp camera and shoots 720P video. Both the photos and the video are good enough to post to the web  It takes dy-no-mite cat videos


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## RGF (Mar 27, 2013)

Lots of time I see opportunities that I capture with my iPhone. More to the point I will have my camera in a backpack and miss a shot since it was readily available. Iam good at transporting, poor about carrying to shoot


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## bycostello (Mar 27, 2013)

as they say the best camera is the one you have with you


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## RLPhoto (Mar 27, 2013)

I got a g15 recently and it's getting quite some use.


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## Nishi Drew (Mar 27, 2013)

I never do... because I always carry my gear with me unless it's a tropical storm or it's quick trip + too dark + I don't want to take pics. And anytime I come across a crazy car or interesting person for a candid or whatever I convince myself that I wouldn't have made the shot/a worthy shot anyways 

Plenty of times I bring my gear with me and maybe take a shot or two that turn out to be nothing makes me feel silly, and others have commented "you really carry around your camera EVERYWHERE don't you!" but the time I did have it all with me and I got "the shot" makes it all worth while.


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## colin1984 (Mar 27, 2013)

Everytime when i drive to the next Big city, about 15min away, and my gear is not with me I see a hawk or a buzzard, something like that only, only saw him twice when my gear is with me, and this two times i couldn´t get him once he flew away I drove with him, and he flew again away, twice he was sitting in a tree and I have to park my car get my cam out get my 70-200 mounted, and i take a view, if he´s still there, okay he was, i went in the direction of the tree have to setup my camera, and as I take a second look he was away, grrr stupid bird, this bird is my Erlking


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## jcollett (Mar 27, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> One night, while walking home from the local bar, I saw bigfoot and Elvis, but with no camera to take a picture, nobody believes me....
> 
> Seriously though..... the site where I work is secure.... fences all around.... 3 kilometers by 8 kilometers in size, and contains a firing range.... It is the perfect spot for wildlife.... the firing range is crawling with wildlife. (It is a career ending move to shoot anything other than targets). Problem is, no cameras allowed. I have seen deer by the thousands, bear, moose, wolves, coyotes, fox, a cougar, there are several Osprey nests, an eagle nest, scads of Red Tailed hawks..... I keep having to chase wild turkeys away....AND I CAN'T TAKE PICTURES WITH MY CAMERA!!!!!



What a country! Shoot bullets ... great. Shoot pictures ... no way! Guess you'll need to rig up a camera to look something like this to get in.

http://www.royarden.com/blog/pictures/115940.jpg


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## Rienzphotoz (Apr 5, 2013)

gary said:


> Today I was just heading to the shops for something and spotted this out of the corner of my eye. Needless to say when you need it you just don't have your camera, luckily I had the cell phone to catch a quick pic before he headed off. Los Angeles is always full of surprises. Does anyone else have similar experiences?


AWESOME pic


Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I live out in the country and see wildlife occasionally and wish I had my DSLR with me. Its usually far enough away that I even my 400mm lens is not enough. No hope of a iphone or my G1X catching it. Maybe a SX50, but light is going to be a issue for a camera like that.


I live in a desert country where wild life and pretty much everything is always far away (also add constant dust storms to the list of problems) and my iPhone (as nice as it is) just does not have the reach, so I always carry my D7000 + 18-300 VR lens in my bag everyday ... here are a couple of shots, made last Wednesday, while driving back home from office


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## Rienzphotoz (Apr 5, 2013)

and a couple more ... not as spectacular as your Peacock pic


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## Idiot4Hire (May 16, 2013)

I have had regrets about not having my camera with me, but not normally with wildlife. If I am going to be going anywhere outside the city the camera is always packed.





jcollett said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > One night, while walking home from the local bar, I saw bigfoot and Elvis, but with no camera to take a picture, nobody believes me....
> ...




Jcollette, it might seem amusing but I have actually rigged up an old rifle stock to hold my DSLR. I did it simply because I had the parts to do it. It isn't that convenient for changing settings (I am looking into wiring up an extra set of controls on the stock for that) but I couldn't believe how much easier it is to track moving animals with it. It is also great if you are laying in the scrub waiting for a shot as it is a lot quicker and easier to keep it steady when shooting handheld. Te downside is the strange looks that you get when unloading the car at the national park carpark. I have been stopped and questioned by the rangers a few times already, but once they get a proper look at the rig they are fine with it.


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