First of all, I'll make this comment " I am not a photographer. I have taken pictures of rail subjects that struck my immediate fancy, but they were done just for me.."
I found the topic of "Burnout' in the current Thread here to be of some interest; particularly, the discussion of the photographs, and their angles in the original posting.
At some point, I had picked up my most recent calandar from FOBNSF; and was looking through it. I began to see that in the individual credits for the photographs, there were several mentions of those particular photos being taken with various personal phone devices. No mention of the usual camera's and their lenses.
As a non-photographer, I was surprised to see quality pictures made with personal telephones! I surfed back through my older calandars, and found that BNSF seems to have made their first device photo pick (?) in Sept 2019. { It was by Eric Hunt/Supervisor Rail Complex, Pueblo, Co.} The latest [2020] calandar has several photos acknowledgedas taken with various personal phone devices.
As a 'hobby' photographer, the quality of the photos taken with the various personal devices; seems to be right up there, with regular cameras and their lenses.
Wonder, if or when, this will be come part of magazine photography?
Is this a 'new trend'?
Phone cameras are now out that have a better megapixel rating than my Canon Digital Rebel. They don't have all the bells and whistles, but...
That said, you don't need a gazillion dollar camera to take a great picture. You can waste film with an expensive SLR, or take an award winning picture with a Kodak Brownie.
In other words, the greatest part of a great picture is the composition.
If you pay attention to your composition, and to things like light (back-lit pictures are rarely keepers), there's no reason your camera picture isn't as publication worth as one with a SLR or DSLR with all the bells and whistles.
Just remember the old rule of thumb - on any give roll of film, there will be maybe one keeper. Of course, with digital, a "roll" is no longer an accurate measure, but the ratio is probably the same - one picture in 36, more or less, is a keeper.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68Just remember the old rule of thumb - on any give roll of film, there will be maybe one keeper. Of course, with digital, a "roll" is no longer an accurate measure, but the ratio is probably the same - one picture in 36, more or less, is a keeper.
And that ratio is from the Pro's.....for us 'regular people'....the ratio is probably 1 in 100 or more.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
The biggest drawback, IMO, to using camera phones is the lack of long lenses. With my real cameras, I've shot a lot of trains with my 300 mm lens. I like the ability to get in tight; and for trains coming toward me, I never get tired of the compressed perspective; it's very dramatic. Phones just can't do that.
tree68Phone cameras are now out that have a better megapixel rating than my Canon Digital Rebel ... That said, you don't need a gazillion dollar camera to take a great picture.
"Megapixels" per image is almost always only of importance if you're planning to make enlargements. For most 'railfan' work I suspect somewhere between 3 and 5 (for a typical aspect ratio) is all you'll really ever need... even at relatively high 'digital zoom' which makes the effective 'megapixel' rating of a smaller part of the chip significant.
Even with today's enormous storage capacity for tiny price ... there are advantages to keeping the size of a given image 'reasonable'.
FAR more important is how quickly the camera captures and stores a given image, and how quickly it can take multiple images that accurately reflect what is "seen in the viewfinder" when the button is pressed (note I can't call it a 'shutter release' any more!) Something that doesn't get discussed too often is how the power and heat go up when running the camera's processor at the necessary speed for near-realtime image acquisition and capture at high resolutions...
Another problem with many of the cell-phone cameras is that much of the argument goes into nominal resolution and 'image quality' and far too little into either ease-of-use or speed. Something I'd have thought would be long-ago addressed is whether the whole CCD has to be clocked out when only a small portion of it is actually 'active' at high optical zoom -- in the old days that was almost a necessary evil.
There are some highly interesting aftermarket products that allow better physical lensing, filters, etc. on cell-phone cameras, at least some of which play very nice with digital post. That can greatly increase the percentage of effective 'keeper' images compared to even fine-grain 35mm...
And of course, the most important 'unspoken point' is that you always have that phone in your pocket, turned on with minimum selection or startup latency to get to the 'camera function', when opportunity knocks. One thing I wish manufacturers would bring back is the hard button on the phone that brings up the 'camera mode' -- I think I had either a Kyocera or Razr phone with this, and it was invaluable when quick point-and-shoot presented itself...
The cell phone is the new pocket instamatic. The results are far superior to cartridge 110 film and a cheap plastic lens.
https://filmphotographystore.com/products/film-camera-kodak-vintage-pocket-20-110?variant=31230253709
Film, or digital sensor, there is no substitue for quality glass and host of focal length lenses.
Victrola1The cell phone is the new pocket instamatic. The results are far superior to cartridge 110 film and a cheap plastic lens. https://filmphotographystore.com/products/film-camera-kodak-vintage-pocket-20-110?variant=31230253709 Film, or digital sensor, there is no substitue for quality glass and host of focal length lenses.
Which is why professionals take professional quality pictures. The rest of us just grab what we can with whatever tools we have available when the need or opportunity for a picture arises. Sometimes the 'grab shot' is all that is available.
As long as you are shooting in decent light, and can frame things up nicely without doing too much of the digital zoom thing, you can get really good photos from a cell phone. Heck, my Samsung S8+ even has a "pro" setting that allows you to control the ISO, "shutter", focus, white balance and exposure.
Not a train pic, but... https://photos.app.goo.gl/kqms9QMPrju1vMni9
And a train pic https://photos.app.goo.gl/WAC6EDtvoJxCcTD39
Both with my cell phone
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
And one more... https://photos.app.goo.gl/QBmensVVfs5vZ97W9
A huge factor in any photo is composition. Poor composition with a $10,000 camera makes the image little more than a snapshot.
If anyone is unfamliar with the "rule of thirds" I recommend you look it up...
oltmanndAnd one more... https://photos.app.goo.gl/QBmensVVfs5vZ97W9
Don, Nice pic's but what is on BIG BOY 4014's front coupler? And that photo sure shows that it is BIG!
Electroliner 1935Don, Nice pic's but what is on BIG BOY 4014's front coupler
Many steam, and early Diesel locomotives had retractable couplers. They were stored in a variety of ways.
tree68Many steam, and early Diesel locomotives had retractable couplers. They were stored in a variety of ways.
Interesting, though, that all the ones I remember seeing on these locomotives were the big Commonwealth cast units that are a wide flush shallow V when swung closed -- like the arrangement on the Wabash Hudsons. This one shows a big bulge in the 'closed' part, and I don't see any locking arrangement to tie the bulge into the rest of the casting or front of the frame if it were designed to be 'swung around' to show the coupler. Meanwhile I find a very similar if not identical pilot on this picture of 8444 - purposely large size to show the detail. Can these be heavy cast doors shielding a more conventional fixed knuckle and draft gear that can be accessed or run out when the door is opened?
If I remember correctly (someone check this in a '41 or later Cyc) the ordinary type didn't swing around 180 degrees, but only 90 at which point the continuation of the shank would lock or be securable).
This was an improvement on the Commonwealth drop coupler made so famous on NYC Hudsons and other locomotives, and on the GG1s, where the knuckle dropped into a pocket with counterbalancing behind the pivot and in some cases was locked in the 'down' position with the same transverse bar used to hold it up when 'unshipped'.
Electroliner 1935 oltmannd And one more... https://photos.app.goo.gl/QBmensVVfs5vZ97W9 Don, Nice pic's but what is on BIG BOY 4014's front coupler? And that photo sure shows that it is BIG!
oltmannd And one more... https://photos.app.goo.gl/QBmensVVfs5vZ97W9
Big Boy's big all right. And until you stand next to one you have no idea. I've said it before, the size of one of those things will literally take your breath away.
Same with a C&O Allegheny. Jaw-dropping.
Flintlock76Same with a C&O Allegheny. Jaw-dropping.
Especially when you see it next to some of it's early predecessors, as at the Henry Ford Museum.
Flintlock76 Electroliner 1935 oltmannd And one more... https://photos.app.goo.gl/QBmensVVfs5vZ97W9 Don, Nice pic's but what is on BIG BOY 4014's front coupler? And that photo sure shows that it is BIG! Big Boy's big all right. And until you stand next to one you have no idea. I've said it before, the size of one of those things will literally take your breath away. Same with a C&O Allegheny. Jaw-dropping.
I agree! Everyone should go see it if they can. Who knows how long UP will keep it going?
oltmannd As long as you are shooting in decent light, and can frame things up nicely without doing too much of the digital zoom thing, you can get really good photos from a cell phone. Heck, my Samsung S8+ even has a "pro" setting that allows you to control the ISO, "shutter", focus, white balance and exposure. Not a train pic, but... https://photos.app.goo.gl/kqms9QMPrju1vMni9 And a train pic https://photos.app.goo.gl/WAC6EDtvoJxCcTD39 Both with my cell phone
Don where was your non train pic taken?
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