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Home made camera holder

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  • Member since
    January 2018
  • 39 posts
Home made camera holder
Posted by JohnnyB on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 4:12 PM

Its crude but it works. I built it to be functional, not pretty.

John is retired and loving it!

https://jmrailroad.wordpress.com/

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  • From: Canada, eh?
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Posted by doctorwayne on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 11:45 PM

I guess it would be difficult for you to provide a couple of pictures showing just how the device is used?

For layout photos, I generally use a tripod, or place the camera directly on the layout.

Wayne

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • 89 posts
Posted by trevorsmith3489 on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 1:58 AM

This is for an i phone or android phone and helps keep the phone vertical and stable when placed on the layout

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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 6:49 AM

trevorsmith3489
This is for an i phone or android phone and helps keep the phone vertical and stable when placed on the layout

OH yea!  I think I've seen those before!  Just yesterday!  Everyone I seen was busy holding on to one these things, and doing something with their thumbs.

Of course, using this holder would mean that you would have to let go of your phone.  Smile, Wink & Grin

Mike.

  • Member since
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 7:13 AM

Why would you need a holder for a camera phone?

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This is a serious question.

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I use a tripod for my digital SLR because I take pictures stopped down to F25 or F32 and exposure time can be as high a 3 seconds even with 1,200 watts of lighting. The tripod, and remote shutter release, are necessary to get good pictures.

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Can you do all this with your camera phone?

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-Kevin

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Living the dream.

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Posted by bearman on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 7:38 AM

As far as I can see, the problem with those cell phone holders is that you still have to push the camera button, thereby possibly inducing camera shake.  A tripod and a shutter release or timed shutter release is, in my opinion, a much better way to go.  Besides, and I admit it, I hate those cell phone cameras.

Bear "It's all about having fun."

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Posted by NittanyLion on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 8:08 AM

bearman

As far as I can see, the problem with those cell phone holders is that you still have to push the camera button, thereby possibly inducing camera shake. 

 

One of the buttons on my smart watch triggers the camera. Don't have to touch the phone  

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Posted by Eric White on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 8:57 AM

Most phone cameras have a timer function.

Some phones allow control of shutter speed and other functions, or there are apps that allow manual control of the phone camera's settings.

iPhones appear to have more options than Android models.

Eric

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Posted by JohnnyB on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 8:58 AM

Wow. All great questions. Let's see how good I am at answering them all.

doctorwayne, here you go.

seeyou190, Kevin, I don't have an SLR, but I can manually set a lot of the settings on this camera phone to include longer exposure times, white balance, etc.

bearman, the camera phone also has a timer on it to delay the shutter opening. Just a 1 or 2 second delay is fine. On the subject of tripods, I have one. Soon as I can figure out a good way to attach the holder to the tripod I will do that.

I am not opposed to taking pictures with an SLR, if I had a good one. But for the quality of the pictures I want, the camera phone does what I want it to do. JMHO.

John is retired and loving it!

https://jmrailroad.wordpress.com/

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 9:08 AM

Thanks for the answers.

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By the way... your construction looks pretty neat and well done. It sure looks like it does the job.

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-Kevin

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Living the dream.

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Posted by mlehman on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 9:18 AM

Tripods are good, but they don't typically help much when you need to get down in the weeds to take shots at HO scale eyeball distance above the terrain. This is a good idea for getting those realistic shots at ground level on the layout with your phone by helping steady things much like a tripod would. I even have one of those tinytripods and it doesn't get things low enough to do these sorts of shots.

As for taking shots with your phone vs camera, all my pics used to be on camera. Sure, lots more adjusting possible, but for most pics I now use the camera in my device (it's not a "phone" because there's no cell service on it.) It just so easy to download the phone pics and manipulate them on the "phone" that I oftn don't bother. Then I got a adapater to use the tripod with the "phone" so most of my bases are covered even without the camera.

Mike Lehman

Urbana, IL

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Posted by JohnnyB on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 9:23 AM

Thanks Kevin. Like I wrote, it's crude but it does the job. I'll probably give it a rattle can spray of paint and call it done.

John is retired and loving it!

https://jmrailroad.wordpress.com/

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Posted by RR_Mel on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 9:49 AM

My wife bought me this little goodie about ten years ago as a stocking stuffer.
 
 
It works pretty good for getting down in the weeds for close ups on my layout with my Canon Power Shot.
 
Our daughter is coming to visit us for our 50th in October, she is a professional photographer and I’m hoping she can teach me how to take better pictures.  The quality of the camera doesn’t make much difference if you don’t know how to take pictures.
 
 
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
  
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 
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Posted by doctorwayne on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 10:13 AM

JohnnyB

Thanks Kevin. Like I wrote, it's crude but it does the job. I'll probably give it a rattle can spray of paint and call it done.

I agree with Kevin:  neatly done and does the job for which it was designed.  Thanks  for the photo and the explanation.

I don't have a smart 'phone, but the ones my kids have take great photos, any of them perfectly acceptable for posting on-line.
Back in the days of film cameras, I had a fairly decent one and knew how to use it, but nowadays, my point-and-shoot digital camera is good enough for stuff posted here.  It's also small enough to be placed on the layout for HO scale eye-level photos.

Wayne

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Posted by richg1998 on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 3:02 PM

bearman

As far as I can see, the problem with those cell phone holders is that you still have to push the camera button, thereby possibly inducing camera shake.  A tripod and a shutter release or timed shutter release is, in my opinion, a much better way to go.  Besides, and I admit it, I hate those cell phone cameras.

 

I have a Bluetooth device from Amazon that triggers my iPhone. Cost a few dollars.

I shop local.

Edit.

I can also control my Nikon DSLR camera with my iPhone. Nice.

Rich

If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.

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Posted by JohnnyB on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 4:30 PM

Well after some testing and a few modifications to make the holder sturdier I took a few track side shots.

So that works well. Now can the holder be modified to attach it to a tripod for steady video and stills? Of course it can.

This is where it has to go.

And this is how it attaches.

So how good is the video now, instead of being handheld?

https://youtu.be/M5krE2odTNs

 

 

John is retired and loving it!

https://jmrailroad.wordpress.com/

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 7:43 PM

JohnnyB
I took a few track side shots.

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I am impressed. Good depth of field and color looks good.

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Did you edit the pictures between the phone and posting them?

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-Kevin

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Living the dream.

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Posted by JohnnyB on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 8:13 PM

Just cropped them to remove the extraneous items in the shot.

John is retired and loving it!

https://jmrailroad.wordpress.com/

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