Steve S
Member
Only SLRs are going to have a cable release. But every camera has a timer that you can use so that your hand isn't on the camera when the pic is taken.
Steve S
I need a new camera
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Only SLRs are going to have a cable release. But every camera has a timer that you can use so that your hand isn't on the camera when the pic is taken.
Steve S
kenw
5th Generation Texian
fireman93514
Member
I am also a big fan of slr's. I shoot Canon but all the brands mentioned are good. The better the lens the better the pics. The lenses that come with the cameras are ok but not top quality. They will serve for now. you may want to upgrade at some time depending on how serious you get about your photography. Image stabilization is a worthwhile addon to which ever camera you get. Find a clerk who knows something about photography. They can guide you. I hope we have not confused you too much.
kenw
5th Generation Texian
several times a month I have to do some basic teaching for friends, neighbors, and friends of friends and neighbors who bought a digital SLR and are wondering why they still can't take 'great' photos even tho they just spent $1000 on a new dSLR. Just this weekend I held an impromptu minor clinic for parents at a basketball game. Two of them had dSLRs that had never been set to anything but full automatic..... it isn't the camera, it's how you use it.
The plain truth is that for 99% of all photography, a simple point and shoot will take great pictures. Like indoor basketball, model photography is a bit more specialized and requires a few features not always found on every camera and some technique to use those features to their best. Here's what I would look for if I was going to take a lot of model photographs, and all of these are found on the better 'point and shoot' cameras:
a macro mode. This allows you to place the camera close to your subject and get at least some of it in focus. Usually this is denoted by a flower icon. You don't always need it but it is good to have when you do.
compare the minimum focus distance (mfd), less is better. Anything less than that won't be in focus no matter what settings you twiddle with. Here's where point and shoots often win, my old 1.2mpix nikon coolpix has a mfd of under 1/2", my best SLR macro lens can't focus on anything less than 12" away.
A tripod mounting hole (1/4-20). a tripod is an absolute must, even a small simple one. I have a homemade one that is simply a 1/4-20 screw attached to a t-strap bracket. It holds my SLR very stable and at only 1" above the layout.
as mentioned previously, minimum aperture is the key. In order to use it however, you need a camera that will operate in Aperture Priorioty mode, often designated as Av (Aperture Value) mode. Here you manually select the aperture value and the camera selects the rest. Portrait photographers use this to control background blur or shallow depth of field (DoF), model shooters will use it for just the opposite: to get a deep DoF so that everything is in focus. In Av, you will dial in the biggest number (f22, 32, etc) you can. If you have a choice of cameras with most other features similar, choose the one that says f3.5-f32 over the one that says f3.5-28.
Be aware that most simpler cameras will give you a smaller aperture (bigger #) when zoomed long/telephoto. It may be necessary to set you camera farther away, zoom in and then select the minimum aperture. You need to zoom in 1st as many cameras will allow you to select (as an example) f18 at a wide but you can select up to f32 at telephoto. But as mentioned, using such tiny apertures means that the shutter speed may be several seconds, making a tripod an absolute must.
The plain truth is that for 99% of all photography, a simple point and shoot will take great pictures. Like indoor basketball, model photography is a bit more specialized and requires a few features not always found on every camera and some technique to use those features to their best. Here's what I would look for if I was going to take a lot of model photographs, and all of these are found on the better 'point and shoot' cameras:
a macro mode. This allows you to place the camera close to your subject and get at least some of it in focus. Usually this is denoted by a flower icon. You don't always need it but it is good to have when you do.
compare the minimum focus distance (mfd), less is better. Anything less than that won't be in focus no matter what settings you twiddle with. Here's where point and shoots often win, my old 1.2mpix nikon coolpix has a mfd of under 1/2", my best SLR macro lens can't focus on anything less than 12" away.
A tripod mounting hole (1/4-20). a tripod is an absolute must, even a small simple one. I have a homemade one that is simply a 1/4-20 screw attached to a t-strap bracket. It holds my SLR very stable and at only 1" above the layout.
as mentioned previously, minimum aperture is the key. In order to use it however, you need a camera that will operate in Aperture Priorioty mode, often designated as Av (Aperture Value) mode. Here you manually select the aperture value and the camera selects the rest. Portrait photographers use this to control background blur or shallow depth of field (DoF), model shooters will use it for just the opposite: to get a deep DoF so that everything is in focus. In Av, you will dial in the biggest number (f22, 32, etc) you can. If you have a choice of cameras with most other features similar, choose the one that says f3.5-f32 over the one that says f3.5-28.
Be aware that most simpler cameras will give you a smaller aperture (bigger #) when zoomed long/telephoto. It may be necessary to set you camera farther away, zoom in and then select the minimum aperture. You need to zoom in 1st as many cameras will allow you to select (as an example) f18 at a wide but you can select up to f32 at telephoto. But as mentioned, using such tiny apertures means that the shutter speed may be several seconds, making a tripod an absolute must.
Hi,
There's been some great comments herein - My 02c;
- What do you want to do with the pictures? Shooting for MRR is a lot different to shooting for web posting.
- Light, light, and more light!..... You can never have too much. [Although you may need a reflector to soften shadows - A white card works well.]
- Unless you want to make image processing a hobby in and of itself, stay away from shooting RAW. The file sizes are *huge* and slow everything down.
- FWIW, a (pro) seminar I attended a while back *proved* (to me at least) that applying "medium" compression to jpg's did not affect print quality! The advantage is ~50% file size - Ergo everything runs faster.
Cheers,
Ian
There's been some great comments herein - My 02c;
- What do you want to do with the pictures? Shooting for MRR is a lot different to shooting for web posting.
- Light, light, and more light!..... You can never have too much. [Although you may need a reflector to soften shadows - A white card works well.]
- Unless you want to make image processing a hobby in and of itself, stay away from shooting RAW. The file sizes are *huge* and slow everything down.
- FWIW, a (pro) seminar I attended a while back *proved* (to me at least) that applying "medium" compression to jpg's did not affect print quality! The advantage is ~50% file size - Ergo everything runs faster.
Cheers,
Ian
Railphotog
Railroad Photographer
Minimum focus distance as mentioned above isn't really that big a deal - how often do you need to be 1/2" away from a model? Perhaps to show a really small area of detail or to shoot a coin, but its not where most photos are taken. Usually for an HO scale model, 8-10" is close enough.
The mention of getting a smaller aperture above when zoomed in isn't really a function of the lens aperture, its just letting in less light as you zoom. The aperture doesn't actually change size with the zooming.
And for the greatest depth of field in any camera, using it at its widest zoom range will give the best results. Most point and shoot cameras will only stop down to f/8, which is actually pretty good with their smaller lenses and sensors.
A lot of this is shown in my website in my signature.
The attached photo was taken with a Canon S5 camera, at f/8, lens at 28mm. Pretty good depth of field on this four foot long HO scale module.
GrampysTrains
Member
I'm certainly no photo expert, but I agree with Bob. I use a Panasonic DMC-FZ7 which is about 4 years old. I use Aperture Priority, manual focus, and fstop of 8, as small as this camera goes. I think I get pretty good dof. DJ.
You guys have some great looking layouts. Excellent pictures as well.
I am looking at the Power Shot SD1499 IS model. When getting a power shot was mentioned I thought this will be easy, then found that there are many types of power shots.
I have learned more about cameras in the last few days than I have in my whole life. Many of the terms you guys use are unknown to me, kind of like trying to break and read the purple code of WW2. But I am learning.
I looked for a screen that would swivel, but most seem to be fixed. As was pointed out, this takes some control away from you it would seem, especially at odd angles where you can not see through the screen.
From what I have read, this seems to be a decent camera unless I have overlooked something.
I am looking at the Power Shot SD1499 IS model. When getting a power shot was mentioned I thought this will be easy, then found that there are many types of power shots.
I have learned more about cameras in the last few days than I have in my whole life. Many of the terms you guys use are unknown to me, kind of like trying to break and read the purple code of WW2. But I am learning.
I looked for a screen that would swivel, but most seem to be fixed. As was pointed out, this takes some control away from you it would seem, especially at odd angles where you can not see through the screen.
From what I have read, this seems to be a decent camera unless I have overlooked something.
Indeed - Certainly allows manipulation that's not possible with jpg's.
However, my 02c is *most* folks are gonna be wasting time, disk space and CPU cycles with RAW files - Unless you have specific reasons for shooting RAW (MRR wants pix in that format for example) I'd stay away.
Cheers,
Ian
kenw
5th Generation Texian
if you take bird's-eye view shots, yes. Note the OOF foreground on Jay's pic. Not an issue here but there are some where it would be an issue, and mfd comes into play in these cases. It is a point to consider when choosing.
tankist
Active Member
every camera that was produced in past couple years surpassed quality level "most excellent". anything from major brands will produce stunning image as long as operator understands the limitations and operates within them. as i see it the difference is mostly in features, like that swivel screen you mentioned (very usefull for models IMHO).
you can not go wrong with either canon or Panasonic. or any other for that matter, its just that as far as compacts i personally tend to gravitate to these two brands
pick one, enjoy it. and don't forget to show us some pictures
you can not go wrong with either canon or Panasonic. or any other for that matter, its just that as far as compacts i personally tend to gravitate to these two brands
pick one, enjoy it. and don't forget to show us some pictures
Railphotog
Railroad Photographer
Doesn't work that way. If his camera could focus to 1/2", and if he had, then his area of sharpness would not extend to the background. Extreme closeups result in very little depth of field, no matter what the aperture. Give it a try and see.
kenw
5th Generation Texian
you are assuming that all photos have and need a long dof. take a pic of a model building exterior sometime: there is nothing past the front wall to see unless you can see thru it. you don't need a lot of dof but you do need a good mfd.
Railphotog
Railroad Photographer
With a half inch focusing distance, all you'd get would be a door or window. To get even a small structure front (in HO) you will need to be back further than half an inch. And try and get lighting on the front of the building from such a distance!
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TrainboyH16-44
Failfan
Ken, welcome to my 'I'm disappointed in you' list.
Railphotog
Railroad Photographer
Well that is interesting! I'm using my 40+ years of experience in photography, and 30 of those in model railroad photography to hopefully help people, and you don't like what I said so you'll ignore what I say. Just fine with me, I know what I'm doing as shown by over 850 photos printed in the hobby press, 30+ cover photos, awards at local, regional and national conventions, etc.
Secondhandmodeler
All new now!
Well, after reading previous conversations on here I pulled out my camera's owner manual. I wanted to know which settings were controllable. Not too many, but I did learn a lot about how to control the things that are controllable. That's what I get for not reading manuals until after I've owned something for TWO YEARS! Even though it's not my thread, I learned some things today.
Just thought I'd throw a positive spin at the end of this thread!
Just thought I'd throw a positive spin at the end of this thread!
Wow! Wasn't expecting that! [FWIW, I'm with Bob on this - MFD isn't generally the gating factor.]
Good for you!..... If you'd tried to read it when you first got it you'd probably have got totally confused!.....
One thing I don't think has been mentioned is the ability of some cameras to output their images straight to a 'puter screen. Some even allow "real time" preview and adjustments (F-stop, shutter speed etc) to be made from the computer. This is nice as you see a nice big image rather than the tiny one on the display and can hence make more informed decisions.....
Cheers,
Ian
