Photography

[Big Al]

Hi all,

I wonder if anyone knows of a photography thread here on this site? I know I could probably find something on the 'net, but I'd prefer the input from a diecast car photographer's perspective and everyone here is so great and knowledgeable (except me).

I'm asking because the only good camera I have is a film camera, so when I'm able I will buy a digital, but I don't really know which one to get. (Limited budget, too.) Plus, I've never really taken pictures of my collection, so it would all be new to me... the setup, lighting etc.

I think a "Photography" topic would be great on this site, of course only as pertaining to Vintage British Diecasts and the various other subjects normally covered here.

Thanks to everyone as usual,

Alan

[mcnair55]

Photography is so big in its own right,far far bigger than diecast will ever be.I would suggest you buy a decent second hand camera for next to nothing as many have no value with technology changing so fast.I have at least 3 cameras here in my possession which at the time cost over £250 each and are now more or less unsaleable because you/we can nip to your local Argos etc and get a point and shoot fully gizmoed up for a few £,s,then the following month or so it has been cut to half the price.

One of the best web sites for any camera enthusiasts is http://www.steves-digicams.com/
I would never dream of buying a camera without first checking the site and my last 10 cameras have come courtesy of the comments and reviews read.

This will help as well,i have all the mails filed away.

http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hello Big Al,

There is not a specific Photography thread at the moment, but I am offering my services, as a past keen enthusiast in the subject and have put an...Edit your pictures...topic in the Lounge

If I can answer any Photo queeries or problems you or other forum members have, it could turn into a proper thread.

As a quick guide line, as usual with Tech gear, you only get what you pay for, the more you pay the better the product.

As tempting as some of the gear looks, try and stick to 'brands' that you reconise or know, the SONY, CANON, FUJI AND NIKON companies all make cameras in all price ranges from budget to mid-price and of course, the 'all bells and whistles' type at really high prices.

In Photography, it is very easy to fall into the "use a sledge hammer to crack a walnut" situation by buying megabucks camera, just to take a couple of quick 'snaps' of a few models, or your daughter's wedding and that's that, even a basic not so well known branded camera would be fine for that.

Next thing you want to consider, is the type of models you have and the type of pictures you want of those models. Do you want to come back to me on this and let me know what sort of pictures you want, archiving your collection, pictures of models for sale on E-BAY, pictures of models just for your own albums or pictures for this forum ?

I expect it will be a little of all of the above.

Regards,
GHOSTHUNTER.

[Big Al]

One of the best web sites for any camera enthusiasts is http://www.steves-digicams.com/
I would never dream of buying a camera without first checking the site and my last 10 cameras have come courtesy of the comments and reviews read.

This will help as well,i have all the mails filed away.

http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/

mcnair55,

Thanks for the links and advice! Running out of time today, but I'll definitely check them out.

[nickjones]

I don't know much about photography but here's my experiences.
To get a nice sharp picture use a tripod and use the cameras timer so you get no camera shake, tripods can be bought for very little money.
To ensure your pictures show the correct colours you need to photograph your toys in natural daylight without using the flash, Artificial light & photographic flash shows the models in false colours, Even using the very best digital camera the colour rarely comes out 100% correct.

[Big Al]

Next thing you want to consider, is the type of models you have and the type of pictures you want of those models. Do you want to come back to me on this and let me know what sort of pictures you want, archiving your collection, pictures of models for sale on E-BAY, pictures of models just for your own albums or pictures for this forum ?

GHOSTHUNTER,

Thanks for your kind offer of help. Regarding your question above, I guess you're right. It probably will be a little of everything; even vacation pictures etc. But let's just say--to keep it relevant to this forum--that I'm only taking pictures of my Matchboxes for posting on this forum, eBay, craigslist et al.

I kind of wanted to get a topic going, with input from all here, that would incorporate equipment (types of cameras, megapixels, etc.), methods (display, lighting, number of pictures, camera settings and so on), and tech issues ("How To" as far as posting to all the above sites, sizing, problems to avoid or things that are helpful) related to the above.

I know that you and others have covered some of these issues elsewhere here, and I always appreciate the posts. Having one consolidated thread might be fun and useful. "In the multitude of counselors there is safety," as some wise man once said.

Alan

[Big Al]

I don't know much about photography but here's my experiences.
To get a nice sharp picture use a tripod and use the cameras timer so you get no camera shake, tripods can be bought for very little money.
To ensure your pictures show the correct colours you need to photograph your toys in natural daylight without using the flash, Artificial light & photographic flash shows the models in false colours, Even using the very best digital camera the colour rarely comes out 100% correct.

Thanks, Nick. I had totally forgotten about tripods. Yes, good tip. And I've noticed the difficulty with identifying the precise colours in pictures on the internet. That seems to make things somewhat of a crapshoot sometimes, more than I'm comfortable with. Not that I'm a high roller, though. Input from others as to how to get the colours down properly would be great.

Alan

[kerbside]

Hello Alan, you can judge how photos turn out by going to my forum The Casting of 1-75 models. I take all my photos in my toy room with floruo lights in the ceiling, I do not use a flash but I do use a small tripod, and have the camera set on Macro, and also a 10 second timer.

You ask about true colours, Red ones are quite hard to show, but then what shows on one monitor will look all together different on another monitor.

Here is a picture of two 9c fire engines on my monitor they are very different colour Reds, but may not be so noticeable on other monitors.

How do they show up on your monitor?



Then I use a programme called " Picasa" to crop them, and to reduce the KB sizes, then I put them on to "Photobucket" before uploading the to the forum.

My camera is quite old now but it takes great photos it is a "NIKON" Coolpix 5600.

George T.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hi guys,

I am 'all for' this section in the Lounge to become THE Photography thread.

Displaying colours on PC monitors.
...This is always going to be problematic for some of us and not others, even if every member had the same make and model computer,
there would still be differences in the colours displayed, so we have to accept a generalisation of what the true colour is, of anything displayed
on our screens.

Neutral colours.
...Neutral colours are those that...surprisingly, don't have a lot of colour in them, sounds silly, but they are the easiest to reproduce in photography
and one of the best Neutral colours is grey. Look at the grey wheels on the second model in the picture above, this is a good grey and professional
photographers used to carry an A5 sized card of this colour to put in front of the lens, taking a reading from this to set up the correct exposure to
give them 'true coloured' pictures.

With modern Digital cameras of the sort that most of us use, this part of photography has been automated for us, but there are still several aspects to remember. It would be very helpul if you can place your models on some grey material or card, material is easier to come by, unless you want to buy a large roll of grey card from a trade supplier, not so easy and difficult to store when not being used. Nick mentions in his post a tripod, if you want good, sharp pictures of important models, (for most of us that means our collections), then yes, this is a definite purchase, but if you don't want to spend on one at the moment, you can use a couple of small 'bean bags' or even an old 'sand bag' put into a pillar case to stop stray sand getting onto the camera, just to support the camera so you are not touching the camera while the picture is being taken with the self timer.

GHOSTHUNTER.

[Big Al]

How do they show up on your monitor?


George T.

Thanks, George. Great tips for me to use.

The left hand vehicle shows as a darker red, a sort of burgundy. The right hand one I would call an apple red. I know nothing about what impacts the display on a monitor, but for what it's worth I'm running Win7, a 23" (I think) flat screen Acer monitor using 1920x1080 resolution, and an on board graphics card.

Alan