Curious Camreaphone Conundrum

[funkynige]

Last night on the train I was bored just waiting for the time to pass so I started snapping away out the window at the falling sun. None of the picstures taken I would all good, but I did notice an interesting effect that seemed to happen and that I can't explain.


I'm sat on the left hand side of the train so the trees are going past me from left to right.

As you can see, the trees (which are vertical in real life) are on a slant, but why would this be?
Ideas I've poo-poo'd:
Slow shutter speed - wouldn't that just make them vertical and blurry?
The camera 'scans' from top to bottom - the trees are going the wrong way.
The camera 'scans' from bottom to top - the trees are going the wrong way.

Wasn't just a one-off either -

[speedychrissie]

funkynige said:

I'm sat on the left hand side of the train so the trees are going past me from left to right.

just to clarify. does that mean that you are facing the opposite way to the trains movement?

[Andrew Noakes]

I think the camera is scanning from left to right, not up and down. Early racing car pictures like this are often distorted the same way, I think because the cameras had horizontal shutters.

>> Edited by Andrew Noakes on Friday 14th April 13:31

[funkynige]

speedychrissie said:

funkynige said: I'm sat on the left hand side of the train so the trees are going past me from left to right. just to clarify. does that mean that you are facing the opposite way to the trains movement?

That's right, I'm travelling backwards with the camera up to the window on the left hand side of the train.

Anrwe Noakes said:

I think the camera is scanning from left to right, not up and down.

I think we have a winner, though I'm still trying to get my head around thinking of pictures with different times at different parts of the frame!

[fergusd]

The camera is scanning top to bottom . . .

If you knew how fast the train was moving you could calculate the shutter speed ;-)

Fd

[UKbob]

fergusd said:

The camera is scanning top to bottom . . . If you knew how fast the train was moving you could calculate the shutter speed ;-) Fd

And use the information and evidence to persuade the driver to slow down a bit?

[fergusd]

UKbob said:

fergusd said: The camera is scanning top to bottom . . . If you knew how fast the train was moving you could calculate the shutter speed ;-) Fd And use the information and evidence to persuade the driver to slow down a bit?

;-) . . . it's unlikely that any public transport vehicle could be classed as going too fast in the UK . . .

Fd