Just curious about what camera(s) and other equipment (and software) do you guys use for taking pictures of your layouts?
Regards,
Charlie Comstock
I use the Cannon Digital Rebel XT (8Mp), several added lights (When I am doing shots that I really want to look right…), and of course Photoshop CS2 on a Mac G5.
Canon G7 10mp digital camera.
I have two cameras that I use. The first is a Olympus D550Zoom (3 megapixel) and the second is a Vivitar Vivicam 3935 (5 megapixel). Both take excellent photos and both can do video. The Olympus records video without sound but cuts off after thirty seconds. The Vivitar records video with sound and will run until the battery dies or it fills up the memory card. The biggest card I have for it is a 1 gig, though I usually use a 256 mb in the field. Almost all my night shots are taken with the Olympus as are the majority of the other photos I take on the layout. The Vivitar is used in the field for prototype shots. Both cameras were given to me by members of this forum.
Bite your tongue! It’s CANON! Like I use! (Rebel XTi, 10.2MP). A Cannon is a gun.
Or a clothing manufacturer.
I’m using a Sony Cybershot with 2 Megapixels and my JVC DV Camcorder which takes stills as well as video.
I use a Konica Minolta D5 with a 18-70 mm lens. I use a tripod with a nice tilt & pan head for most of my shooting. However, I also use sand bags (borrowed from my rifle equipment bag), when I’m photographing from on top of the layout.
I normally shoot under the room lighting, I planned it that way. But occasionally, I do bring in auxiliary lighting.
My software of choice is Adobe Lightroom. I think I’m up to v1.3.
Nick
You guys with dSLRs what lens(es) do you have? Which is your favorite and why? I got a nice canon dSLR last fall. I’m using a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 and a canon 100-300 f4.5-5.6.
The tamron has close focusing and stops down to f32. f32 with 17mm gives pretty decent depth of field. The 100-300 is useful for duplicationg those long-distance look pictures (such as this one shot a 100mm)
Depth of field can be an issue but software can deal with that issue. I’m running photoshop elements 3.0 (because I’ve been too cheap to buy a full photoshop).
Regards,
Charlie Comstock
I use the Olympus E-3 and hot lights, for video I use a Sony HI-8 camcorder and use Vegas-6 platinum for editing the video. For editing the photos I use Adobe Photoshop CS2.
Jeff
I use a Fujifilm S700, $229 and Target. It’s not as involved as a digital SLR, but it has a 10X zoom, 7 Megapixel, two Macro settings, 2 second or 10 second shutter delay. It has a decent F stop, 13.2, ISO settings from 64 to 1600 and you can select Auto, aperture priority or shutter priority settings.
It’s very adjustable at a reasonable price and it takes great pictures. I especially like the ability to turn the flash off and set it on the tripod for high aperture settigns for good depth of field pictures.
It has internal memory or can use xD or sD memory cards.
The really neat thing I’ve discovered is that it’s not a battery hog. I don’t have to change batteries near as often as I did with my old camera. I’ve had it for four months and I’m only on the second set of batteries and I’ve been taking a lot of pictures while experimenting.
Charlie, I use a modest Canon PowerShot A710is, a very nice point n’ shoot. I haven’t taken to teaching myself how to do manual focus with it. For software, between the built-in Microsoft Picture Manager (sorry about before, I called it “photo”), and now that I have the spiffy FastStone, I am content. I’m sure that, as you have probably done once or thrice, you get to wanting something “more” or simply different…I’ll get there myself eventually.
Regards,
-Crandell
I used to use a Canon A1, with lenses rangeing from 28mm to 500mm - a 35 to 150 zoom being the usual lens, I then got lazy and started using the Pentax point & shoot I bought for my wife, auto everything, for most of my photos. A few months back I got myself a Canon PowerShot A540 for less than I paid for almost any of the equipment I own except maybe the tripod! I’m still trying to learn all the things it does, and when I get a more permanent layout will post more photos. I’ll edit this post when I can add a shot or two of the Christmas pics I did with this camera.[:)]
I use a Canon S5 IS. 8MP, 12X zoom, and a hot shoe for external flash. Not a full DSLR but has lots of controls including a full manual setting. I’ve been very happy with it.
Tom
Taking the time to learn manual focus will give you a bit more control over your photography. Many times the auto-focus will do just fine, but sometimes it’s just plain wrong.
Have you gotten the aperature settings under control? Smallest == best depth of field. BUT if you get too smal then diffraction sets in and makes the whole picture softer (f32 on my Tamron is definitely softer than f8 but the depth of field is much better).
Regards,
Charlie Comstock
Hi Tom,
Have you experimented shooting model trains with and without flash? Unless you have a set of professional photo-torpedoes with diffusers I’d be surprised if you can achieve good results with flash. The usual effect (that I’ve observed is the foreground is too brite, the middle ground is exposed about right, and the farther reaches are either too dark or just ‘black’).
Flash photography (except for letting a camera do fill flash for portraits or snapshots) is a very tricky bit of business since you can’t see the lighting until the picture is exposed (lots easier with digital than with film!). I tend to shoot almost exclusively with room lighting these days (using a tripod or otherwise bracing the camera if its ‘dim’).
Here’s are a couple of pics illustrating the difference…
An op session pic without flash (lit by a bunch of twin-tube fluorescents in the ceiling).
Here’s another shot using the flash (canon 380ex speedlite (photo torpedo) on a powershot G2)
Note how the nearest fascia is nicely lit but the lighting falls off rapidly with distance and the color shift where my previous layout lighting, incandescents with a lighting valence (the valence never got finished and is off to the left) take over the lighting from the flash. Which picture has the better lighting?
Best regards,
Charlie Comstock
I’ve got an S5 too, it’s my “walk around” camera, relatively small and easy to carry with its fantastic range zoom. Works pretty good for model photos at f/8 when I’m too busy to set up my Canon XTi. I have a Canon 430EX flash and use it on both cameras, works great for family and such photos, especially when bounced off the ceiling - photos do not look like flash shots. I do not use the flash for model railroad photography.
Other equipment I use includes a tripod of course, photo lights - 2 halogen, 3 incandescent photofloods, remote shutter release, reflective panels, different lenses, etc.
For software I use the affordable (under $100.00) Corel Paint Shop Pro XI, have been using it for about 5-7 versions so I am comfortable with it. I can do everything that Photoshop does that I need.
See my model photography website for more info, the link is in my signature.
I use a Canon Power Shot A540 6.0 mega pixels 4x optical zoom; I paid $179 about a year ago. Also I use extra lighting…take extra shots of the same view using different time settings… I use a free photo editing tool called irfanview. This is to crop & size ect.
http://www.deadzoom.com/member/nktower/tutorials/IrfanView_Tutorial_New.htm
My primary camera is a older Sony Mavica (records onto mini-cd-roms) with 2.1 megapixels, a 10x optical zoom, adjustable light balance, aperture- or shutter-priority, macro, image stabilization, manual or auto focus, and other features. It has built-in adjustable flash and a hotshoe, but I seldom use these for modelling photos. I do use filters from time to time. Sometimes I use my cellphone for quick snapshots or when I run across something when I don’t have the Sony with me. I got the Sony several years ago before I returned to the hobby, mostly for scenics, but it works well for the close-ups.
Software ranges from Photoshop to Gimp, Irfanview, and Corel. It depends on what features I want and the ease of use with the particular software. If I just want to resize, Irfanview is quick and easy. There is a Photoshop-like user interface now for Gimp that makes it relatively easy to move to from Photoshop.
ROFLMAO! Hey it was a typo… And besides that when the photo session isn’t going well, I can get really LOUD! Now Johann Pashelbel wrote one of my favorite Canons, the Canon in D Major. OTOH Tchaikovsky wrote a piece for cannons (and orchestra) …