Which Camera - For black and white shiny things in the sun

[200bhp]

We convert road going vehicles to run on railway track here in sunny Australia. They're mostly white vehicles with a black chassis, black bumpers and black tyres etc.

Taking photos of them with various iPhone and Android phone models in the bright sun often results in over exposure or photos that look too HDR or too "contrasty". Sadly we never have an opportunity to book a photographer as we get a very small window of opportunity to get on rail at short notice.

After a few years of asking, I've finally been given approval to buy a camera and lens to be used by whoever the engineer is on the day to try and take some reasonable photos.

Requirements are:

• Auto focus
• As many automatic features to allow an engineer (non-artistic type person!) to do a reasonable job
• Some good depth of field (iPhone photos have everything in focus)

A few of us are keen to learn and take it home for practice, so we can up-skill once we have the right equipment.

I know there are a few "what camera" posts on here, but the white and black problem makes this one a bit different, hence a new thread.

Here's a couple of the best photos from the last 8 yearsso you can see the subject matter.

[ssray]

If someone else is paying..... where shall we start??

Treat the lenses as the most important thing, so Nikon AFS etc

Probably want a midrange zoom say around 24-70 f2.8 possibly with some sort of vibration reduction system,
It looks like it may be a pain to set up a tripod on site, so handheld could be the way to go.

As for the body, anything with over 20 meg will give you large file sizes and the ability to blow up pretty big, if it's for web only then a Lowe resolution would do.
Try a few and see which fits you better

Mirrorless or DSLR?? Gawd knows,the mirrorless are smaller and lighter and newer so the manufacturer will aim you this way.

Experience? Ease of use? Will just anybody be using it?

The lower end (but still good bodies) will have modes, ie a pic of a mountain, someone running etc so anyone can pick it up set it to one of these and shoot away

[Mr Pointy]

If your main issue is exposure control then look for a camera with auto bracketing

https://photographychef.com/auto-bracketing-why-is...
https://digital-photography-school.com/automatic-e...

However, note that you're probably going to have to use a tripod & post-process the images to make use of all the different exposures.

[GravelBen]

Something to consider for shiny things in the sun, try a polarising filter to cut some of the glare/reflections.

[S1bs]

200bhp.

What might be useful is to post a few images where the photos were bad, rather than good.

That might give us an idea of what's going wrong currently and then we could suggest how things could be improved.

You could easily spend a few thousand on a shiny new camera and lens, but if it's used in fully automatic mode and photos taken with the sun in the wrong direction by someone who doesn't know better / doesn't care etc etc then your results might only be slightly better than those you currently take with a phone.

[200bhp]

S1bs said:

200bhp.

What might be useful is to post a few images where the photos were bad, rather than good.

That might give us an idea of what's going wrong currently and then we could suggest how things could be improved.

You could easily spend a few thousand on a shiny new camera and lens, but if it's used in fully automatic mode and photos taken with the sun in the wrong direction by someone who doesn't know better / doesn't care etc etc then your results might only be slightly better than those you currently take with a phone.

Some of those issues cannot be solved - The railway line is fixed, the sun cannot be moved and we don't get a choice of when we get to use the railway for photography (normally early morning or late afternoon).

Late afternoon, maybe an hour before sunset. Poor lighting results in the photos looking a bit "flat"



Mid-morning, slightly overcast day. The clouds/sky are very bright, resulting in the whole photo being over exposed.


Mid-morning, probably the best conditions and location. However, with the side of the truck facing the sun, the front isnt well lit.

[thebraketester]

I think you are expecting a lot in all honesty. A camera cannot fix poor lighting. What are the photos to be used for?

[S1bs]

200bhp.

Looking at those photos - I think the issue is the light, rather than your equipment ( whether it's a phone, compact camera or DSLR )

The second and third photos are taken against strong backlight. Assuming that you didn't need to photograph that particular side of the vehicle, then crossing to the other side of the tracks and shooting from the opposite angle would improve them instantly.

The other three, to be honest, look OK,

They could benefit from a little post-processing. At a quick glance, the first photo maybe needs a touch more contrast and the final two need the mid-tones lightening slightly.

Before you spend money on new camera kit (and the extra hassle of carrying it around) I'd get hold of a copy of something like Adobe Photoshop Elements - Which can be bought online from Amazon or similar for around £86 (You don't need Premier, which pushes the price up as that's for video, you just need the Photoshop version )

Here is one of your worst photos - Opened in Elements, with 'Auto Colour' applied and then a few small tweaks to contrast in 'Levels'



Hope this helps.

Edited by S1bs on Friday 1st March 08:49

Edited by S1bs on Friday 1st March 08:56

[RSTurboPaul]

You could look at a remote flash on a tripod to brighten up the dark/shade side, but it is probably quite a skill to make it look natural and the same colour temperature!

I have taken pictures at a couple of weddings for friends and I feel your pain of dealing with white next to black. lol

Some cameras might offer the ability to blend bracketed photos in camera but I might be misremembering.