My wife bought me a new Canon "Powershot A640" 10meg camera today. Its got a bunch of neat features that I'm trying to get used to. I took a bunch of pics today, trying to get the focus, depth of field, and shutter speed right. I think the practice pics came out OK, but I would like to perfect my photo skills in order to take magazine quality photos. I welcome any comments, tips, and advise from the "experts" on how to shoot better pics. Thanks in advance.....
Here are some of the sample pics I shot today:
Have Fun.... Bob.
Nice Camera. If you haven't looked before you should check out Bob's Rail Photography Site.
http://arailfan.googlepages.com/
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
Wowzers!
I've always admired your work, and the new camera really makes everything pop, including the colors. I like the last shot at ground level; it really makes you feel involved in the scene. I don't where you find the time to pack so much detail, signage, and vignettes into your layout, but I'd like to try living there for a while.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
Chip:
Thanks for the tip! This is what I was looking for. I've marked the link on "My Favorites"
Very nice results, Bob. You must be pleased even with these practise shots!
What is your source of lighting?
-Crandell
Bob excellent choice, I have the Cannon PowerShot A540 and It takes great photos for a $179.00 camera. You can shoot in auto, shutter speed priority, aperture priority, manual, macro and change your photos to black & white. I have the 1 gig card & thats 300+ pics at the highest resolution. I have had this camera since before Thanksgiving and still learning more things it can do. So we all look forward to some of your great railroad photos!
Bob,
Great. With your eye for detail AND the newly acquired Canon Powershot, you're going to be even more dangerous than before...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Bob & Tomcat 13
Those are nice pics.
Nice shots.
Thanks
Bob, according to the encoded digital information on your photos, they were all taken at f2.8
You should use manual mode and select f8.0 to get more depth of field.
Close
msowsun wrote: Bob, according to the encoded digital information on your photos, they were all taken at f2.8 You should use manual mode and select f8.0 to get more depth of field. File size: 158488 bytes File date: 2007:01:27 19:06:40 Camera make: Canon Camera model: Canon PowerShot A640 Date/Time: 2007:01:27 17:42:03 Resolution: 800 x 534 Flash used: No Focal length: 7.3mm (35mm equivalent: 43mm) CCD width: 6.06mm Exposure time: 0.167 s (1/6) Aperture: f/2.8 Whitebalance: Manual Metering Mode: center weight Close -->
msowsun, How do you get the encoded digital information off the photo?
ps thanks for the info on the f stops!
Save image to your computer. Right click it, left click properties, left click summary, left click advanced. Voila!
I see F8.0 at 1/2 second for the loading dock image. It also shows a date of 4/24/06 at 11:57 PM.
Bob, maybe you should check the date in the camera.
My only other suggestion is to take the exact same photo at several F stop settings and compare them. Then you decide which one best achieves the desired effect. Depth of field is something very important to play with.
As always, your work is fantastic!
Karl
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
Msowsun:
Thanks for the tip. I've been reading the owners manual on changing the F-stop setting. However, i'm having trouble getting the auto flash feature to turn-off. Will a higher shutter speed eliminate the need of the auto flash?
Yea, but you should still be able to override the flash function of the camera somehow. On SLRs, there's usually a button on the front side of the camera that has a "lightning bolt" icon on it. This is how you usually override the automatic flash. On digital cameras, the override feature can also be found through menu screen selection.
Great job!!
Hope you enjoy your new camera.
Take lots of pictures.
"msowsun, How do you get the encoded digital information off the photo?"
When you look at the photo in the photobucket website, is has the option to see the EXIF data
http://s59.photobucket.com/albums/g300/engineerbob/?action=view¤t=Funshots3.jpg
OK. After reviewing the owners manual on F-stop and aperture settings, i was able to raise the F-stop to F-8.0. Here's how the new pic came out. Now I need to practice / work on setting the right color balance.
Bob grech wrote: OK. After reviewing the owners manual on F-stop and aperture settings, i was able to raise the F-stop to F-8.0. Here's how the new pic came out. Now I need to practice / work on setting the right color balance.
You may find that all you need is more light, perhaps of a certain colour/hue/saturation. Certainly the colour balance will be important in many cases, but not entirely. As it goes, that last photo is darned good, just dark.
Wow, the new camera has awesome color definition! It really makes a difference.
I'm not sure that you need too many "pointers" to get that magazine quality you're after. Those shots look great!
Your photos look great and are just going to get better ...
I have a Canon Powershot A85 but haven't tried the manual settings. I have experimented with the different automatic settings and flash. Looks like I have a lot to learn to get really great pictures, especially getting the large depth of field.
I am however learning slowly about the features of the camera. I just upgraded the memory card to 2 GB (for $40) and I can take movies of not only my train but my dancing 11-year old daughter as well.
I have also noted that I need a taller tripod to get pictures on my upper level.
Marty
www.oakhurstrailroad.com
"Oakhurst Railroad" on Facebook
It is easy to lighten up the photo afterwards......