The only digital camera I've ever owned is a Canon S40 Powershot. A long time ago I was into photograpy as a hobby - Extachrome E6 and stuff but that was many moons ago. I used my dads Mamiya Sekor SLR for a while and then got a Pentax ME Super for my own camera, and later on a Canon Rebel S film SLR - it was a nice film camera with a silent auto focus and whisper quiet drive.
The S40 is all I used from about 2004 until I found the smart phone I have does a decent job. I'm surprised more haven't answered here they simply use their smart phone as I think the general public has abandoned dedicated digital camera's to a large degree, unless they are into photography. I wonder if the topic has biased the answere and mostly it's people answering here who are photography nuts and therefore mostly answers with dedicated digicams.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761 The only digital camera I've ever owned is a Canon S40 Powershot. A long time ago I was into photograpy as a hobby - Extachrome E6 and stuff but that was many moons ago. I used my dads Mamiya Sekor SLR for a while and then got a Pentax ME Super for my own camera, and later on a Canon Rebel S film SLR - it was a nice film camera with a silent auto focus and whisper quiet drive. The S40 is all I used from about 2004 until I found the smart phone I have does a decent job. I'm surprised more haven't answered here they simply use their smart phone as I think the general public has abandoned dedicated digital camera's to a large degree, unless they are into photography. I wonder if the topic has biased the answere and mostly it's people answering here who are photography nuts and therefore mostly answers with dedicated digicams.
I agree, the point and shoot market, and even the DSLR market, have been decimated in the past four years or so because smart phones and tablets do both excellent P&S type snaps for their carriers, and passable video. Not only that, but they can be shared within seconds via social media. It's the new opiate of the masses...with apologies to Herr Marx.
What smart phones can't do, yet, is to focus stack. They don't have the manual control to take a macro series and add them to a telephoto series, all of the same model scene, covering the full depth of the scene, and then stacking the whole series to get a tack-sharp, full depth of view, shot of a small portion of a layout.
selector riogrande5761 The only digital camera I've ever owned is a Canon S40 Powershot. A long time ago I was into photograpy as a hobby - Extachrome E6 and stuff but that was many moons ago. I used my dads Mamiya Sekor SLR for a while and then got a Pentax ME Super for my own camera, and later on a Canon Rebel S film SLR - it was a nice film camera with a silent auto focus and whisper quiet drive. The S40 is all I used from about 2004 until I found the smart phone I have does a decent job. I'm surprised more haven't answered here they simply use their smart phone as I think the general public has abandoned dedicated digital camera's to a large degree, unless they are into photography. I wonder if the topic has biased the answere and mostly it's people answering here who are photography nuts and therefore mostly answers with dedicated digicams. I agree, the point and shoot market, and even the DSLR market, have been decimated in the past four years or so because smart phones and tablets do both excellent P&S type snaps for their carriers, and passable video. Not only that, but they can be shared within seconds via social media. It's the new opiate of the masses...with apologies to Herr Marx. What smart phones can't do, yet, is to focus stack. They don't have the manual control to take a macro series and add them to a telephoto series, all of the same model scene, covering the full depth of the scene, and then stacking the whole series to get a tack-sharp, full depth of view, shot of a small portion of a layout.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
RMax1I recently changed from a Nikon D70 to a Nikon D7100.
Similar here, I have a Nikon D7000 (the predecessor to the 7100) with Tamron lenses. I use it for travel photos, quick snapshots of the kids to send to family members, and model photos.
The key is to use a tripod.
I show RAW format and use Adobe Lightroom to organize, adjust, and publish the photos. What I need now is focus stacking software.
Here are HO scale model railroad photos I've taken with that camera at my model railroad club.NAPM Flickr Slide Show
mmathuWhat I need now is focus stacking software.
I don't know why. Your photos have excellent depth of field.
Thanks for sharing, Ed
gmpullman mmathu What I need now is focus stacking software. I don't know why. Your photos have excellent depth of field. Thanks for sharing, Ed
I don't know why. Your photos have excellent depth of field. Thanks for sharing, Ed
I'm with Ed, fine photos of some fine modelling.
Thanks and cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
You can use smartphone such as iPhone 6 (or newer model) or Samsung Galaxy S5 (or newer model) for taking photos to model trains. The resolution should be at least 8 MP for taking good results. Both smartphone can used for taking panaroma 360 photos.
gmpullmanmmathuWhat I need now is focus stacking software.I don't know why. Your photos have excellent depth of field.
Some photos I take don't make the cut because of depth of field problems. Focus stacking software would help with that. Here is an example.
Shooting almost head-on into an 11-unit passenger train requires a lot of depth of field.
If you're looking to buy your first digital camera, I'd advise looking around and buying a relatively inexpensive used one to get started. A couple of years ago, I bought a used Canon PowerShot A460 for $25 from a bulletin board posting at my job. It's not bad, only 5 megapixels, but it was good enough to have a couple of pics I took with it published in the Walthers HO catalogue that came out in 2015.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/m/mrr-layouts/2289595.aspx
(Not sure why internal MR links never seem to go "live" for me?)
mmathuShooting almost head-on into an 11-unit passenger train requires a lot of depth of field.
I agree with you there. Usually I'm shooting at f22 sometimes up to a minute exposure. That wouldn't fare well with a moving train.
I would like to play with stacking and also the High Dynamic Range, which requires "exposure" stacking. I think Photoshop will do the latter but not the former. I thought Lightroom had stacking capabilities but I could be wrong.
I'll have to look into stacking software a little more thoroughly.
Regards, Ed
gmpullmanI thought Lightroom had stacking capabilities but I could be wrong.
gmpullmanUsually I'm shooting at f22 sometimes up to a minute exposure. That wouldn't fare well with a moving train.
selectorWhat smart phones can't do, yet, is to focus stack.
http://petapixel.com/2015/01/21/stay-focused-app-brings-focus-stacking-iphone-camera/
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
wjstixIf you're looking to buy your first digital camera, I'd advise looking around and buying a relatively inexpensive used one to get started.....
I agree, and once you've used it for a while, you'll have a better idea of what you need.
I started out with Kodak CX6200 borrowed from my daughter. It's a 2 megapixel point-and-shoot, with very limited options, so very easy to use for pictures like this:
...or this:
I later got my own camera, a Kodak C330. It's also a point-and-shoot type, but with a few more options, including a zoom lense. At 4 megapixels, it's more than adequate for pictures posted on-line. For close-up detail shots, I simply used it through my Opti-visor:
Unfortunately, that camera met its demise when I knocked over the tripod during a photo session.
I replaced it with another Kodak, a Z700. It's also 4mp, and was not too bad until it simply quit - some problem with formatting the memory card.
I now use a Fuji X10, a gift from my brother. It's okay, but way too complicated for my simple needs, and the user's manual is like a small 'phone book. It's biggest plus for me is that it will shoot pictures in various formats, such as RAW, TIFF, and PNG, useful if I ever do something good enough to publish.
I have used a couple of digital SLRs, too, and while they were easier to use than the Fuji (I used to do a lot of photography with SLR film cameras), their capabilities were far beyond what I need.
However, the one thing that really stands out for me about this thread is that the majority of responses seem to be from people with pretty nice cameras, yet, from most of them, we see very few photos. Is that because they have nothing to show us or because they can't figure out their camera? I mean no disrespect by the foregoing comment, but I've seen countless threads asking about particular problems where a photo of the issue would clarify things for potential responders, but no photo is forthcoming.
How about it folks? Why the aversion to photos?
Wayne
doctorwayneHow about it folks? Why the aversion to photos?
Amen to that!
We have all this free (or nearly so) bandwidth and storage capability (on photo hosting sites) yet, as Doctor Wayne points out, a disproportionately few threads include photos.
I can often glean modeling ideas from seeing someone else's work, even if it was not the original purpose for posting the photo, I'm always looking for other ideas and inspiration from fellow modelers.
This site has a few work-arounds that are needed to post photos but once you have that figured out it really is easy to do.
Sometimes when someone needs a question answered here I can pop down to the layout, snap a few pics, get them extracted into a folder, perhaps do a bit of cropping and lighting enhancements (I like Photoshop Elements) and get the selected photos uploaded to Photobucket in about the same time it took me to write this paragraph—well, almost.
I enjoy participating in the "Show Me" thread and the Weekend Photo Fun thread. The photos don't have to be blue-ribbon prize winners but I'd love to see them just the same.
I hope this doesn't constitute a "hijacked" thread, but I'm with Wayne. The internet is now a visual medium (I remember when it was text only!)
Let's give it your "best shot"
While not my best shots, they are some of my newest...
And, one of my best railfan shots ever....
All were shot with my Canon Rebel XS.
And yes, the two NS trains WERE both moving, that is a perfect example of what a DSLR has as an advantage, no chance a point & shoot could do that! (As proof, a friend who was also there with a P&S camera could not get that shot, while standing right next to me.) That particular photo won front page on rrpicturearchives.net about 2 months after taking it, and was one of the most viewed at that time.
And, what I tell everyone who is getting into professional photography, as a paid job, is this: Never, ever, set that camera down. If you are the hired photographer, Always, and I mean always, have it on you, always have it ready. I have seen one too many amatuer pro's miss a excellent shot do to not being ready.
If you have the ability, always shoot in the format your camera was designed to shoot in. (My Canon, as with most Canon DSLR's, is designed to shoot in RAW format. It is a space hog, but RAW offers way better resolution and color than JPEG.)
I have some others, but, no more for tonight.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
My wife bought me a Canon T5 last year. I'm still learning how to use it to its best effect. For backup, I have an Olympus point and shoot that also does pretty good video,and my trusty Minolta X-370 that I bought when I graduated from college too many years ago.
Something that nobody has really mentioned is that a good light or two makes all the difference in the world. The more light you have on the subject the smaller the aperture can be which means a larger depth of field, which means more of your shot will be in focus. This is important for miniature photography.
j...........
Lone Wolf and Santa FeSomething that nobody has really mentioned is that a good light or two makes all the difference in the world.
Yeah, kinda like how "practice" never comes up in a discussion of the best golf clubs.
Why not stick with tried and true film? I don't do model photography (no modeling to photo yet) but when I do photography I grab my go to Canon SLR. 35mm film is easy to come by, my local Walgreens at least still has 1 hour processing, the local Walmart and CVS still have mail-order processing, and you can get a unique look with film and camera's that can be done with out digital editing.
I do have a digital though for times when needed. It's a Canon Powershot SX400. A very nice little camera that looks like a more expensive removable lens type, but it is just a fine point-and-shoot. That being said I wish I would have gotten something different. I started into photography with 70's era manual control SLR's, so I quickly found that I wasn't happy with out having any manual controls. There is a program mode where ISO can be selected, but that's it. But still a very nice digital.
WisModeler Why not stick with tried and true film? I don't do model photography (no modeling to photo yet) but when I do photography I grab my go to Canon SLR. 35mm film is easy to come by, my local Walgreens at least still has 1 hour processing, the local Walmart and CVS still have mail-order processing, and you can get a unique look with film and camera's that can be done with out digital editing.
I changed to digital cameras because it was so much work to scan all my negatives to get them into the computer.
My Canon EOS digital cameras have all of the manual capability that their film ancestors had.
That said, the fact that it is always on my person results in the majority of my images being taken with my phone. The inconvenience of carrying the camera bag limits its use to events where photography is the primary purpose of the trip.
I haven't shot a frame of film in almost 20 years. I sold my 35 mm and 6x7 cm film cameras years ago. I do still have a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 press camera, but it is in a display case with my Ansco box camera, my Sawyers 3D Viewmaster camera, my old Polaroid cameras, and my Kodak Brownie.