Best camera for taking pictures of my railroad.

[SUX V R40 Rider]

NevinW

I am not a photographer.  I am not interested in it becoming my hobby.  However, I woud like to take some pictures of my model railroad to post on the internet.  I borrowed my wife's camera to take a few pictures but they were really bad. I couldn't figure out how to turn the flash off it.  All the models looked like the were illuminated by an atopic blast.   I get better results with my iphone.  What would people suggest as as decent camera to take electronic photos of my layout with spending a lot of money?  any other suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks - Nevin

Nevin,

I think you may have answered your own question by mentioning your iphone. Depending on what model it is, if it has an 8 mp camera or better you're good to go.

I have been using the 8mp camera on my Galaxy S2 Epic Touch to photograph my layout and it works great. Plus if I need to I can upload on the fly to Facebook, Google+, etc directly from my phone. I am sure there is a way to do something similar with your iphone. But keep in mind to upload to here on MRR the photo first has to be on another web site with an URL. For example I can copy the URL from any one of my photos I uploaded to Picasaa or my blog site and paste it into a thread here on MRR

I use the Picasa software loaded on my home PC to edit the photos as needed. I think Apple may have something similar that is free for photos taken from an iphone.

I would say the minimum megapixel you would want to use is no less than 5mp.

You're already half way there if the camera on your iphone is working has at least 5mp. You also mentioned the photos came out much better than with your wife's camera.

Have fun with it.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

kbkchooch

That was my 1st digital camera! Still got it, still works, even though the slide open cover sometimes needs to be opened a few times to get the camera to turn on.

This is my second D550Zoom. I retired the first one because it's worn out and won't stay turned on.

[kbkchooch]

jeffrey-wimberly

The first is an Olympus 3.0 megapixel D550Zoom.

That was my 1st digital camera! Still got it, still works, even though the slide open cover sometimes needs to be opened a few times to get the camera to turn on.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I have two cameras that I use. Both are older models but they work well for me. The first is an Olympus 3.0 megapixel D550Zoom. It uses the defunct SM type memory card. When this current one stops working I'll probably retire the camera as the cards are expensive. The second camera and the newer of the two is a Nikon Coolpix 10 megapixel L20. I have it set at 5 megapixels and it's quite easy to use. I use a 2 gb SD card in it though it's capable of using the SDHC cards for the simple reason that my card reader can't read SDHC cards. I highly recommend using a USB card reader to download your photos to your computer. For me it's faster than than downloading directly from the camera. The Nikon L20 is an older camera (mine's a refurbished model). I got mine from OfficeMax.

[Anonymous]

You don´t have to spend a fortune on a camera to produce more than decent shots of your model railroad. A fairly simple point & shoot camera will do, but you have to look for a few features.

• Manual control of the aperture
• Self-timer
• Macro feature
• Tripod socket
• Good lens

You don´t have to go for a top amount of mega pixels, but a good lens is a must. You should also be able to place the camera on you layout without having to use a tripod or a similar fixture to hold your camera. This allows you to take pictures of hard to reach scenes.

I am quite happy with my now 7 year old Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1, which is not available any more. It has a Leica lens, which is certainly among the best. Its successor is the Lumix DMC-LX5, take a look here:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

[Mark R.]

A great site to compare all cameras is here ....

http://www.dpreview.com/

For shooting models, you'll want to find a camera that will step down to f8 or higher to give you good depth-of-field. Full manual settings are a blessing as well once you learn their full potential.

For brand - I've always had excellent results with Canon. I've also been more than pleased with their service. My first Canon had the rear screen go bad three years out of warrantee. I contacted the company and they told me there was a known problem with the sensors sometimes failing. They sent me a prepaid, foam lined packing box to ship it to them in and had it back to me in a week good as new.

Mark. 

 

[BerkshireSteam]

DLSR? what's that, the Delaware, Lancaster & Southern Railroad? Had a very nice GE 12.5mp point and shoot used mostly for photoing local train activity (don't have a home layout). It lasted about a yea then literally one day stopped working.

Have been interested in the more professional cameras like a DLSR (there's that Delaware Road again) but find hard to part 500 bucks for one, especailly when I just found out (BLI?) makes a Pennsylvania T-1 for around the same price.

It's good to no point-and-shoot cameras can provide good results.

[cjcrescent]

I have a Nikon Coolpix 4600, that I took all the photos on my website with. While I now own a much better DSLR, its been hard to totally stop using that little P&S from Nikon.

Just click on the link in my sig to see the website and you'll see the pictures I'm talking about.

[selector]

Any modern point & shoot with manual settings allowing you to stop down the iris to improve depth of field for the closer shots (unless you are willing to learn to use, and do all it takes to make nice images with, a free stacking software) with about 3-7 times optical zoom will take good photos.  I have the A710is Powershot from Canon and have taken all my best photos with it. Just learn how to throw good light onto your area to be imaged. 

Don't spend more than $200 on a new P&S.  If you want super zoom, say more than 12 times, you will have to pay for the lenses.  The best ones start at about $350 these days. Lots of lens surfaces to grind, polish, and coat.

Crandell

[NevinW]

Thanks for the suggestion.  I'll see if my wife will let me fiddle with her camera, (which I bought for her) and let me figure out how to turn off the flash.  

[richg1998]

You want Best, a DLSR camera. Expensive.

I have used Canon and Nikon digital cameras. I buy from Amazon.com and many cameras there have reviews that I look though carefully before buying.

My newest is a Nikon AW100, CoolPix.

And for other outdoor activities, It comes with GPS and good to fifty feet under water for summer diving activities.

Instead of asking for Best, I do a lot of research and make my own decision based on what I have learned and how much can I afford. That way I can only blame myself and no one else. I find a lot by just searching, Amazon.com

I also read the manual. Boy, does that work wonders.

Rich

[kbkchooch]

Eric97123

I would look online for manual to the camera you have and figure out how to turn the flash off.. that will give you a big improvement right out the door.

Great suggestion!  That will help you get the most out of what you have!

Meanwhile, point and shoot cameras are not all that bad. I've had photos published in RMC and MR that were taken with a Canon PowerShot A720 IS. 8 megapixel with a 6X digital zoom. All this in a camera that fits in shirt pocket. 

One thing I will recommend, if given the option of digital vs optical zoom, optical zoom wins every time.

I also have a new Fuji S4500 14MP  with a 30x optical zoom and a "super Macro"  mode. Rsults are Very promising. 

[Medina1128]

Eric97123

I use a Canon DLSR and you can pick one up for about $500.  It lets you control exposure and depth of field.  My wife has a Sony point and shoot we got for about $100 for a trip we did to Hawaii it does a decent job of taking MRR photos.   I try to avoid using the flash when ever I can as it washes out everything up close and makes distant things dark.  I would look online for manual to the camera you have and figure out how to turn the flash off.. that will give you a big improvement right out the door.

My phone (and my point and shoot digital) camera BOTH have macro settings. I haven't saved up enough for a decent DSLR, yet, but my point and shoot has manual settings, so I can use the smallest aperture (higher f-stop number) to get the best depth of field. I don't worry about the lighting, because that camera will shoot at shutter speeds up to 10 seconds. Instead of using the flash, I use the ambient room lighting. With shutter speeds this long, I use whatever I can find to steady the camera; my tripod, or, small bean bags that you can set on the layout. Try to shoot with as little zoom as possible, as zooming tends to compress your pictures, making it hard to determine what's up close and what's farther away.

[Eric97123]

I use a Canon DLSR and you can pick one up for about $500.  It lets you control exposure and depth of field.  My wife has a Sony point and shoot we got for about $100 for a trip we did to Hawaii it does a decent job of taking MRR photos.   I try to avoid using the flash when ever I can as it washes out everything up close and makes distant things dark.  I would look online for manual to the camera you have and figure out how to turn the flash off.. that will give you a big improvement right out the door.

[NevinW]

I am not a photographer.  I am not interested in it becoming my hobby.  However, I woud like to take some pictures of my model railroad to post on the internet.  I borrowed my wife's camera to take a few pictures but they were really bad. I couldn't figure out how to turn the flash off it.  All the models looked like the were illuminated by an atopic blast.   I get better results with my iphone.  What would people suggest as as decent camera to take electronic photos of my layout with spending a lot of money?  any other suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks - Nevin