Railfan Technology > New Camera Advice

I am considering a new camera for use in getting reference photos to assist in my model railroading endeavours. I currently use a Canon EOS 20D and a few L series lenses. Very capable system, but tends to be bulky and heavy. Also utilizes the somewhat older CF cards. I am wondering if anyone has a newer, perhaps non-SLR camera that they have found good for RR photography. I am not worried about getting pretty pictures to post, just good, sharp, properly exposed reference photos of rolling stock, locos, vehicles, scenery, signals, etc, etc.I usually only shoot JPEGs as my days of post processing RAW images are (for now) behind me.

My darn cell phone (Samsung Galaxy) actually works well but the shutter lag doesn't lend itself to getting shots of cars in moving trains. 

So, anyone have experience with a smaller type camera that can take decent JPEG images? I would rank my critical specs (roughly in order) as: (price range...less than $500)

1. Minimal shutter lag (for shooting images in rapid succession, as in a moving train)
2. "Smaller" form factor than a 20D w/ 28-70 f2.8L lens
3. Ideally just a single built in lens, say 28-70, decently fast (2.8 ideally)
4. Minimal post processing needed of JPEG files. Maybe a bit of cropping and resizing, not much else. (ok, maybe a little with midtones and contrast, and ideally not needing to sharpen)
5. "Normal" viewfinder- such as with the 20D

What I don't need:

-RAW capability
-Interchangeable lenses
-Shutter lock up, depth of field preview, flash, - all the stuff you tend to move into with the better SLR's

I know, I know- I can go to DP Review and other photo sites and read heaps of reviews- but none of them are going to be using the camera the way I will, like many on this board actually will. I am just asking in the hopes that someone here does have a decent camera they can recommend. I am also well aware of rrpictures, railcar photos, etc but am interested in pics of stuff around me.

I attached an example of what I am after. I was out last evening enjoying the beautiful weather "by the tracks". Several CSX trains came by, and I noticed this blue gondola...snap. Don't see that every day. Filed for a future project...

TIA,

 

Rob Bennett
Fairview, PA

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The good news is that you're absolutely spoilt for choice these days! My first recommendation wouldn't be for a specific camera but to go to the 'dpreview' (digital photography review) website and look through their reviews, which include reviews of individual cameras but also groups of camers like the general group you seem to be looking for. At the moment there's a really helpful section on the front page of their website called 2016 roundups which covers general camera types as well as price brackets...really useful!

There are possibly three groups you might be looking at i think: there is a group that i'd call high-end compacts, with a modest zoom but very good image quality due to having a relatively large sensor. These have become popular recently as people prioritise image quality over a huge zoom.
There are also some similar cameras but with a bigger zoom ('superzooms'), these tend to have slightly lower image quality (but still very good!) as a compromise for having a larger lens. They tend to be a bit bigger than the previous group i mentioned but still smaller than a dslr with multiple lenses.

There's one camera currently out that i really like the look of - a panasonic TZ100, which has a 10x zoom but fantastic image quality due to a large (1 inch) sensor, a pretty unique feature set at the moment....which is the reason behind it's one downside....it's quite pricey! 

Good luck with your search - hope this helped a little.

Sorry, just read your question and saw the bit about not wanting to trawl through lots of reviews. I can narrow it down a bit for you, on 'dpreview' the relevant sections of the '2016 roundup' section are called 'consumer long zoom cameras', 'compact enthusiast zoom cameras' and 'long zoom compact cameras'. 
My dad has a Panasonic DMC FZ200 and loves it, f2.8 all the way through a quite big zoom range and up to 12 frames persecond shooting. Great, sharp and richly coloured photos....so that or the equivalent model, as i think it might have been replaced now might be worth a look.



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/16 06:59 by exhaustED.

Ricoh GR II.

http://us.ricoh-imaging.com/product/compact/gr-ii/

Small enough it can fit in your pocket. Unless you wear skinny hipster jeans.

It has an APS-C sensor in a compact body. Fixed focal length lens.

https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=ricoh%20gr%20ii&sort=interestingness-desc

See if you like the color/style of the images the Ricoh produces.

The only thing I would worry about is buffer space. You will not be able to shoot all 120 cars on a train with a high quality digital camera. The files are writing too much information to the SD card to pray and spray that long without having the camera bog down.

Current price is about $80 above average sale price right now. Normally hovers around $600. If it drops below that price grab it quick.

This is a top tier you get what you pay for camera. Just a bit out of your price range. I'll give a couple more suggestions later on this weekend.

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?9,3986689
Maybe this discussion will help you some.
Good luck!
Todd Montgomery
Springfield OR

Hi Rob,
 
I’ve had good results with a Canon Powershot ELPH 330 HS using a 4-section SLIK stick monopod as a handle, doing just the things you describe.  It comes with a lot of useless (to me) features in the menu, but includes a 10x optical zoom.  It’ll go to 40x digitally. 
 
It will shoot consecutive images as long as the shutter is depressed, but check the specs to see if it will be fast enough for your operation.  I recently got some okay results of a moving train at dawn at ISO 1600; it’ll go to ISO 6400 for night shots.
 
It fits in my shirt pocket when not attached to the monopod.  I’ve shot 12,000 images with it in about 1½ years, and paid $100 for it (not counting extra batteries and SD cards).  This camera is a replacement for my previous Canon, which I liked better, but is no longer available.
 
I used these cameras on my previous job as a bridge inspector, taking thousands of detail shots to be used in published reports and illustrations for engineers and CAD people.
 
Your mileage may vary, but give it a look.  It ain’t top of the line equipment, but it is easy to carry around and gives me good quality shots.
 
The ELPH does NOT excel at the high contrast differences of waterfall scenes that my wife likes to shoot; it is difficult to get a slow enough shutter speed / decent exposure.  She loves her Canon T5i for that and everything else, and she’s a much better photographer than I.
 
Here are a couple of shots from the ELPH, resized, but otherwise unaltered.
 
1) “Nice save!”  This kid was about 70 meters away from me, trying to get a close up shot of Thor’s Well at Cape Perpetua on the Oregon coast.  This shot was taken at 25x zoom, using a monopod. 
He was successful here, about 2 hours after high tide, but about an hour later the ocean claimed his expensive Nikon.  He told us it was insured.  I sent him this photo and a few others.  We watched a lot of people get wet that day.
 
2) A true “drive-by” shot, taken May 27th while chasing P+W’s OE Express south from Donald, Oregon.  The train was ahead of me when came to this mustard field, hit the brakes, pulled over, rolled down the passenger window, and clicked off 5 or 6 shots…no time to change camera settings.  This is where the monopod excels as a “handle” in its collapsed form.
 
bt
 

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I don't know if you've considered a Point-n-shoot.  I usually use a Canon 70D for most of what I do but I also often carry a Canon ELPH 340HS that I picked up about 2 years ago.  I've used it when I didn't want to bring the big camera with me.   It's sure not going to replace the DSLR but it's small and fits in a shirt pocket.  I think it's a 16MP or somewhere in that range.  It has a decent optical zoom, 25-300mm, (35mm equivalent.)  I have been impressed with the quality and since it's two years old, the newer ones are probably better.  The shutter lag is quite short.  I've had some early digital cameras that had about a half second lag but this camera is much faster than that.  When you turn the power on it takes about a second to a second and a half to extend the lens and be ready to shoot.  Much better than my cellphone.  I've used it in some low light situations and it has performed pretty well.  It has ISO 80-1600, rear screen is 3".

I have posted photos taken with it here on TO and had comments about them being nice photos.  Of course, you could post some trash and get that from time to time.  Anyway, if you are just looking for something to document where the grab irons are attached, or how something is painted, it might be something to consider.  Cost is under $200.  

I was about to send this and I looked up some stuff.  The current model is the 350.  Still $199 MSRP.  20MP sensor.  There are some exposure controls you can work with also.  

John

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Nikon 1 J5 mirrorless ILC lists at B&H at $499 and shoots and AF's almost as fast as pro/semi pro SLR's with great image quality.  It comes with a 10-30 mm zoom lens (27-81 mm equivalent).  It has interchangeable lenses in case you want to expand later ;~)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/16 19:26 by Gateway97.

Go to www.dpreview.com.  They have many group reviews of similar cameras. 

The Sony RX10 III has some real fine reviews, not cheap though. Read DPReviews review.

Panasonic DMC-ZS20.  GPS, Full 1080p, 20X "Leica" lens, point and shoot.  Probably replaced by a newer model number, but I've owned it and the predecessor, and I find it extraordinarily good for all but fast action shooting.

Ed

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I like a Sony A6000 for the kind of work you mention, though Canon has similar cameras that might have a more familiar control layout.
Have you looked at the more compact and less-featured Canon DSLR bodies?  If they could accept the same lenses you have now, one of those with a 16-80 zoom or something similar might give you a lot of bang for your buck and make the whole system more versatile.