My layout is finally far enough along to generate some good pictures so I’m looking to get properly equipped to do some real model railroad photography. What would people recommend in terms of a camera and accessories (tripod, lights, lenses, etc.)? My layout is HO and is reasonably well lit (I have overhead incandescents along the lines of Joe Fugate’s setup). I’d be willing to spend up to a couple thousand for everything. I’d also be interested in any articles or books on the topic that would be helpful. Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks.
With that kind of budget, I’d reccomend the Canon Digital SLR for starters - also a good tripod. The Canon has interchangeable lenses, so after you start using it you can decide what lenses to add. There are other good cameras out there, but Pro Photogs tend to Canon or Nikon - I’m not familiar with Nokon digitals. My [2c]
There are several manufacturers of tripods. I happen to own a Slik. I didn’t know anything about them when I walked in and bought it 10 years ago, but I sure am glad I bought it.
All of the cameras are very good to excellent. I am not aware of, nor have I read, a bad review on a digital SLR released in the past three or four years. Olympus has the cadillac internal CCD cleaning device, Canon’s reputation is close to peerless, Nikon has a history of excellence going back decades, Pentax…same… Your three essentials are your brain and its logic, the camera, and a decent tripod ($100 and somewhat higher). You can even get by with poor lighting, although it is a challenge. You have the lighting. The rest is experimenting with settings, position, lighting, and reading the manual.
That’s about it.
Actually, think about imaging software. Photoshop, freeware such as FastStone (I like it), helicon focusing software…they can really tidy up unwanted characteristics of images that have lots of potential in them and to which you don’t want to invest more time in setting up shots.
I started looking at SLR cameras. They’re seem to be a quite a range of choices. Are there any specific features I should focus on or are must have (e.g., # of megapixels, optical zoom etc.)?
I’d advise a “keep it simple” approach- get a digital camera that will shoot close-ups, a decent tripod, and start learning photography.
A camera, lens, lights, etc. are necessary to make an image, but a good photo is the result of choice of subject, composition, lighting, and (lastly) exposure. No matter how good your camera, it will never tell you what to shoot, or how to compose the photograph, or light it.
Shoot a lot and study a lot and (hopefully) learn a lot. After a while you’ll know what features in a camera you want or need, what lighting equipment is needed, and so on.
Decent camera (maybe $100-$200), decent tripod (maybe another $100), some photo books, and a whole lotta time learning, and you’ll be making good pictures. Set up your shot, light it, make your photo, and study it. Fix what you don’t like, change what needs changing, and shoot it again. Repeat. And repeat, until you like it.
A lousy photo from an expensive camera is still a lousy photo.
I have a Nikon D40x. It has served me very well for about 14 months now. Anything that it’s missing, I haven’t found that I’ve needed yet.
You asked about image size… contrary to popular belief, I’d like to suggest that all other things being the same, a larger image gives you more to work with should you decide to crop out some unwanted features. Let’s say that for a variety of reasons, there is a place on your layout that you would like to take a detailed photo but can’t get quite close enough. You take the photo with a large image size and you can crop down to just what you want and still have a nice picture.
I’d opt for a camera that has a good Macro (close-up) mode.
The nice thing about camera shopping today is that you can immediately see the results of the pictures that you take. So go to a good camera shop and let them show you the cameras & the results. If they are unwilling to do so, I’d walk away. And, without starting a LHS vs. discount purchase, I’d suggest that you plan to patronize a helpful camera shop. The people there are probably more knowledgeable and more helpful than some order taker on the other end of the telephone line or in front of an Internet terminal.
There are quite a few places on the Internet where model railroad photography is discussed. A good web search should get you plenty of stuff to read & think about.
Keep in mind that digital cameras require batteries. And special batteries are not always readily available. This may influence your decision on what camera to purchase. The only downside (to me) to my D40x is that it takes a special battery. If it used normal AA batteries, in a jam, I’d be able to pick up some of them most anywhere. That isn’t the case with mine.<
Alright, since we are on the subject of cameras, I have a Pentax film camera that I made a pin-hole lens for. (modified actually) The depth of field is from an inch to infinity.
Do digital cameras operate the same way with F stops and depth of field?
All cameras work the same, its just the recording media that changes - film to a digital sensor.
Your pinhole aperture equipped lens may or may not give the same results on a digital camera as it did on a film camera. That has been my experience. I too added a pinhole aperture to a Vivitar 28mm wide angle lens and had grear success with it on film bodies. But the consumer type digital camera bodies have sensors that are 50 or 60% the size of a 35mm film frame. This means any lens will only get this percentage of the image the lens produces. In my case the lens fits on the camera and works OK, but because I’m only getting the center 60%, the resulting images aren’t overly crisp and clear. So I’ve retired my pinhole lens and now stick to wide angle and extreme wide angle lenses to get in really close.
Most new DLSRs come with 18-55mm zooms, and at their 18mm lens (equivalent to around 28mm on a film camera), will give great depth of field when used at f/22.
My earlier model railroad photo website was quoted in a previous message in this thread, I’m moving all of the material and more to a new site, as Google is changing its focus re free sites. See it in my signature below.
I have a Canon s3. Nice camera with alot of the SLR functions but a bit cheaper. I think they have an updated model. The s5? Canons are fantastic!
Try going to a few different camera stores and trying them out. And don’t be afraid to tell them what you want to do. Be honest because it will help them reduce the number from dozens down to 3 or 4.
It would be hard to go wrong with any of the Canon Digital Rebels. I have the original at 6.3 Megapixels and that is about the minimum I would recommed to do what it sounds like you want. I believe the new ones are up to 12Mp. As others have said the Nikon is also very good and there are others.
The great thing about the Canon & Nikon is the huge selection of lenses. The Canon ultrasonic auto focus are really good. For optics they have their top of the line “L” class (they have a red pin stripe around the barrel). Look for one that has a very high F stop rating 22 is good 32-36 is better. That way you can take stopped down pictures with a huge depth of field. The larger the f-stop the closer you are to the “pin hole” effect the other posters have been talking about. I got the 24mm-105mm for general purpose work. Turn the image stablization OFF when using on the tripod.
For tripods I used to own an SILK. It lasted for 35 years or so. The plastic “ball” the head piviouts on finally wore out. I went back to get another, and they no longer make that model -sigh. If you go that route look for their top of the line as they do make lesser tripods. This time I went with a Bogen/Manfrotto (322RC2 I think) with a pistol grip head (just over #200 worth). I like really steady platforms. (http://www.adorama.com/BG055XD322RC.html?sid=1220570022418922)
That reminds me. One thing to get regardless of how steady the tripod is - a remote shutter release. I got the wireless one for the Canon. That way I don’t ever have to take a chance of vibrating the camera with pressing the trigger button.
Terry, or those in the know, do SLR’s come with shutter release timers? If so, you coud use that and obviate the requirement for a cable release. I use the timer feature on my Canon Powershot, a point and shoot non-SLR camera. It reduces vibration from depressing the shutter release button to essentially zero.
I;m gonna step way out into left field here and reccomend a Peewee digital camera amongst your giants, and that’s my Kodak Easyshare M753.
it does not have all the fancy stuff, but let me make my pitch first, please.
The M753 is a bit smaller and handier in my opinion, and it fits in places on the layout that I can’t get Mom’s camera or Dad’s Minolta. I can get it into buildnigns through the doors and it;s rugged. There is a screw-in on the bottom to make use of tripod,as well as a USB shaped plug, for what I don;t know. and it does have timers for 2, 10, and for 2 shots. it also does video, has several settings for picture size, and can tack down date stamps, though I don;t use it. Just to name a few features. There;s also a hefty sized screen for a camera the size of a playing card
It’s not a digital giant like the ones suggested here. If you wish to become a photography master, as it sounds like you do, then by all means, go with the supercamera. But I think I;ll stick to my little kodak just for good pictures around the layout. A friend fo mine uses a similar camera too, he wouldn’t use anything else.
You might consider looking into one of these on clearence, as the 573 is being replaced with an upgraded version and going cheap. to learn and play, and have on hand for smaller knooks.
Decent camera but it does have some annoyances. To Wit:
Cannot use on AC without buying a dopey way overpriced special adapter that fits inside the battery compartment PLUS the wall wart. No adapter jack [%-)]= BAD PLANNING!
The USB driver does not work with older motherboards without USB2.0
Without the driver you may not see image titles or info until you transfer them
Transfer loves to crash - particularly with large movie files.
You cannot use the zoom while taking a movie - only before or after
White balance on mine under indoor lighting was extremely biased toward yellow. I quickly learned to use program mode and set a manual white balance - much nicer.Good tones outdoors out of the box too.
Audio on movies is in mono only
Flash is fair to midlin’ in power
The biggest problem is even with these issues the camera can take excellent images and has a nice range of features. It’s probably worth the price even with another 80+ bucks of necessary power addons. With manual white balance, a USB2 port (or card reader) on your computer and slave flash, you would be fine.
Oh yes, excellent optical zoom and good macro too. Zoom does not work in “super macro” but does in regular macro mode.
One additional note, it will operate on AA batteries (regular or NiMh). Get two sets of NiMh and a good charger. Get the high capacity 2800 MilliAmp-hour ones for a few pennies more. they last a LONG time even with a 1 gig SD card. Alkalines - not so long, but great to have the capability in an emergency.
Well said! If you find some success, you can always upgrade the equipment later. And if you don’t get the results you hoped for, you’ll have saved some money.
One thing that I’ve found extremely useful is an AC adapter - if you’re doing a series of pictures or a story in photos, shot set-up can take some time.
I use a Nikon Digital SLR for sports action, portraits, and weddings. However the Canon D SLR’s will do just as well. I prefer natural lighting for this type of photography and what you have set up around your layout should work well. After your purchase and you begin shooting, experiment with different esposure settings. ISO at 250-350 (less grain in the image), and using your tripod the speeds can be slowed considerably as you find a comfort zone. Hope all goes well.
I don’t know on the Canon, but the Nikon has a remote. You set the camera to accomadate the remote and you can keep the lense open indefinately or at a desired time . I use this feature for astonomy photography where vibration can be a major concern.
Yes the Cannon Digital Rebel does accomodate the remote shutter release. It also has a 10 sec timer option. very nice for getting in the photo sometimes… I use the timer on photos without flash on the layout. The stock lens will go as high as f36 I think depending on the settings. The remote shutter release is great for getting night shots with or without added lighting (Flash, etc).
Money spent on a quality tripod is never money wasted. At most, you’ll probably use a DSLR for 5 years, and you may use a modern electronic-laden lens for 10-20 years. Of course, there are obvious exceptions to this(all of my equipment is 20+ years old), but this seems to be the general trend.
By contrast, a quality tripod will almost never break or be rendered obsolete. I use a Tiltall tripod, which has been in continuous, nearly unchanged production since the 1930s. My particular one is over 50 years old, and still works perfectly-I use it all the time, and often times not very kindly either. It rolls around in my trunk when it’s not in use. I replaced the rubber feet, which are still available from the manufacturer, and that’s it. One of these days, I’ll add an Arca-Swiss style quick release plate to it to make its use more convenient, but I can’t see myself getting rid of it anytime soon.
If you don’t need/want a ballhead, take a long hard look at the Tiltall-they’re around $100 new from B&H, or you can pick them up for $50-60 used on Ebay.
Some photographers will tell you that you need to spend $800+ on a tripod and head, however this, in my opinion, is overkill. Slik makes some great tripods that are in the same category as the Tiltall as far as construction quality, and around the same price. If you want a ball head, there are plenty of choices from Bogen/Manfrotto, plus some inexpensive but good ball heads, at around $200.
Regarding cable releases and self timers: Most of the better cameras will offer a 2 second self timer that’s perfect for replacement as a cable release. I actually prefer using the self timer to a cable release, as it requires no physical contact with the camera during the exposure. Plus, since all the DSLRs and most modern film SLRs that I’m aware of use some sort of proprietary(and expensive) remote control that they change with every two or three camera models released, using the self timer saves you
