Photography (As It Relates to Model Railroading)

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I’m looking for general info and specific recommendations regarding digital cameras and editing software to produce publication-quality or near-publication-quality photographs of my layout and structures. Pelle Soeborg wrote an article in MR recently describing how to take quality photos using cell phones. He’s an actual professional photographer and could probably produce high-end results using an old Kodak Instamatic or something. Me, not so much. I need technical and electronic assistance.

The issues and problems (or challenges, if you must) include . . .

Indoor settings Fixed room dimensions and cramped quarters leaving limited space to take photos. Specialized wide-angle lenses (with or without image correction devices) might be needed to capture interesting vistas. Chairs, ladders, tripods, and whatnot (and possibly ‘selfie’ sticks) might be needed to take photos from viewpoints that aren’t easily accesible to walking humans. Artificial lighting (LED general overhead lights with a few 15- or 20-degree spotlights) mixed with limited natural daylight from windows on two opposite exerior walls needs to be dealt with.

Very small to extremely small subject matter Double extra small for N Scalers. Whether it’s rivets on the bulldog nose or handles on the hatches or micro-print on the builder’s plate, I want to capture and show the extreme detail our hobby offers nowadays. That means I’ll need a camera capable of producing macro closeups in crisp sharp detail. And related to this . . .

Depth of field I’m looking for advice regarding post-processing software to deal with closeup detail at the nose of the train (maybe two or three inches from the camera) and closeup detail at the tail of the train and beyond (maybe five or six or more feet away). So, some sort of image stacking or focus

2

I would guess with the better smart phones these days, demand for digital camera’s has shrunk a lot.

But it’s all about depth of field and close focus - those I could guess are the two things you need if you are going to spend the money on a dedicated digicam.

3

Colour balance, macro lens, a tripod, bean-bag, or some other way to keep the camera still, and image-stacking or other PP* capability.

The above are important, not absolutely necessary, but very helpful. Also, any camera of 6 MP or higher, decent lens, and manual settings are also very useful.

I like small cameras with flat bottoms that can sit unsupported on pieces of wood set into the scene. I make a platform against which the camera can sit with the same aiming point from shutter-release to shutter-release so that the image stacking goes well.

  • “post production”, or programmes like photoshop, lightroom, DXOMark, helicon, combineZP, gimp, faststone, sagelight etc.
4

add a remote shutter release as well. Was a nice thing to keep from upsetting the camera a little bit / getting blurry closeups.

5

One such handy site I recall was from Bob Boudreau:

https://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/

He used to be a frequent contributor here but I haven’t seen much from him lately.

Our very own M-R Magazine made this .pdf available a while back from Brooks Stover:

https://tinyurl.com/yaa7874d

I agree. I have a whole closet full of digital SLRs and will use one occasionally for a “photoshoot” but 95% of the time I grab a small Canon that will fit into places on the layout I’d never be able to get a regular camera into.

Good point. Most cameras will have a timer-mode. Mine have a 2, 10 or 30 second delay (or thereabouts) which is handy for eliminating camera shake.

Hope that helps,

Good Luck, Ed

6

Robert, you are looking at a DSLR with a short angle zoom in the 25 mm - 85 mm range and a macro wide angle at less than 25 mm, if you can find one. The problem is that you probably cannot get a lens with an f stop bigger than 2.8, maybe 2.5. Check into buying the body alone and spend your money on the glass. Be prepared to break into your piggy bank. Check out Nikon and Canon, although I am partial to Nikon. also, I have read good things about the Panasonix Lumix series. A ripod is in order and do NOT skimp on it, Amazon is a good source obviously but read the reviews on the photography web site, dont rely on the Amazon reviews for something this specialized. 10 mp would be more than enough but they really don’t make them any more unless it is a cell phone. I am not a big fan of cell phone cameras.

As for software, start with GIMP, it is free on line with a learning curve, similar to Photoshop. After that you are on your own. Do NOT purchase any ADOBE product. ADOBE is getting very very greedy.

Another way of trying to get an idea of what camera might work is to see if you can track down someone(s) who take(s) the pictures of layouts for MRR magazine. They may be willing to give you some advice, or at least tell you what they use. There are lots of close ups in those MRR pics.

7

You only need close focus in the camera. Depth of field is virtually limitless these days through the use of focus stacking software. You take multiple shots at different focal distances then use the software to merge them into a single image with an amazing depth of field.

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I would NOT buy a DSLR for model railroad photography for the simple reason that for most of your shots the camera will likely be positioned in a way where you can’t get your eye near the viewfinder. Even if you can get in position to use the viewfinder, the mirror in the DSLR will cause vibration that can blur your close focus shots. You can of course lock up the mirror to avoid that problem, but why spend extra on a feature you just have to disable? Instead, save that money for extra/better lenses and get a mirrorless camera with a good size display on the back that can twist and swing into multiple positions.

9

Not a problem. Fast lenses are not required (and will hurt more than they help) in an environment where you are photographing objects that aren’t moving and you have control of the lighting.

Fast lenses have huge chunks of glass in them. As a general rule, with all other factors being equal, more glass produces a lower quality image than less glass. Fast lenses are compromises for shots under low light and/or moving subjects where your only other choice is not to get the shot. That’s not the case here. If you’re trying to capture fine details, fast lenses are not your friend.

…and btw, they’re way more expensive.

10

A mirrorless camera would solve any possible camera vibration. But, before you buy mirrorless, check into the available lenses. If you can buy a refurbished or used body, you will save some money that can be used on lenses.

11

I look at the other end of the aperature range for model shots. A couple of my lenses will close to f22. That gives me some great depth-of-field without “stacking”. Of course, the exposure time creeps up to two or three minutes [:|]

Cheers, Ed

12

Oh, yeah, carl, you are paying for a fast lens.

13

I’m not looking to start a professional Photography Studio and I’m not looking to get a digital camera that is specifically dedicated to MRR use, but I am thinking about buying a new camera and I hope to use it to take better MRR photos.

I have a 15-year-old Sony CyberShot (5 megapixels) and a Samsung Galaxy S5 smart phone (16 megapixels). They both take pretty decent landscape and family picnic type photos, but most of the layout photos I’ve taken so far fall into the low- to mid-mediocre range. I’m sure there’s room for improvement on my end (I followed the link to Bob Boudreau’s website, thanks Ed) by brushing up on the theory and practice of modern digital photography.

The purpose of this thread (for now) is to get some advice and info on which specific camera to buy and which specific post-production software to use relating to and compatable with the aforesaid camera. I think most readers know the parameters involved with the topic at hand, and I’m aware opinions vary, so any response is very helpful.

I’m not looking to spend a ton (see Paragraph 1 above), but I am prepared to spend what it takes; within reason, of course.

Thanks everyone. This is useful.

Robert

14

Then, Robt, you might be able to get away with a bridge camera for under 350$ +/-. A bridge does not have an interchangeable lens system and the heart of it is a zoom lens, which can go from 22 mm to 900 mm… And, you can get one without a viewfinder which adds to the cost. Make sure you get one that has different shooting modes, and adjustable ISO. One of the modes should be macro. If you wait until the 2019 models come out, you may be able to score really good 2018 model at a discount.

15

Robert,

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I am happy to help.

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I have a Canon Rebel T-6, and I love it. It is a digital SLR.

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I have three lenses, all zoom. One is the standard lens the camera comes with, I think it is 45-85 focal length, and one is a 10-35 focal length wide angle lens. These are the only two suitable for Model Railroad photography. I also have a 100-300 focal length lens for outdoor photography.

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This camera has an amazing full-manual mode that is great for model railroading photography. I can set the F-stop down to about F-24 and get very good depth of field. You can adjust the white balance to match the interior lighting, and it has a remote shutter release for perfect exposures.

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It can produce a very good picture that meets the specifications Steven Otte sent me for producing images suitable for publication. I have been told that Bill Darnaby uses the same camera for the pictures he takes for MR articles.

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Let me know what questions you have. I will do my best to help you learn from my experiences.

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-Kevin

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16

Here’s some specific cameras worth looking at. All have a large selection of interchangable lenses and are under $600. Some even do 4K Video.

I have a Fujifilm X-M1 (no longer available) that I’m very happy with.

Sony A6000

Panasonic Lumix GX85

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

Fujifilm X-A5

17

Smaller is better in the field of macro where tight spaces matter. Remember, overhead shots don’t do justice to the typical scale scene; you have to get the appliance and its lens down onto the surface, between trees or buildings, up tight against rock cuts, etc., ideally without having to do much to the scene to make it work (ie, lifting and removing things, displacing them, or adding much). Doing this greatly adds to the life of the layout and its artefacts. Moving stuff and building scenes is probably best on an outdoors or mobile platform, a diorama (in which case I would agree that a DSLR might be better. Might,…only…

I took all my best shots so far, all publishable once they were finished in terms of density, balance, clarity, noise, focus, etc…maybe not so much the modeling, on a small 7 MP camera. It’s max f ratio was 8, and it provided 6X zoom. These days, the CANON ELPH 3XX models have top of the line sensors for their price, up to 12 X zoom, and have software and algorithms to render a darkish scene quite well, even show pleasing fireworks in a dark sky.

The ELPH set me back CDN$199 four years ago, while the 7 MP Powershot A710is was almost twice that, minus inflation, eight years earlier.

If you intend to make a living or become a ‘serious’ photographer (gag), perhaps a $700+ camera is the way to go, but prepare to add $XXXX.XX for lenses to match…yes, plural. If you want something affixed to your belt, or slipped into a shirt pocket, the people who bought the ELPH 330 when I did have universally raved about it. If you want something a bit more capable, larger sensor, able to take photos with less noise or higher ISO, then you have to start ponying up the cash.

Unless you are going to show your product, maybe enter competitions, then something less than USD$500 should have you in an entry level mirrorless ILC (interchangeable lens camera), entry level DSLR, or something like the Powershot SX720,

18

Agreed.

As I mentioned earlier, the big, clumsy DSLRs pretty much stay on the shelf when I want to grab some quick shots of the layout. I bought a Canon ELPH 330 for the missus a few years ago. I use it more often for layout shots than anything else.

Just yesterday I made some shots from inside the turntable pit:

Q2_on_TT by Edmund, on Flickr

No way could I have set one of my bigger Canon models in there.

I have been using Adobe Elements 11 for PP work. I bought it several years ago. Money well spent, IMHO. The latest “cloud-based” software, or is it called an app now, I’m no fan of.

Here’s another shot where I dropped the camera through the roof of the roundhouse:

H10-shop2 by Edmund, on Flickr

Try doing that with a toaster-sized camera.

Another fantastic feature of digital photography is the ability to take 20- 30 or more shots at “bracketed” exposure and focal ranges and pick the best ones, then scrap the rest.

Good Luck, Ed

19

[quote user=“gmpullman”]

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These days, the CANON ELPH 3XX models have top of the line sensors for their price,

Agreed.

As I mentioned earlier, the big, clumsy DSLRs pretty much stay on the shelf when I want to grab some quick shots of the layout. I bought a Canon ELPH 330 for the missus a few years ago. I use it more often for layout shots than anything else.

Just yesterday I made some shots from inside the turntable pit:

Q2_on_TT by Edmund, on Flickr

No way could I have set one of my bigger Canon models in there.

I have been using Adobe Elements 11 for PP work. I bought it several years ago. Money well spent, IMHO. The latest “cloud-based” software, or is it called an app now, I’m no fan of.

Here’s another shot where I dropped the camera through the roof of the roundhouse:

H10-shop2 by Edmund, on Flickr

Try doing that with a toaster-sized camera.

Anothe

20

CombineZP is free and does a pretty decent job of stacking: