N Gauge Now

[Steamie+]

Not liking something doesn't make people close-minded, despite the petty snipe.
[/quote]

Why is it that you try to put words into my mouth, i have never said anything or anyone being close-minded and i don't think i have said anything to have a petty snipe.

Had enough of the rubbish been said on this subject.

[Chris Morris]

I'm sure the owner of N gauge Now will be reading this. I look forward to seeing a few copies at the Warley N Gauge open day on 12th March as N Gauge Now magazine will be there.

I must confess I do like nice photos of layouts so it may not be for me. The mainstream magazines do have brilliant photographers in their team with great techniques and the right equipment. Taking really good photos, especially in N gauge is very difficult. Obtaining professional quality photos from layouts all over the country is going to be expensive which may be a problem for a small  fledgling enterprise.

[njee20]

I guess it doesn't need to be too expensive assuming (big assumption) you have the camera equipment. There are plenty of layouts out there many of which can probably be reached in a day trip - I'd be trawling the forums and contacting owners.

Is 2mmFS allowed? I'm guessing not. That's a shame, as there are a couple of stunning 2mmFS layouts out there that I've personally not seen in the press - Euston, which is a work in progress admittedly, and Water Orton(?)

[Sprintex]

Taking really good photos, especially in N gauge is very difficult. Obtaining professional quality photos from layouts all over the country is going to be expensive which may be a problem for a small  fledgling enterprise.

Precisely. As far as I can tell it's just Howard and Robin at the moment, with most of the photographic work being Robin's job, so one man is hardly able to whizz all over the country taking high quality photos of everything featured. In this respect it's hardly fair to compare them to the likes of RM or BRM that have teams of people and a publishing house behind them. Personally I think they've done a great job so far, OK so some of the photos are less than Ideal, but that's still better than no N Gauge magazine at all


Paul

[njee20]

Taking really good photos, especially in N gauge is very difficult. Obtaining professional quality photos from layouts all over the country is going to be expensive which may be a problem for a small  fledgling enterprise.

Precisely. As far as I can tell it's just Howard and Robin at the moment, with most of the photographic work being Robin's job, so one man is hardly able to whizz all over the country taking high quality photos of everything featured. In this respect it's hardly fair to compare them to the likes of RM or BRM that have teams of people and a publishing house behind them.

I'd be interested to know why they're printing at a lower resolution. Taking the article I mentioned on Dragonby, they're using the same photos as MR, but they're far lower res. They don't have to go anywhere or take any photos. Now I imagine Chris Nevard provided hi-res copies, so what advantage is there of lower resolution images? Desktop printers print better, but once one gets to a professional level will it come more for more fidelity in the images? I'd certainly presume not.

[Tank]

I think that points are now made and we don't need to keep going back to them. 

njee20, I suggest that you put your points across to the authors of the magazine.

[njee20]

I'll take the hint and leave!

[red_death]

Photos? Are they THAT much better in, say, Model Rail? Railway Modeller? Is the photography itself that much better? Answer: sometimes....Sometimes mood is sacrificed for pin-sharp, frontal flash.

From what I've seen of N Gauge Now, then yes the quality of photos is significantly better in Model Rail/ Railway Modeller/BRM/Rail Express etc.

I've nothing to compare them with. Having heard a lot here about the N Gauge Society one might hope they'd offer a few back numbers at cost but it looks like one has to be bestowed with the secret handshake before anything is made available.

The NGS does offer sample journals - details used to be on adverts in RM but I'm not sure what the latest ads include. I'm sure if you drop an email to the Membership Secretary he will advise.

Cheers,

Mike

(NGS Committee member)

[Steamie+]

Taking really good photos, especially in N gauge is very difficult. Obtaining professional quality photos from layouts all over the country is going to be expensive which may be a problem for a small  fledgling enterprise.

Precisely. As far as I can tell it's just Howard and Robin at the moment, with most of the photographic work being Robin's job, so one man is hardly able to whizz all over the country taking high quality photos of everything featured. In this respect it's hardly fair to compare them to the likes of RM or BRM that have teams of people and a publishing house behind them. Personally I think they've done a great job so far, OK so some of the photos are less than Ideal, but that's still better than no N Gauge magazine at all


Paul

For two guys to get a magazine out at all is just great and they only do it part time i believe. The other mainstream mags have departments dedicated to the photographic side, so i will continue to support them has i think we should with any young business no matter what, even if it is only the once. I have said i have nothing against the NGS mag and sorry for repeating myself i have also said it is the best magazine i have read for content and knowledge about N Gauge.

End of story for me, thank you all.     Happy Modelling       

[red_death]

I perfectly agree that different people are interested in different aspects of a layout/model, but where N Gauge Now really struggles is not the subjective "quality" of the pictures but the actual image quality ie the resolution. 

It is a really simple (and basic) thing to only print images of a decent resolution ie 300 ppi (or higher).  Modern cameras (and even many modern phones) will easily output that level of image quality/resolution. Anything that is pixellated in print shouldn't be being used unless it is an incredibly rare photo available in no other format (even then it is probably possible to scan a print/slide/negative to a reasonable image quality).

It is frustrating as it is such a simple fix for them to make.

Cheers, Mike

[Steamie+]

I perfectly agree that different people are interested in different aspects of a layout/model, but where N Gauge Now really struggles is not the subjective "quality" of the pictures but the actual image quality ie the resolution. 

It is a really simple (and basic) thing to only print images of a decent resolution ie 300 ppi (or higher).  Modern cameras (and even many modern phones) will easily output that level of image quality/resolution. Anything that is pixellated in print shouldn't be being used unless it is an incredibly rare photo available in no other format (even then it is probably possible to scan a print/slide/negative to a reasonable image quality).

It is frustrating as it is such a simple fix for them to make.

Cheers, Mike

Even photo's uploaded onto this great forum do have pixellated one's, even blurry, ( I have done some myself ) i agree and i am definitely not going to say anymore on the subject of photo quality or content that it could be better so lets stop knocking the mag and try and support these guys.    Happy Modelling   

[daffy]

I certainly found some articles of interest and at least they had a couple of JR pages. Quite absorbing.

JR?

As for absorption qualities of the magazine, there are cheaper and softer alternatives.

[Sprintex]

Japanese Rail


Paul

[Claude Dreyfus]

Any publication which involves Japanese models can't be all bad 

[Trainfish]

I agree, there are some really good looking Japanese models out there if you know where to look. They make some pretty decent model railway stuff in Japan too