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Trackside Lounge - Spring '09 Edition

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Posted by CopCarSS on Thursday, March 26, 2009 1:32 PM

Noah Hofrichter
Chris, thanks for posting that link to the new Canon camera, I hadn't seen that before. Quite the camera really! One of the many things I found interesting was the mention of ISO 3200 expandable to ISO 12800. Is ISO 12800 the one with grain as big as baseballs?Wink

Noah,

There's certainly some gimmekry in there, but I would imagine that you'd probably be able to get something fairly usable at ISO 3200. At least I know I can with my K20D. The 6400 and 12800 settings though...well I bet even Kodachrome 200 would look better (and that had baseball sized grain!)

-Chris
West Chicago, IL
Christopher May Fine Art Photography

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Thursday, March 26, 2009 6:11 AM

There used to be a siding on the CNW/FRVR/WC/CN that started at New York Avenue in Oshkosh, WI and went north until just short of Harrison St.  Does anyone know the name?

Dan

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Thursday, March 26, 2009 4:36 AM

Word came through from some friends to the NW that a SB had a pair of DMIR locos headed to Homewood, IL.  Neither had any numberboards and were not running.  I tried to wait up and get pic/vid but it got late and I got tired!  Same consist supposedly had a BCOL loco in it too, but running.

Neat camera (Chris).  If I could afford one now...heh.  I guess I might be able to look a while after the baby comes.  Oh well, off to work for now.

Dan

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Posted by Noah Hofrichter on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 6:15 PM

I haven't stopped in this version of the lounge yet, but it's good to see the place more active lately!

Chris, thanks for posting that link to the new Canon camera, I hadn't seen that before. Quite the camera really! One of the many things I found interesting was the mention of ISO 3200 expandable to ISO 12800. Is ISO 12800 the one with grain as big as baseballs?Wink

There are some neat features in the "next generation." It's probably a good thing I can't afford the upgrade right now, as I'd have to actually think about doing it if I could. Hopefully another generation or two down the line though (after I upgrade my lens selection).

Noah

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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 5:21 PM
I'm almost always lurking somewhere, Justin! Not much to say here, except for the fact that the job cuts threatened on our end of the yard took place today, and more people were furloughed. Pat and I got a short bike ride in this afternoon, running errands. You're right--it is pretty cool out there, especially in that wind!

Carl

Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)

CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

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Posted by bubbajustin on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 4:16 PM

Afternoon everybody!

Cooler and less windy today... 54* here in Indiana. Not mutch to talk about anone have something to talk about? Suprised CArl or Dan Hasent come in already... Mabby later...

The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.

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Posted by CopCarSS on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 9:34 AM

Modelcar
Boy, Chris....that's an impressive web site showing the new Canon.

Quentin - DPReview is one of my favorite photography sites on the web, and one of three places where I actively participate in the fora (the others being here and over at the Fuzzyworld 3um). If you're looking for information about individual DSLRs, DPReview is the place to find it. Their reviews are thorough and well written. They've started reviewing lenses, too. They've got a long way to go on those reviews, though, as they've only got a small selection currently.

The place for a decent listing of lens reviews is over at Photozone. I don't agree with all of Photozone's results, but it's a nice starting point when I start feeling a bit of LBA -- Lens Buying Addiction -- coming on, LOL!

-Chris
West Chicago, IL
Christopher May Fine Art Photography

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams

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Posted by Modelcar on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 9:25 AM

CopCarSS
You can read about it at the DPReview announcement and preview.

 

Boy, Chris....that's an impressive web site showing the new Canon.

Quentin

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Posted by CopCarSS on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 9:11 AM

Good Morning All,

Just a quick note for all you Canon shooters out there: there's a new Rebel that was announced this morning (it's interesting that Canon waited until just after PMA for this announcement). You can read about it at the DPReview announcement and preview.

And thank you Cannonball for the kind words about my photos!

-Chris
West Chicago, IL
Christopher May Fine Art Photography

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams

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Posted by bubbajustin on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 4:30 PM

Hi all,

Had a fun day at grandpahs. That makes sence Dan. Hope everybody has a good evenng!

The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.

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Posted by switch7frg on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 11:47 AM

Chris,  the prarie shots are fantastic.  Not that the other shots on this page are of lesser quality.   Photografy has come  a long way from the days of my Kodak 616 , LOL .  I now have a sp 500 Olympus .  My & our many years on the road have seen many wide open spaces such as these posted . Your pics. are uncluttered and centered perfect . Hope yer trigger finger never fails, hee hee .

                                                                Respectfully, Cannonball

Y6bs evergreen in my mind

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, March 23, 2009 9:42 PM

CNW 6000
I think those extra ditch lights are configured in that fashion to facilitate going around canyon curves up in British Columbia where that unit would normally call "home".

They may be quite useful in areas where you expect rockfall, such as along the Thompson and Fraser Rivers, between Kamloops and Vancouver. Two years ago, we were running late on our way into Vancouver, and I enjoyed the scenery which is usually passed in the dark, and there were many sheds here and there which looked to be rock sheds, since there were many rock slides along the way.

Johnny

Johnny

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, March 23, 2009 8:39 PM

Justin,

I think those extra ditch lights are configured in that fashion to facilitate going around canyon curves up in British Columbia where that unit would normally call "home".  For the rest of you wondering what he's talking about:

BCR 4646 heading up CN's train 407 (southbound).

Dan

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Posted by CShaveRR on Monday, March 23, 2009 4:51 PM
Justin, a lot of things could have happened in the yard, but I don't know about them--today's my day off. I have a granddaughter who also likes yellow--we're headed out the door to see her and her family now (her mom's birthday is tomorrow).

Carl

Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)

CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

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Posted by bubbajustin on Monday, March 23, 2009 4:47 PM

Well night everybody. Parental controlles will log me out in 1 minute. See ya all tommorw! Dan and Carl...Thanks for the laughs tonight!!!

The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.

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Posted by bubbajustin on Monday, March 23, 2009 4:40 PM

Oh you didn't have to do that. I will remember now. Anyways. CARL WILL BE YELLOW AND DAN WILL BE BLUE FOR THE COLD WEATHER UP THERE! So Carl... Anything interesting happen at the yard today that you wold like to share with the world wide web? and Dan... Thanks for the shots. Ive never seen a light config. like that BCRail loco. Any reason for that config.?

The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, March 23, 2009 4:28 PM

Must be...lol.  Guess I better put "Dan" in my sig.

Dan

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Posted by bubbajustin on Monday, March 23, 2009 4:28 PM

Sorr Caral AND Dan... I guess that I was so suprised about the thredded hole I didn't notice... Soory. Besides The N&WC is my favorite fallen flag anyways. I was just so excited!

The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.

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Posted by CShaveRR on Monday, March 23, 2009 4:25 PM
It must be the slight similarities in our avatars, Dan.

Carl

Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)

CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, March 23, 2009 4:23 PM

Psst....I'm Dan!  LOL!  CShaveRR is Carl.

Dan

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Posted by bubbajustin on Monday, March 23, 2009 4:19 PM

OHHHHH! That's what that's for! Ok! Thanks Carl. I never would have guessd what that was for! Thanks budd! By the way check youre e-mail if u have time. Thanks!

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, March 23, 2009 4:15 PM

bubbajustin

...And I will also try to find a triopd. Don't know if my camra will fit on it though. Heck I will make oneI I can't find one!

Justin,

On the bottom of your camera you should find a threaded hole for the tripod mount to attach to.  Good luck.

Dan

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Posted by CopCarSS on Monday, March 23, 2009 3:49 PM

Larry-

Here's the download page. And here is an article about it from TOP that explains the concept much better than I did.

-Chris
West Chicago, IL
Christopher May Fine Art Photography

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams

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Posted by bubbajustin on Monday, March 23, 2009 3:33 PM

Hi all,

Thanks for the tips guys. I really appreiate it! As Dan once told me you learn by trial and error. By the way I got some shots this last weekend. I willsend them to you dan and Carl if you guys want. Maby I need to put on a more positive spin. That might help. Actually last weekend I might have accedentaly took an abstract picture! Being positive really helps things! Larry. Momtold me about that very thing. A tic tac toe board! I will try to find that on my camra. And I will also try to find a triopd. Don't know if my camra will fit on it though. Heck I will make oneI I can't find one! A fairly nice day today. Quite blustery though. Warm at least... there I go being positive againYeah!! I'm proud of myself. anyways. 62* now. I'm going to grandpah Charlies tommorow. He has a suprise job fro us. Maby fishin'? I will have fun though. thanks again for all the words of encouragement!

The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, March 23, 2009 1:41 PM

About 90% of the shooting I do falls into the "snapshot" variety, so I don't get into RAW very often.  That'll be a retirement project.  I'll take the link for my files, though.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, March 23, 2009 12:08 PM

On a 2 GB SD card my A590IS will give about 570 pics at max file size, max detail or around 45 minutes of video.  I could use a 1 GB card but sometimes I'll shoot videos too.  I also carry an extra card, batteries, and lens cloth while 'afield'.  One never knows what one will need!

Dan

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Posted by CopCarSS on Monday, March 23, 2009 11:57 AM

Larry - There's an embedded JPG in your RAW file that you can extract if you're looking for something quick and simple to post. It's only Medium Sized (IIRC), but it's in the RAW file and it'll allow you a little more room because you can shoot just RAW instead of RAW+JPG. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll find the link to the program.

-Chris
West Chicago, IL
Christopher May Fine Art Photography

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, March 23, 2009 11:44 AM

CNW 6000
2.  Set the camera to take the biggest pictures it can with the best detail.  The amount of pictures you can take will be smaller but they should be of a better quality.  If you need to get a bigger memory card.  You can find decent cards (2 or 4 GB) for $15 or less when on sale. 

My digital Rebel will fit around 260 full JPG images on a 1 Gig card, so my two cards (and two spare batteries) will yield over 500 shots - usually enough for a full day's shooting.   If I need more space, I can always fire up the laptop and unload a card.  But memory is cheap these days, too.

If I go to JPG+RAW, I'm down to around 60 images per 1 Gig card, but 120 images is still a pretty healthy day trackside.

LarryWhistling
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...

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, March 23, 2009 10:27 AM

Thanks for the compliments Larry/Chris/Quentin.  Speaking of digital pics, the two biggest lessons I learned are:
1.  Digital zoom should be avoided if possible.
2.  Set the camera to take the biggest pictures it can with the best detail.  The amount of pictures you can take will be smaller but they should be of a better quality.  If you need to, get a bigger memory card.  You can find decent cards (2 or 4 GB) for $15 or less when on sale. 

Decent photo editing software helps for resizing/cropping and doing other editing functions.  I won't go there because that's largely a discussion of price and preference.

Dan

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Posted by Modelcar on Monday, March 23, 2009 9:46 AM

CNW 6000
taken with an Olympus D540 Zoom that's 3.2 megapixel

 

The 3.2 megapixel camera made your RR scenes look quite "normal" and "real"....

On a side note:  The 2nd picture sure shows the head lights and especially the ditch lights, providing quite a bit of light out in front of the engine,,,,{A subject with lots of discussion back a few weeks ago about British trains, in the past.. not using head lights}....

Quentin

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