Slot Car photography equipment

[HomeRacingWorld]

Ok, for what it is worth there are two guys here I learned from: James Simpson and Dave Kennedy. These pros taught me a lot about cameras, shooting modes, lighting...etc.

I bought a slightly higher end Canon SX-40 a year ago. It is NOT a full SLR, but for the web it is almost perfect. Plenty of options and although my skills need work, it takes a great photo.

Tonight The General gave me an early present.

A Canon SX160



This is about the best little outfit I have had for running HRW. This is a step up from the SX130 I had for a couple years that I used for HRW. It has full auto mode and a nice list of manual controls.

It is $99.00 at Wal-Mart.

For just online photo posting, you do NOT need a high end SLR for great photos. A simple camera like this is all you really need. Even the PROS I mentioned often use simple equipment and the results they get are amazing.

Like many other things, the item is only as good as the person operating it. I can tune a Slot.it to the ends of my budget, yet Kurt or Dave Dobner can lap me with a brick. They have skills.

Tripods...yes. No tripod? Try a slotcar case lid :) Anything other than yourself, especially when you get to be my age.!



Light. Boy, Jeremy nailed that. It is so important.



I have plenty of light from the top, at decent angles. Plus a drop light or two.



These cheap lamps are the perfect photoghelpers.

My photos are not pro quality and everyday I try a little harder, but it is fun. But you really do not need to spend a lot on camera equipment to take decent photos.

Just my :twocents-mytwocents:

Thanks General Myway for the new toys. She spoils me.

[Czar]

I use a Leica M7 with a 40mm Rokkor f2 lens. Then I scan the film and massage the image through Photoshop. One of the advantages of shooting film is, if anything happens to your original file, you have the perfect backup. Just re-scan the negative. The one serious negative that hasn't been remedied for digital photography (or anything else digital) is the fact that digital files can corrupt for no apparent reason. BTW, the archival life of an image stored on a CD is six months. Back up, back up, back up.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

That last photo is the little bugger that has won me over. Thanks for that, Harry. Best pocket change I ever spent.

[OL Mike]

This what i can do with my camera i use Auto finepix S 5200 FUJIFILM I Play with lighting. No flash, no direct lighting. Use diffused lightinghttp: reflected lighting.These are all really simple things.

[Ember]

Really apart from the optics and the recording of the image there is very little to tell cameras apart. The real difference is in the person behind the camera.

I'm the first to admit my camera technique isn't really great. That's why my photos tend to be of a story telling nature, rather than of the classic 'car portrait' style.

[4424ever]

I know the disscusion is about cameras but I should throw in here that without a camera at this time I've been playing around with my wifes IPAD. We have never owned a real good camera but decent ones and let me tell you this IPAD blows them out of the water. All you do is turn on the camera in the menu point,shoot,poof an amazing pic considering there are no settings or flash. Now I have to figure out how to get them from the IPAD to FRED ( you know what FRED stands for don't you ) the puter so I can use them on the net!

[whitworthnut]

Very good point Ember. I was looking at the entrants in the photo contest on SFI and asked my daughter which photo she liked best. In my mind I had selected a couple of excellent technical shots. She picked something entirely different because "it told a story". So that's what I try to do. Create the setting, angle the car(s) to suggest some sort of action and do the shoot at eye level to draw the observer into the story.

Lighting is an additional component that can really set the mood. I am no expert, but I try to emulate how things might work in the real world. I experiment with different angles and intensity that might reflect the time of day. With the pre war garage I use only the light that is directed through the window, again at different angles to simulate different times of the day. I have also augmented the window light source with small pools of light to highlight areas that were too dark, but I wanted the eye drawn to in order to tell the story.

[studioRS]

[Ember]

I do sometimes use my phone's camera just to help me look at things a little differently.

[studioRS]

You hit the nail on the head there dear! Wow, yes the ability to place your cell phone in any location it fits and live preview makes that a neat trick. Of course, nice track too.

[ChallengerGuy]

An excellent camera is the Canon S90, S95, S100, S110 series of cameras. Fantastic images and very portable. I take it when I can only take one camera and it has to be small. Blows away my iphone and the iphone is one of the better camera-phones out there. For most of the early shots on my slot car website, I used a Nikon 950 early digital camera. While other early camera offered "features" the Nikon offered excellent image quality. It also helps to have an old version of Adobe Photoshop so you can easily resize pictures and adjust a few things like saturation and highlights, etc. Basic stuff.

[Fast Co.]

That is a nice track Ember. Any more pics?

[Ember]

I'm sure I've posted some pics of my track on here. Search for Tyers Targa.

[OL Mike]

its all in getting to know what you can do with your camera a lot of good points have be made on this forums i shot this up on top of desk with a one bulb lamp