DSLR Camera for modelling pics

[Ensign Elliott]

Hi all - a question to the camera experts on here.

I'd like to get some better pics of my layout and weathering projects as I've been disappointed with the ones taken on my phone. I've tried some of the image stacking software which has made an improvement but I'm thinking a better camera might be the solution, used in conjunction with the image stacking. The pics of my layout taken by Chris Nevard (Model Rail) and Mike Wild (Hornby) recently are fantastic, and they used DSLR type cameras.

So, which camera would people recommend for taking up close pics of very small objects? I have zero experience in this field so any advice would be great.

[Bealman]

Our forum expert is Roger of Wrenton fame.

[jamespetts]

A camera with a smaller sensor will get you bigger depth of field than one with a larger sensor. I use Micro Four Thirds: some of those cameras have built-in focus stacking. Some of the cameras with built-in focus stacking are now available relatively cheaply secondhand: look for the Olympus OM-D EM-1 mark 2,for instance. Make sure to get a compatible lens. For model railways, even in N gauge, you will not need a dedicated macro lens: an ordinary lens with a good close focusing capability will suffice. Also consider the use of off-camera flash.

[JanW]

Look for a 'mirrorless' camera, all the major brands have switched to mirrorless.
A very useful feature of these cameras is focus peaking, which helps with manual focusing. The area that is in focus will be lined with a specific colour so it is very easy to place the focus exactly where you want.
A specific macro lens is very useful for the smallest details. The cheapest options often don'n have a strong telephoto view but are very useful for railway photos.
Like Jamespetts I also have a micro four thirds camera and the Olympus 30mm macro or the Panasonic 30mm macro are ideal for what you want.
Other systems have similar lenses.
My Panasonic can even do focus stacking in camera and produces an 8 MP photo ad a result.

You don't need the most expensive top of the line camera, I have a simple Lumix gx800 which can do everything I need

[Ensign Elliott]

Thanks both for that. As I said, I have zero experience in this field and having done a bit of research on "micro four thirds" and "Panasonic 30mm macros" I'm still none the wiser really.

It all seems a massive minefield

[JanW]

I'll try to explain it a bit more tonight, I'm about to leave for a visit to the dentist.

Jan

[geoffc]

Depth of field has nothing to do with the sensor size or whether the camera is mirrorless or not.
The smaller the aperture (larger f number) the greater the depth of field. For a given ISO number, the smaller the aperture the longer the exposure required.
Ideally you would be looking for a camera lense combination capable of being set at f16 and the camera setting the shutter speed. I only use Canon DSLRs and this is achievible in what Canon call the creative zone where you control one of the camera settings.
You may find you will need a long exposure time and to avoid camera shake a good tripod and remote shutter release.
I suggest you visit a good camera shop, explain what you want to achieve and be guided by them.

Geoff
 

[maridunian]

Hi Rob

I recently bought a toughened outdoor compact camera, an Olympus TG-6.

Like most cameras it has a 'macro' mode for extreme close-ups, but I discovered that within macro mode it offers focus-stacking, ie it takes up to 10 snaps in rapid succession, focussing at various ranges within the scene, then merges them into a single photo. This happens in under 10 seconds with no intervention required.

Some chat and examples here.

In this photo foreground is 3" from the camera and the tunnel portal ~3'.



Mike

[JanW]

Those photos are brilliant!

Jan

[Jim Easterbrook]

Look for a 'mirrorless' camera, all the major brands have switched to mirrorless.
A very useful feature of these cameras is focus peaking, which helps with manual focusing. The area that is in focus will be lined with a specific colour so it is very easy to place the focus exactly where you want.

My Canon DSLR does that when in "live view shooting" mode - it flips the mirror up and shows the image on the screen. You can zoom in to check focus as well. I assume other brands have a similar feature.

I like looking into a viewfinder in normal use. No need to switch to my reading glasses, no problem with bright sunlight. Compact cameras with viewfinders are not as common as they once were.

I discovered that within macro mode it offers focus-stacking, ie it takes up to 10 snaps in rapid succession, focussing at various ranges within the scene, then merges them into a single photo. This happens in under 10 seconds with no intervention required.

One of my ideas awaiting a round tuit is to write software to control my camera to take a group of photos, then process them to make a focus stacked image. I reckon a side effect of the processing should be a depth map from which one could make a pseudo-stereo image.

Yes you can get cameras that do it for you, but where's the fun in that?   

[Nbodger]

Rob, I know we have had conversations on this subject a couple of times, so apologies if any of the following is repeated

As you know I image stack most of model photographs using affinity.

The camera I use is a Canon EOS 550D which was purchased as a general use camera with no thought of layout photography.

I utilise a Canon EFS 18-135mm lens which has a minimum focus distance of 15", a 12" minimum focus distance would be better due to limited space to take the photograph in.

I generally take photographs with aperture priority and a F setting of f10 ISO of 100 and a 2 second shutter delay and utilise a tripod.

You need a camera where you can adjust which part of the picture you wish to focus on, if I want all of the photo in focus then take a grid across the whole picture 20 to 35 individual photos.

Also I switch between auto and manual focus, auto doesn't always focus on what you want it too.

Mirrorless cameras seem to be the new norm, however, not used one.

A image stacked image using affinity produces a file of 20 plus Mb per photograph.

For posting on the forum I reduce this in affinity to 200 to 500 kb by reducing the pixels to approx 1300 x xxx and reduce the image quality to medium from High.

You are aware of the photographs I produce, don't always get it right, but don't always show them, hope this is of some help, if not ignore.

Mike H

[JanW]

Ok, so I promised to explain something about the differences between cameras and lenses.
This is a bit harder than I thought but I'll share some of the photos I just took.

First a photo of my cameras. They look different but have the same sensor and lens mount.
This is one of the first things to consider. Do you want a larger camera with viewfinder and better grip or is a smaller camera with only a screen ok for you?
I prefer the smaller camera for photos of the layout because it can be put in smaller spaces.

Small camera with kit zoom lens, larger one with my macro lens.


The reason this is harder than I thought is that it is not the camera that you use but the lens that makes the difference.
So I'll make seperate posts for the lenses I used, hope it makes things a bit more clear.

[JanW]

First a few phone pictures. I thought depth of field would be good because of the small sensor and focal length but it appeared that the phone doesn't have aperture control (you need to close the aperture to increase depth of field).
So a phone without focus stacking is useless for what you want to use it for.








It is not possible to get forefround and background sharp with my iPhone XR

[JanW]

Kit zoom lens.

Setup:


Wide angle:



Zoomed in:


Wide angle focus stack (minimum focus distance too long):

[JanW]

Other lenses follow tomorrow evening, have to get up at 5 tomorrow...

Jan