Railroad Photography

[Locojunkie]

My poor Minolta after long years of very good train picture taking finally had enough. What I want to know is what would be a great camera to purchase for someone who takes train pictures but is not what I say a professional at it. I have considered a New Canon Rebel 2000 or A Rebel G. Also someone told me that even A Canon Rebel X. What is the the best? Thank you for your responses.

[Anonymous]

I have been using (abusing) my old Minolta X-370
for almost 15 years. It is the best camera I have ever worked with. What has gone wrong with yours?
If it can be repaired for 50 bucks or so, that's the way I'd go. The only thing to go wrong with mine all this time, was a loose mirror. Nothing that a few minutes of tinkering didn't fix.
Don't get me wrong, there are lots of very good cameras on the market these days, but if you are comfortable with the old "minnie", see how much it would take to recondition it. Most larger camera shops can do repairs.
Todd C.

[Anonymous]

you might want to look in the "shutterbug" mag. they have alot of used equipment. and you may find a body that you can still use your lens's that you already have.My past experance is there is NO camera repair that is less than 100.00 (they charge that just to look at it)

thats my 2 cents worth.

[dknelson]

I cannot advise you on brands. I just bought a new Sigma and it is OK. My Canon AE-1 gave out and I was never all that fond of it. I really liked my old Konica but it was stolen.
The one thing I can say is that this Sigma is the first auto focus camera I have ever had and i cannot say it is real useful for railroad action photography -- it tends to dither while the image more than fills out the frame. It is ok for static things and the focus is very very tight. So I guess I would not advise paying extra if the money is going for auto focus.
Dave

[Anonymous]

I am very happy with my Rebel 2000, takes great shots.

http://photosbygreg.20m.com

[Locojunkie]

Thank you so very much everyone. Keep the comments coming. I am counting on all your feed back. My Minolta Maxximum 2000 even with a fully charged battery refuses to do anything. Someone told me that it was probably the power supply gone in the camera and that I should just get rid of it. Another told me all it needed was a cleaning. I kind of think its probably the power supply. I will check to see if it will be worth repairing. Although I tend to agree with most of you all that it will be expensive to repair. Again, thank you and keep the comments coming.

[CHESSIEMIKE]

Last Christmas I bought a Rebel 2000g for my daughter. Of course I had to try it out to make sure everything worked and the lens was sharp. My impression was that it was a surpisingly sharp lense (28-80), the auto focus worked reasonably fast for moving trains and the light meter worked real good under various conditions. I have had Canon stuff since the early 1980s and it is very durable to rough handling. All that being said what ever you get, use it alot to get use to it and post your shots on the web.
You might also want to post this question on the railfan.net photography forum.
CHESSIEMIKE

[RudyRockvilleMD]

I don't think there is a one best camera for railroad photography. I used Pentax K 1000's until a few years ago; I now use Pentax ZX 50's. Both Pentax models are almost indestructable in that I accidently dropped one of my ZX 50 cameras at least twice, it continued to work, and there were no light leaks. The only type of camera that is still not suitable for railroad photography is a digital camera because the time lag between pressing the shutter button and when the shutter actually takes the picture is still too long.

[Modelcar]

...I might suggest a look at Cannon's EOS ELAN 7E.
A camera with more capability than I'll ever learn to use but to someone that takes a lot of pictures and becomes familiar with its abilities it should do the job. Eye control focus and another feature of focus is AI Servo Focus for moving targets...A bunch of all kinds of stuff. I have a 28-200mm lens on mine and that I really like as it replaces four replaceable lens on my former Olympus. My problem is I don't use it enough and really have a hard time keeping up with all of what it can do.
QM

[Anonymous]

I just noticed your questions and I have a simple response. Get whatever you can afford. I have been a professional photographer for 20 years and untold $$$ of equipment. Regardless of price, if the equipment doesn't produce results that satisfy you, then it is not worth the cost. Any camera, from a Pentax K-1000 to a Nikon D-1 digital will produce good pictures. One camera is $100, one is $6000, and both get the job done.

One last note about equipment: There is a reason why pros spend ridiculous amounts of $$$ on equipment.... and it isn't for the write-offs. I don't want my name on an image that is not top quality.

And most important. Have fun with your hobby.
Hope the info helps.

[Anonymous]

I just bought myself a Canon and like it really well,
I think you would like one also...

[KentinSD]

Canon has just come out with a successor to the Rebel 2000, and I would look at bhphotovideo.com and see if they're in yet. Really, the camera isn't all that important--it's the lenses that really matter. And a good tripod. If you don't intend to put a lot of money into a camera, the new Canon Rebel and a Tamron 28-200mm XR lens would be a nice combo. Be sure to get a polarizer for the lens--I think the Tamron takes a 62mm.


Kent in SD

[Modelcar]

....My Tamron 28-200 lens takes a 72MM filter size.

QM

[KentinSD]

Most of the 28-200mm lenses do take the 72mm, but the latest version (XR) takes 62mm. They managed to make the lens smaller and lighter. It's a good performer. My favorite lens with 35mm cameras for train photography is the Nikon 18-35mm zoom though. Of course to use it, you pretty much must be standing right next to your subject!


Kent in SD

[Modelcar]

...You are correct, the lense you refer to takes the 62mm size and previous 28-200 are sized with the 72mm....[I purchased mine in 2001].

QM

[Anonymous]

I have not read but one or two replies to your request, however having spent many years involved in "general" and railfan photography, I would direct you to a Nikon FM3N. This is a fully manual camera, but it is built like a tank. It is a little pricey ($600 for the body only), but all you need is a 50 mm. lens for most photography. This camera will go out and function in ANY and ALL weather, it is totally simple to use (trust me, but it IS), and it will last you forever.
One other option is that Nikon makes a mostly manual camera for a lot less money, I believe its the F100, but you can go to www.nikon.com and check that out. Whatever.

[Anonymous]

I have been using a Canon Powershot G2 for railway photography and like the results better than photos I got with a Canon E0S 10.The lag time with the shutter is something that does not take long to get used to. The big problem with digital is that its' equivalent ASA is 50. This makes virtually any outdoor photography difficult up here in Canada with a low sun during the winter. There just is not enough light except at mid day.

[Grinandbearit]

I have been using Minolta cameras since the 1960s. My current camera is a X 700 with a 28-70 mm Vivitar zoom and motor drive. For me ,it does an outstanding job! I like it especially for roster type shots of individual locos and cars. It's technology is great having several modes from fully automatic to individual control of exposure, but no auto focus! I also have a Olympus digital which I carry around all the time just for those wish I had a camera shots.

[Anonymous]

I use an old Cannon T50 from a garage sale ($50.00 plus some repairs at the camera store-another $50 or so). It's been serving me well for four or five years. I have added a telephone zoom lens, but shoot a lot of train stuff with the 50mm that came on the camera.

Ed in Independence