Best Camera for engine pictures?

[Ray G.]

Hello;
Happy Thanksgiving. We certainly have IT good.

What camera works best for engine stamp photos?

Observed people taking pictures of stampings while standing next to the Corvette. Not attempting to get close.

Wondering how to achieve accurate detail enough to magnify each digit.

With a large Canon I can't hold my hand steady enough from more than 18-24" to get a picture that can be magnified.

Thank you.
Ray

[Gary C.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

Ray, my professional camera shop recommends Canon Powershot series. Have an older A570IS that I use. You don't need anything over 5-7 megapixel for car photos. Another shop recommended Fuji digital camera for close up. Plan to go experiment with the Fuji in December. Am an old Nikon 35mm guy and it was hard for me to buy a Canon. This is my second one and they have served well for car photos. Especially like the transfer/download Canon software. It's a breeze to use. Please post your selection and experiences. Good luck, Gary....

[William C.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

Some of the Fuji cameras have a setting to reduce "shake" that is also helpful.

[William G.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

I have taken some excellent engine pad photos with a plain old Nikon CoolPix at 4 meg resolution with a macro setting (close-up). Based on my experience you do not need a fancier, more expensive camera. I will say that I usually take 30-40 pics to get a few good ones, but the film is cheap with a digital camera.

The key is holding the camera still is to brace your hand on part of the engine so it won't move. That will give you a steady picture.

The other most important factor is lighting. A straight-on shot with a flash will obliterate the picture by overexposure. Side lighting is the best, and will reveal more details via shadows. When I photograph a pad I use a drop light, flashlight, mirror, and any other light source I can get my hands on. And then I experiment using the different light sources and angles. I can assure that if you are patient you will get finely detailed photos right down to the finest broach marks.

[Anthony S.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

Ray,

Look for a camera that has a macro feature. This feature is designed for close up pictures.



I've had the best luck with artificial light (drop light) from the side and a camera set to macro and NO flash.

Anthony

[Jack H.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

One thing about the Nikon Coolpix series is they generally have an AGGRESSIVE macro mode. The 5-8 Mpix units I've shot will let you get down to 3 cm (1.2") and still focus!!!

But, sometimes you simply can't get that close to some stamp pads due to the interference of other engine components. Then, you have the issue of adequate lighting to consider. A built-in flash might not work due to interference constraints.

So, you're left shooting from a distance and then cropping the picture (blow-up). In this case, you need as much raw resolution as you can get to keep the area of the crop clear and distinct.

Bottom line, it's not so much an issue of which camera to buy/use as it is what are the shooting conditions you're dealing with + do you know how to configure your camera for best results and are you handy with your post processing software to properly edit your pictures?

[Mark D.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

This comes from a Canon EOS with a 100mm macro lens. I've used this set-up to take a bunch of PICS at regional, national and Bloomington events. I'm 6'1" and can stand up straight to get this result.

Regards,

Mark

[Gerard F.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

I use a little Olympus FE130 (5.1 megapixel) for all my shots. Nice and small and has macros for closeup flash and no flash. Only uses two AA ni-cads, and was surprised how many shots you can take with it on one set of batteries.

Went to the Boston National last year, took 80+ shots on one set of batteries.

[Michael A.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

Ray
You'll probably get more recommendations than you ever wanted as all of these great notes will attest. Frankly the pictures from Mark Donnally are stunning. Hopefully Mark can share more about the set up he did, particularly lighting, to get his results. It looks like he had some bright light (not a flash) directed at the pad to get these results.

There are tons of great digital cameras out there to choose from. Mark's EOS is a digital SLR with interchangeable lens. They are great for the most flexibility for the avid photographer but the trade-off is their size. They are bulky and if you swap lenses you'll need to carry a bag with the optional lenses.

The point and shoot cameras others mentioned above are all excellent as well but usually sacrifice much in the way of flexibility in terms of manual modes. I found a great compromise in the Canon G9. It is not quite pocket sized but it is much smaller than an SLR and it has a tremendous choice of settings like you will find on an SLR. Apperture priority, shutter priority, full manual, full automatic, etc. The interface is easy to use and it has a great 3" screen plus viewfinder if you prefer to use that. I am thrilled with the results. I've not tried an engine pad pics but I'm sure with the right lighting, it would provide similar results to what Mark has.

Good luck with the search. It's fun stuff to dig into.

Cheers
Mike

[Anthony S.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

I second the Canon G-9. It's super easy to use.

I have used it for all types of shots including arial pictures and it does a great job & the software is very good also.

The 12 megapixels make for some beautiful pictures & add-on lenses are available also.

Anthony

[Michael A.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

I see that Canon has updated the G9 to the G10. It's apparently an evolution, not a complete change. They have gone to 14+ megapixel. Megapixels are kind of like horsepower. You don't have to use them, unless you want them. Otherwise the features are pretty much the same from what I see on the Canon web site.

Cheers
Mike

[Ray G.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

The thoughtful answers to my question are really appreciated.

Thank you everyone and Happy Thanksgivings.

God Bless us all.

Ray

[Wayne M.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

One thing about the Nikon Coolpix series is they generally have an AGGRESSIVE macro mode. The 5-8 Mpix units I've shot will let you get down to 3 cm (1.2") and still focus!!!

I second Jack; been using (digital) Nikon Coolpix S4 since late 2005. 10-power zoom; incredible close-up capability; uses 2 AA batteries (alkaline, NiMH or Lithium). Slips into a jacket pocket. Includes computer connect cables, charger and software for your editing.

Lens barrel rotates 270 deg; self portraits; or in tight spots that you can't see without a mirror, if you can get your hand in there, you can get the shot.

This model may no longer be in production; believe the upgrade is S10 (more pixels, etc.) -- might even buy one for backup .

[John H.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

I use an eight-year-old Sony DSC-S70 (3.3MP) - has terrific macro capability (down to 5/8" from the lens surface), with full zoom capability in macro mode. Max resolution is 2048x1536, which produces about a 1.5MB image. I shoot most of my everyday stuff at 640x480 (50-60K image) so they don't have to be resized for upload to forums without scrolling, and I shoot my magazine stuff at 2048x1536 to keep the photo editors happy, and re-size for use elsewhere.

[Rick S.]

Re: Best Camera for engine pictures?

I second Jack; been using (digital) Nikon Coolpix S4 since late 2005. 10-power zoom; incredible close-up capability; uses 2 AA batteries (alkaline, NiMH or Lithium). Slips into a jacket pocket. Includes computer connect cables, charger and software for your editing.

Lens barrel rotates 270 deg; self portraits; or in tight spots that you can't see without a mirror, if you can get your hand in there, you can get the shot.

This model may no longer be in production; believe the upgrade is S10 (more pixels, etc.) -- might even buy one for backup .

I agree with Wayne, that is the camera that my son bought for me a few years back. It is great for getting into tight places and still see what the lens happens to be pointed at.
Rick