Is it possible to get good photos from a Superliner?

[PPorro]

OK I didn't quote read it right and good news, I don't spam anything anyway. My personal sites are relatively free of marketing links except the Amazon search box. So I can host my own photos without breaking the rules. Translation appreciated.

I wrote: High ISO means more noise in the shadows, but you lose speed. More depth of field, smaller aperture, means slower shutter speeds, but you need to stop the motion from blurring everything or having juggles. Change one and the others change.
Ryan Asked: Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're trying to say here (I haven't had my coffee yet!), but higher ISO gives you more speed, not less (in addition to more noise, although I'm comfortable shooting up to 3200 on a regular basis, and 6400 still gives reasonable results).Yes + Yes. What I mean is, yes you aren't understanding and yes higher ISO gives you more speed.

What I was getting at is, if you change one variable, you change one or two others to balance back to a proper exposure.

More speed = less depth of field.

Slower speed = more depth, but you start to get motion blur

Raise the ISO to increase speed, and keep a smaller aperture and (here's the part that you quoted)

You will get more noise in the shadow area. Your blacks won't be as black and your noise will be higher in all areas.

It's a delicate balance. You can't just say, well less light, hey hit the ISO up a couple notches, and everything is solved.

I generally shoot at ISO 100 all the time, because I want the best image possible. Sometimes that's not possible so I'm forced to shoot at ISO 200. It's a personal choice, because I like more and richer color, less noise. Yes the modern cameras can shoot at ISO 3200, my personal opinion is, it looks terrible.

Anyone who wants, with manual settings for ISO, start at 100 (you can use P or TV or even AV, whatever you want, just so the one thing that you control and change is ISO) Then shoot the same scene, at 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 and 6400. Now open them and go through one at a time on the computer. First thing you will notice is that about 400 you can see the definition and color go down and noise and grain go up.

There you go, that's all I was pointing out. Personal preference. It's not always the best possible answer because in low light, of course I've just handcuffed myself.

Learn to pan with the motion!

Yes as someone pointed out you lose a stop with a polarizing filter. Maybe more, depending. Also as many have observed windows are dirty, scratched and plastic is not very optically friendly. One of those deals where, the other option is riding on the roof? So we're stuck with some distortion and flaws. The rubber lens shade is a good idea. Useful for many other reasons as well. Reminds me to buy one. Tinted windows aren't really an issue with auto white balance.

Last is a bit of photo philosophy for digital. It's better to get a shot than miss it. Your expense is not in shooting or processing, it's in the equipment. Blast away if you think it's a good shot. Take three and make sure. The film (memory) costs nothing once you own it and can be recycled. Batteries can be recharged.The Delete button is your friend.

But if you get home and don't have the shot you thought you did, then it's very expensive to go back and try to shoot it again?


UP708 ISO 200 overcast day

1/320th @ f/8 135mm

Sorry I don't have any good through a crummy window shots.

 

[chakk]

I have even gotten some surprisingly good photos with my iPhone camera from the CZ of the Colorado River in Ruby Canyon CO/UT. Definitely worth trying -- you can always delete what you don't like.

 

[IowaGirl]

Why would a professional use a polarizing filter with a digital sensor while taking a moving shot through tinted glass? Nothing about that adds up.
What do you mean by that? I have the polarizing filter because it was easy to get where I live. It keeps my lens protected from dirt and cow/horse **** because those are most of the pictures I take - up close are personal. I am by no means a pro - and my camera is by no means a professional camera. Just a gal on the prairie who is trying to learn a little about photography.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Why would a professional use a polarizing filter with a digital sensor while taking a moving shot through tinted glass? Nothing about that adds up.What do you mean by that? I have the polarizing filter because it was easy to get where I live. It keeps my lens protected from dirt and cow/horse **** because those are most of the pictures I take - up close are personal. I am by no means a pro - and my camera is by no means a professional camera. Just a gal on the prairie who is trying to learn a little about photography.

Polarizing filters served a very useful purpose in the era of conventional film and they used to be attached to my lens whenever the foreground was reflecting strong sunlight. Here in the era of digital sensors with raw file formats the benefits of polarizing filters are negligible while the weaknesses are still as pronounced as ever. In strong daylight the secondary effects of a polarizing filter can be easily compensated. In some cases you may want to slow down the exposure on purpose. However, when you're taking photos of moving landscapes through a tinted plexiglass window the polarizing filter is probably hurting the quality of the image far more than it's helping. There is unlikely to be much in the way of dirt, cow patties, or horse manure flying into your lens while you're on the train, so it's probably best to take it off and leave it off unless you're intentionally underexposing your images for artistic effect. That's my view anyway.

 

[IowaGirl]

I am pretty sure there won't be any poo flinging my way on the train - But you never know!

I have it on my lens because I primarily use it on the farm. In the dirt, in the poo, in the arena. I just leave it on. Like I said earlier - I am not a pro and make no claims at all in that area. I posted my pictures to say - this is what it looks like when I grabbed my camera out of the bag and took a photo. I don't shoot in RAW. I have even been know to put my camera in a plastic bag and cut a hole in it to poke the very end of the lens out and use it like that --- but not on the train..

Your comment, to me, seemed really snarky and accusatory and I just wondered why you needed to say that. Of course I could just be reading these comments wrong.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

Pro's use filters on their lens because they want the captures image to as good as they can get, Yes there is much that can be done in post. If no filtering is requires they leave an optical glass "filter" to protect the lens.

While I am not a "Professional", I have worked closely with many Hollywood Pro's during my 50+ years in the Entertainment industry. Feel free to to explore my digital photo gallery http://gg-1.smugmug.com/

IowaGirl, do not let anyone make you think the way you shoot pictures is wrong. What make you feel good is YOUR right way.

 

[IowaGirl]

Thanks GG-1! I did enjoy viewing your pics also.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I just leave it on.

Did you notice you had to adjust the exposure times after putting it on? If so did that factor into your decision? Or do you simply leave everything on automatic and it never occurred to you that the system was forced to compensate for this change?

Like I said earlier - I am not a pro and make no claims at all in that area.

I never intended to claim or imply you were a professional. At one point I was responding to GG-1's claim that professionals use polarizing filters in similar circumstances, which I took to mean when shooting moving landscapes with a digital sensor through a tinted plexiglass window. You apparently assumed I was talking about you, but that was not my intention.

Your comment, to me, seemed really snarky and accusatory and I just wondered why you needed to say that. Of course I could just be reading these comments wrong.

I asked why anyone would use a polarizing filter to photograph a moving landscape through a tinted plexiglass window because it made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever, at least on a technical level.