Just a thought that occurred to me the other day while I was out with my PCM-D50.
I always have my recorder with me just in case some sonic delight rears it head, but I don't always have headphones with me, or don't have time to get them out and plug them in. But in this case I treat the recordings like I did when I used to take photos on film. Make all the adjustments you can, point in the correct direction and then press record (like the shutter), but you are not sure of how the recording turned out until you get home. This gives me the same buzz that I used to get with photos on film, waiting to see / hear the results. Some recordings are good and some are bad. Sometimes I hear something that I didn't hear when I make the recording but if I had been wearing headphones (and heard it) then I might have deleted the file, but on decent speakers / headphones in a quiet room that sound that would have caused me to delete the file is a gem that I will keep.
I know it's not great practice to record without headphones (I always wear them if i'm on a planned recording session) but sometimes you will get great results from your "Blind" recordings.
I'd love to hear other stories and opinions on this. Does anyone else get the same buzz like you did with film cameras (or are most people on here too young to remember film?)