Photographer's Corner - equipment

[RonBoyd]

Anyone have a go pro? DW ordered one for me last week - should be here today.

Yes.

 

[Walt34]

No, but it 's been on my "wish list" for a long time. Trouble is, other than putting it on my motorcycle I can't think of much else I'd do with it.

 

[seraphim]

Did exposure testing on that old Sigma lens I picked up, and it just became favorite lens. Ever.

It runs about 1 stop against light meters - exactly where I like it. Most lenses, if I center the in camera meter, still lose highlights, and I end up closing the aperture about 1 stop. This one does not burn out highlight. Using my handheld ambient meter, I have to dial in about a 1 stop over exposure to get the histogram where I want it. Lol

The lens is tack sharp. I snuck a photo of my wife last night, in low light, reading a book. I was about 15' away, 28mm focal length, on camera flash ... I can read the book on the cameras LCD display. No post production sharpening necessary. Sharpening actually made the reading more difficult.

A big plus is my adjustable lens hood/ filter and gel holder fits the threads. This just became my go to studio lens.

Never thought I'd be using third party glass on my Nikon's. Now I have two fast glass Sigmas. Never say, "Never."


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[FIREd]

The Go Pro is on my wish list. I'd like to use it to film some scenic drives and hikes. But there is no room in the budget for it this year.

 

[RonBoyd]

Anyone have a go pro? DW ordered one for me last week - should be here today.

Okay, all kidding aside. We purchased the GoPro HeroPlus+3 Black Edition (GoPro Official Website: The World's Most Versatile Camera) a year or so ago because there were a large number of times on our RV travels where the view was simply overwhelming. As you might imagine, Murphy's Law states there is no place to pull over and take picture at those times. While we are much too old to be scheduling Sky Dives and will probably not be skiing down the sheer face of a cliff in the immediate future, the purchase seemed prudent.

However, after it was delivered, it was not as easy to use as a "Dash Cam" as one would think.

So... a little research delivered me to a "real" Dash Cam, the DOD LS430W: Comparing the LS300W, LS330W, LS400W, LS430W, GT300W, and GT550WS

(Promotional Video -

)

So now, the GoPro is primarily used to take video out the side windows as we travel.

Nevertheless, I am glad we bought it -- it has been quite handy several times outside of the RV use -- but it just wasn't that useful for what it was originally intended.

My opinion: A wonderful invention but know why you "need" it and fully research that use before committing.

As an aside, both cameras take 1080P video at all the standard frame rates. Therefore, one can (with, for instance, Photoshop) extract individual frames and process (develop) them into quite acceptable stills.

 

[explanade]

I said I'd look into it some day but found out employees at my company gets 40% discount.

So I got 2.5 weeks to take advantage before I leave.

Good deal but supposedly Go Pro 4 is due in Sept. or October with much greater capabilities.

But 40% may be hard to ignore. The top of the line 3+ Black Edition doesn't appear to be discounted anywhere so it must be in high demand.

I have no specific ideas on what to use for it, other than it's waterproof and I can have it on my person all the time, maybe mount it on the dash.

I agree there are times when I wish I'd have been filming while driving in some places.

 

[Walt34]

You probably seen it but if not take a look at Davemartin88's post here about using a CNC router to carve a bias relief image of a photo into a block of solid material. While I'm sure it's expensive it sure is intriguing.

 

[RonBoyd]

I said I'd look into it some day but found out employees at my company gets 40% discount.

So I got 2.5 weeks to take advantage before I leave.

Good deal but supposedly Go Pro 4 is due in Sept. or October with much greater capabilities.

But 40% may be hard to ignore. The top of the line 3+ Black Edition doesn't appear to be discounted anywhere so it must be in high demand.

I have no specific ideas on what to use for it, other than it's waterproof and I can have it on my person all the time, maybe mount it on the dash.

I agree there are times when I wish I'd have been filming while driving in some places.

Don't worry about not keeping up with technology... that's not gonna happen despite your best intentions anyway. No matter when you buy electronics it will be obsolete a minute or so later.

The reason that the GoPro is not a substitute for a dash cam is the short battery life and the need to be manually started and stopped. The GoPro's battery will take a video for less than an hour but that isn't much of a problem because that is normally longer than the storage space anyway.. The true Dash Cam (like or LS430W) is connected directly to the car battery and will take 5 minutes segments for about 24 hours before filling the card... and even then it just overwrites the eldest segment. It will also automatically turn on in the event of a collision while parked.

But don't get me wrong, a GoPro is one of those "must haves" if you are into photography in even the slightest.

 

[Ronstar]

Saw Davemartin88's CNC router image - amazing. I always wanted a CNC for woodworking. Never thought it could be used in photography. The cost of that CNC is most likely way out of my league. I've been looking at a couple at Rockler - 3-4k.

Got the go pro. A Hero3+black edition. Got a $100 dollar off coupon at the Oshkosh air show by filling out a questionnaire at their booth. DW is out searching for a micro sd card. I'm going to start off doing videos of kayak, boat, and bike rides, hikes and scenic car trips and expand from there.

 

[explanade]

Don't worry about not keeping up with technology... that's not gonna happen despite your best intentions anyway. No matter when you buy electronics it will be obsolete a minute or so later.

The reason that the GoPro is not a substitute for a dash cam is the short battery life and the need to be manually started and stopped. The GoPro's battery will take a video for less than an hour but that isn't much of a problem because that is normally longer than the storage space anyway.. The true Dash Cam (like or LS430W) is connected directly to the car battery and will take 5 minutes segments for about 24 hours before filling the card... and even then it just overwrites the eldest segment. It will also automatically turn on in the event of a collision while parked.

But don't get me wrong, a GoPro is one of those "must haves" if you are into photography in even the slightest.

But presumably the picture and video quality of the GoPro is superior to a dash cam?

I may also look into a drone at some point, though you hear about those things crashing at various places so maybe you don't want to have the fanciest kit attached to it.

Looks like a lot of people are mounting on the exterior of the car and tethering the camera in case the suction cup mount flies off. Obviously it would be better to mount outside but I'd like to be able to just have it on the dash somehow.

 

[RonBoyd]

But presumably the picture and video quality of the GoPro is superior to a dash cam?

Actually the quality is the same. The video from either camera compares favorably to the produced by my Canon 7D (the camera used to film the last three "House" episodes. On a large screen TV, the video is as good as any professional film.

I may also look into a drone at some point, though you hear about those things crashing at various places so maybe you don't want to have the fanciest kit attached to it..

Yeah, I was "almost persuaded" also. But after thinking it over, that was a lot more "work" than I wanted involved in. Not to mention the expense.

Looks like a lot of people are mounting on the exterior of the car and tethering the camera in case the suction cup mount flies off. Obviously it would be better to mount outside but I'd like to be able to just have it on the dash somehow.

Okay, let me try again. The DashCam is on and recording whenever to ignition switch is on. The Gopro has to manually started. The DashCam rums off the vehicle's generator (battery) while the GoPro has a rechargeable battery. The DashCam can record up to 24 hours of video while the GoPro is limited by battery capacity and SD Card capacity -- at most one hour.

(I am trying to figure out how to put a sample video in this post but I guess I'll have to do it separately.)

 

[RonBoyd]

But presumably the picture and video quality of the GoPro is superior to a dash cam?

Here is the video sample:

Okay, I give up. I don't know how to attach a .MOV file to a post.

 

[explanade]

Might not be one of the file types supported.

I'll take your word that the quality is as good as the GoPro, though I believe the GoPro is more action oriented so it can do really high FPS.

I understand the advantages but of course Go Pro can be used outside the car as well, including apparently underwater.

The LS430W costs less than the Hero3+ Black but again, if I can get this 40% discount, then it's another story -- kind of indicates to you what kind of crazy margins they have and why their stock price is up.

 

[RonBoyd]

Might not be one of the file types supported.

I'll take your word that the quality is as good as the GoPro, though I believe the GoPro is more action oriented so it can do really high FPS.

I understand the advantages but of course Go Pro can be used outside the car as well, including apparently underwater.

The LS430W costs less than the Hero3+ Black but again, if I can get this 40% discount, then it's another story -- kind of indicates to you what kind of crazy margins they have and why their stock price is up.

Oh! I am not arguing for either one. They both have very similar specs -- frame rate options, for instance. I am happy with them both and I agree they each fill a different and special niche in photography with quite a bit of overlap.

 

[seraphim]

RonBoyd

Put the file on youtube then place a link to it here.

http://youtu.be/2ecpgOTUPjw

Used a $100 Kodak waterproof HD 1080 p camera.


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[RonBoyd]

Put the file on youtube then place a link to it here.

But of course.

This video (one picked at random) was produced to be seen with regular viewers (Windows Media Player, for instance). Be sure to watch it at full screen. (The music is the car's radio and the voice is the GPS unit.) DOD, also, has their own proprietary viewer in which you can speed it up, slow it down, run it backwards, capture individual frames and a bunch of other nifty stuff including watching the trip on Google Maps.

Here is a still extracted with Photoshop (I didn't do any processing so it would look sharper/better with little work). And also a screen shot of the DOD proprietary program -- this is on a dual monitor system.

 

[explanade]

What are people using for printers?

I haven't printed anything and really have no plans to.

But I do need a printer for other reasons and I noticed in the reviews that some printers are better at text and others are at photos/graphics (though these may not always be the same).

Was looking to get the cheapest but the range goes up, if you want bigger prints.

Kind of leaning towards the Pixma MX922 or Epson Expressions XP-810.

 

[explanade]

Dash cam video looks like it has a very rock-solid mount.

But it doesn't focus continuously nor change the exposure?

 

[RonBoyd]

Dash cam video looks like it has a very rock-solid mount.

Yeah, it is mounted on the windshield behind (kinda) the rearview mirror.

But it doesn't focus continuously nor change the exposure?

I am unsure what you mean. Each frame seems in focus to me -- well, when you stop the video or the car isn't moving. Otherwise, yeah, things do go by in a blur.

Exposure? Hmmm. This was a short minute and a half piece where the lighting never really changed. I don't have any late day/night shots that can be quickly processed but believe me, the camera has no exposure issues. Actually, their website has a really good promotional video... or was it the dashcamcamerareviews.com website?

 

[FIREd]

This video (one picked at random) was produced to be seen with regular viewers (Windows Media Player, for instance). Be sure to watch it at full screen. (The music is the car's radio and the voice is the GPS unit.) DOD, also, has their own proprietary viewer in which you can speed it up, slow it down, run it backwards, capture individual frames and a bunch of other nifty stuff including watching the trip on Google Maps.

The video looks really good. I usually mount a small point and shoot camera on my dashboards capture a scenic drive, but the video looks awfully shaky when the car is moving at cruising speed. I don't know if this is due to the camera, mount, car suspension, or the state of our roadways.

 

[RonBoyd]

The video looks really good. I usually mount a small point and shoot camera on my dashboard, but the video looks awfully shaky when the car is moving at cruising speed. I don't know if this is due to the camera, mount, car suspension, or the state of our roadways.

Hmmmm. I don't know. Maybe the camera and the mount.

Mounted on the window is pretty solid. We have gone over some pretty rough roads and haven't noticed it in the videos. (Of course, since the camera runs all the time, I don't really watch much since the "newness" wore off. In fact, it now consists only of checking the time when I see something worth going back to look at and then later finding that segment.

Point and Shoot cameras are not really designed for video even though they do a somewhat decent job of it. (I guess that goes for cell phones, too.)

 

[explanade]

Thought some of the highlights were a bit blown out. Could be nice to tweak it. As you change directions, the position of the sun changes.

 

[Surfdaddy]

I used Pentax film SLR for many years. Still have it.
Started going digital with P&S in the early 2000's. Finally moved to a Nikon DSLR in 2008.
Got tired of the size of the DSLR. Bought a Sony NEX-6 mirrorless and am pretty happy with the dramatically smaller size and weight, and better quality than my Nikon DSLR.

Some mirrorless advantages are size, lens adapability from almost any make (but no auto exposure or focus), Optical viewfinder to see histogram, effects of exposure, not take eye from viewfinder, etc, and the ultra fast 10fps shooting rate (great for action).

Disadvantages of the mirrorless are smaller lens selection (but I don't buy a lot of them so not really an issue), and shorter battery life.

I use an older netbook on vacations to back up pictures. A tablet doesn't have a lot of cheap storage so I find the netbook better - it's a real computer, 640GB drive, and cheap enough that if it were stolen it wouldn't be that big a disaster.

 

[RonBoyd]

Just an aside, while we are on the subject of Video:

For those who don't have access to the any of the newer versions of Photoshop (or any version of Premier Pro):

Best free video editing software: download these DSLR movie editors today | Digital Camera World

 

[seraphim]

What are people using for printers?



I haven't printed anything and really have no plans to.



But I do need a printer for other reasons and I noticed in the reviews that some printers are better at text and others are at photos/graphics (though these may not always be the same).



Was looking to get the cheapest but the range goes up, if you want bigger prints.



Kind of leaning towards the Pixma MX922 or Epson Expressions XP-810.

I have an older Epson 2200. It was replaced by the 3000, I think. Does a professional job, 13" wide I think and has a roll paper attachment. I think it can do a 13 x 5? print, but can't remember exactly. Fifty some inches is bigger than I've ever needed. Uses 7 ink cartridges.

Get the best you think you will ever want, and take care of it. It will last.


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