Any Suggestions on New Camera?

[Barney]

Thanks to you all for the info and thanks very much to our Russ for taking the time to put it right and share his thoughts on the subject it shows  things have changed for the better in most cases and I must admit the quality of a photo taken on quite cheap mobile phone is excellent.
Thanks
    Barney

[Design-HSB]

Would not it also be a good idea to talk about the right lighting for digital photography? I use Led construction sites spotlights which have LEDs 30 W, 2,400 lm, neutral white (4,000 K)

[Bill Gill]

Russ, Thank you for answering all those questions. It helps to get insights and ideas from someone who's done a whole lot more photography than I ever will.

[mad gerald]

Don't have to contribute anything appropriate regarding photography, so I decided to move my posting from here to my thread:

http://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=2783.msg57395#msg57395

[peterh]

We can do it all with iPad apps now:

CameraPixels to shoot focus bracket photos.

Affinity Photo to focus stack and edit the photos.

SKRWT or Affinity Photo to mitigate the distortion of a wide angle lens (the nose being too big in a portrait)

The iPad as a camera is great not because it's a great camera as such but because of the great yet inexpensive camera and photo editing apps. The quality might or mightn't be as good as a much more expensive setup, but you can't browse the Westlake site on that more expensive setup.

[finescalerr]

I'll post something about lighting later. Right now I want to point out that Affinity Photo is supposed to be as good and as comprehensive as Photoshop (each has strengths and weaknesses but, from what I've read, they are equal overall).

The BIG difference is price: Photoshop is by subscription only and tends to be expensive. Affinity Photo costs $50 and you own the program. I'm thinking about buying it because I don't like being forced by a corporation to pay monthly or annually in order to keep the program and get updates I don't need that keep altering how I do things. I have the last version of Photoshop they sold as a program.

An aside about cameras and, for that matter, computers: Unless you have specific creative or industrial needs a smartphone or tablet will do everything the typical owner would want. Today's SLR and mirrorless cameras are sophisticated, confusing to some people, and relatively expensive, especially when you need a few lenses. So are computers (except for the lenses!). But two year old kids easily master smartphones and tablets. Yes, really. Inexpensive apps along with macro and wide angle slip-on lenses extend the devices' functionality.

Many of us need computers for CAD, advanced photography, video production, or music production. I need mine for all four! Others might think about the alternatives and possibly save some money.

Russ

[Lawton Maner]

Russ:
Since you opened the door to the subject of photo manipulation (what us old f**** called "dark room techniques") how about some opinions on software comparisons?  I am looking for something I don't have to rent and can be used in a stand alone mode because of the slow speeds in rural central Virginia.

[finescalerr]

The best choice by far is Affinity Photo, as Peter pointed out (and I commented on). It's a thoroughly professional program and an amazing value. No sense in getting a less comprehensive program when Affinity will do everything at the same price. Even though it can do a thousand things, you still may only need to use three of them. The others will be there if you need them.

You have to download Affinity Photo. If your Internet connection is slow it may take a while. After it's in your computer the Internet no longer is a factor. Incidentally, the same is true of Photoshop ... except Adobe will keep extorting money from you.

Russ

[finescalerr]

I'm going to start a new thread called "Photography, Cameras, and Lighting" to cover what is a crucial aspect of modeling. Let's continue with this subject there and it's perfectly okay to repeat any posts or questions about iPhones there. I'll see whether I can include a link to this thread, too. -- Russ

[Lawton Maner]

Thanks, as many know, I hate being robbed by someone with a mouse.

[Barney]

Mr Russ - yes please much needed - but please keep it simple -
Barney

[finescalerr]

Barney, here you go: http://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=2840.msg57418;topicseen#msg57418

If you don't want to read it all, just check out the drawing.

Russ

[finescalerr]

I decided to see what the iPhone could do with sufficient light and Affinity Photo. Yes, I bought the program for $50 because it really is a Photoshop alternative and does some things better. For instance, its "focus merge" feature works vastly better than the equivalent command in Photoshop CS6 (the last time you could buy rather than lease the program).

Since this was a test to see what I could do with only the most basic tools I put the 1:32 scale loco (about 8 inches long) on my workbench and used my two halogen desk lamps for lighting. No reflectors, no backdrop. I used one of those inexpensive "selfie" clamps to mount the phone on a tripod, brought the phone very close to the model, and shot seven photos. I never moved the position of the phone but, in each case, manually set the point of focus and exposure. (Most relatively new phones have an on-screen control for that.)

I imported the seven images and let Affinity Photo combine them into a single image. Then I spent about five minutes burning in the highlights, bringing out some shadow detail, and applying a light "unsharp mask". The result is truly impressive at full resolution and, honestly, comes very close to what my SLR can produce. But the SLR can't achieve the same dramatic perspective.

If you have a smartphone, a tripod, and software with a decent "focus merge" command, try shooting a couple of images of your layout or diorama and post them somewhere on this forum. If you don't have the software, buy Affinity Photo. It's worth ten times its price.

Russ

[Greg Hile]

Really great job, Russ!

BTW, Affinity is running a 20-25 percent off "end of the year" special, depending on the product, through January 5. I am downloading trials of Photo and Designer, and am most likely going to purchase the iPad version of Photo regardless. It would be nice to wean myself off of that monthly Adobe subscription I don't use all that much anymore.

[Greg Hile]

Affinity is running a 20-25 percent off "end of the year" special, depending on the product, through January 5. I am downloading trials of Photo and Designer, and am most likely going to purchase the iPad version of Photo regardless. It would be nice to wean myself off of that monthly Adobe subscription I don't use all that much anymore.

Turns out that after looking at trial versions, I bought all three and am happy with them ...