I recently upgraded the Canon Power Shot camera from the AS620 to the SX40HS, which is now classified as a bridge camera - somewhere between a normal digital camera and an SLR. I'm still getting used to the focusing but here are the first few test photos Lots more practice required before I get the quality I'm looking for Jon
I use the manual focus for the first time last night and edited a few photos in Helicon Focus to improve the depth of field Plenty more practice to come Jon
Very nice, Jon. I see the black border, too. It all looks nice! BTW, I am subscribed to you on YouTube. Nice videos.
Jon, thank you for sharing some great modeling and photography. I like how you integrated photo backdrops (those are backdrops, aren't they? How important is Helicon Focus to taking photos of this quality? I get the impression that a higher end camera isn't a perfect solution and that additional processing steps are required to get good photos. Ballpark, how much time does each photo require? I am a photography neophyte but quality pictures like yours nudge me to consider upping my effort.
I took a few more test photos tonight. One of the useful features of Helicon Focus is the ability to resize the photo to under 2megapixels - about 40% full picture quality. This means they can be easily uploaded to Railimages Jon
Pushkin the cat helped me take a few more photos tonight using the old camera, as a reference point. Oddly enough I'm finding the 7.2mp Power Shot is easier to use with Helicon Focus than the new camera. The in-focus area of each individual shot in the stack is easier to spot Yet another photo session cut short Jon
Many cameras take a good photograph using the macro setting. The main subject is usually in focus but the foreground and distant background are often out of focus on cameras with a maximum setting of F8. Helicon Focus creates a single in focus photo out of a stack of individual shots where the focal length has been slightly altered manually in each photo. This creates a photo with the foreground, the main subject and the background all in focus. Takes about half an hour to set up the shot, take the stack of photos, download the shots to the PC, edit using HF, crop and edit in Picasa 3 photo-editing suite, and upload to Railimages or the SWA facebook page Jon
I took some more photos last night using the new Power Shot, but without editing the photos in Helicon Focus, as I wanted to see what the depth of field was like. I'm quite happy with the results so far, although the best photo of the session ended up being one using the old camera and Helicon Focus - typical. Jon
Jon, Great photos with HFocus. I too use this product and love it. I started out taking 30 photos of a given scene. I've experimented through the years and now can get the same quality with 12-15 photos. Try it. I does save some time. Jim
Whenever I see "Sweethome" or "Jon Grant" I always stop to take a look because I know I am going to see first-rate modelling plus an occasional giant tiger. It may be a bit cliche to say these photos look real but they do. The only give-away that they are models, and this is after a bit of looking, are the coupler trip pins. Outstanding work, Jon! Bill McBride
Jon Grant Screensaver Great pictures, all right. I like the vertical ones as they go with my computer screen position.
Where the new camera comes into its own, is with the video footage, far and away better than the old Power Shot and Sony Camcorder quality. Here is the latest video, showing a CSX coal train, as seen in the recent still photos http://youtu.be/wz_2To79QyQ Jon
Hey Jon, Great modeling and photos! I'm a long time fan! I wonder if you use a "mirror box" to photograph your models?
As we've come to expect - great modelling and photography. By the way, seem to notice that "pile o' dirt" at the end of a siding.
In many rural areas of Alabama, piles of old weed-strewn ballast are used at the end of sidings instead of Hays buffers, which tended to get stolen for recycling. Just one of the many Alabama-specific layout details I've been given from modellers and railfans local to the area. Jon
