MichaelChang

<blockquote> <p><em>I am quite embarrassed to say that I do not own a smart phone and this is just another good reason to get one.</em></p> </blockquote> <p><em><br /></em>I have a $50 Android tablet and a $100 Windows 10 tablet, both are capable of running full remote control programs for Nikon including remote live view.<br> See:<br> <a href="http://www.controlmynikon.com/">http://www.controlmynikon.com/</a><br> <a href="http://dslrdashboard.info/introduction/">http://dslrdashboard.info/introduction/</a></p>

<p>I bought an Epson inkjet printer when it was all the rage; the cartridge head clogged, the ink dried up, and I never printed photos again - that'd be at least 12 years ago.</p> <p>I have a laser printer for documents and have looked at small 4x6 photo printers from time to time but never took the bait. </p> <p>I have a couple of USB Polaroid printers that I'd love to use again if only affordable film was available.</p>

<p>I wonder how many cameras he went through and how he manages spares and lenses. </p> <p>Good thing Photoshop is not required or there'd be an army of staff tweaking 700 pictures a day, every day over 8 years..! </p>

<p>I vaguely recall Pete Souza posting an acknowledgement here on PN just prior to being on the job, if I'm not mistaken. Can't seem to find the post, although his forum post history will only display one of his two posts.<br> <a href="/photodb/user?user_id=1470026">http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=1470026 </a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/10/26/499490029/photos-one-photographers-remarkable-chance-to-cover-the-president">http://www.npr.org/2016/10/26/499490029/photos-one-photographers-remarkable-chance-to-cover-the-president</a></p> <p>And apparently these are 65 of his favorites out of some 2 million photos he has taken:<br> <a href="http://twistedsifter.com/2016/07/pete-souza-white-house-photog-favorite-obama-photos/">http://twistedsifter.com/2016/07/pete-souza-white-house-photog-favorite-obama-photos/</a></p>

<p>I've bought several generic eBay units for Nikon and Sony and never had any problems. </p> <p>These things are rather generic and likely come out of the same factory with minor variations for different brands so I'd expect them to perform similarly. As for build quality and reliability, there's really nothing to go wrong with them any more than any other accessory. </p>

<p>Arthur, the train is prepped in the Montreal train yard and it travels for almost 3 weeks across its journey so I imagine going the other direction will not be time efficient. Maybe they'll find a way to accommodate that in the future. </p> <p>Hey Gup, this will be my first time and we're expecting rain on Saturday; it'd be a bummer if it gets rained out but I hear the show goes on regardless. I might bring a P/S just to get a few snaps since it's expected to draw a very large crowd and there isn't much parking near the train station.</p> <p>I wonder if they sell tickets to ride the train - I've always wanted to travel across Canada by train. </p>

<p>Full schedule on their Facebook page: <br> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/HolidayTrain/events/">https://www.facebook.com/pg/HolidayTrain/events/</a></p>

<p>Great photo and video opportunities to shoot the annual Canadian Pacific Christmas train as it travels through Canada and the U.S. North East.</p> <p>The scheduled stops listed on their website are for longer stops with concerts performed by artists on the train, but it will make many stops along the route not listed for Canadians and Americans to celebrate the holiday season.<br /> <a href="http://www.cpr.ca/holiday-train/canada">http://www.cpr.ca/holiday-train/canada</a></p> <p>I'll be going to a scheduled stop (not on the list) this Saturday in Beaconsfield, QC, no concert, 45 minute stop, but will be long enough to take in the spirit of the train run. <br /> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8O4VeLQ3sc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8O4VeLQ3sc</a></p> <p>By the way, there's a photo contest associated with the Christmas Train run by CP and listed on their website above.<br> <a href="http://www.cpr.ca/holiday-train/photo-contest">http://www.cpr.ca/holiday-train/photo-contest</a></p>

<p>Hi Alan, I know they can be mapped to Premier, but not sure about Elements. </p> <p>If you're running Elements, you might check in the Help files to see if automation is supported. </p> <p>I'm not very familiar with video automation, but in my case I used Mackie Control Emulation to get it to work under Sony Vegas - I believe Adobe Premier works the same way. </p> <p>The unit I have is a Tascam FW-1884 which is an older Firewire 24 bit/96kHz interface with an 8 channels audio mixer that also works as a standalone console which is now obsolete - they're all USB these days but mine works under Windows 10 so there's no reason to upgrade. </p>

<p>I've been using a Tascam control surface for audio mixing and editing for a while under Adobe Audition but never thought to use the controller for video editing since I don't shoot enough video as a hobbyist.</p> <p>Anyway, I managed to get the thing working under Sony Vegas, and boy what a difference in convenience!</p> <p>I'm still exploring the setup and control mapping, but the convenience of having buttons and knobs, transport controls, and jog wheel is a real joy; I can see myself doing more video work if only because the workflow will be so much more pleasant than using a mouse and keyboard.</p> <p>Automation rocks, and that old piece of gear works under Windows 10 too, amazing for something that's 12 years old designed for XP and still as functional today as the day it was made.</p> <p>If you do a lot of video work the old fashion way, I'd definitely recommend looking into a controller. </p> <p> </p>

<p>There's a huge difference between 1 minute and 30 minutes exposure time in terms of noise performance. I'd recommend shooting a few dark frames (lens cap ON) at 1,5, and 10 minutes exposure to get a sense of the camera's intrinsic noise at those exposure lengths.</p> <p>It's generally more desirable to shoot multiple short exposures and merge (average) them in post; you can even do that with star trails by turning noise reduction OFF. </p>

<p>The article misquoted the specs - the 2-stage Peltier device actually chills the sensor to 27°C below its heated temperature, rather than the -27°C absolute temperature quoted in the article. This means the Peltier cooler is constantly removing the heat generated so there must be a lowest-achievable temperature limit.<br> <br> There is also a diminishing return in noise performance once the sensor temperature is below freezing, and I don't know if the delta-T of 27°C can be maintained at low ambient temperatures. </p> <p>Getting to the sensor from the backside is pretty neat and convenient; I guess that's the reason for the camera choice. It makes my 5100 a potential candidate now that I see it can be done. </p> <p>A cheaper and less power-hungry alternative might be to attach a water block to the sensor and pump ice-chilled water through it - some resourceful DIYers have done this using large insulated containers and dry ice. Others have encased the entire camera in an insulated box and chilling it. </p>

<p>Indeed the site behavior has changed; now you can save the entire webpage and find the target image in the downloaded folder. </p> <p>On the other hand, nothing can prevent others from taking a screenshot which is almost the equivalent of "Save Image As". </p>

<p>Rather than a forum dedicated to drone use, I'd rather see something more generic that can include all camera usage which aren't controlled by a camera physically in the operator's hands. </p> <p>This way it can include dashcams, inspection cameras, robocams on wheels, endoscope cameras etc., and of course, drones. </p>

<blockquote> <p><em>"Often when I am shooting, my camera "refuses" to take a photo or "rejects" my settings"</em></p> </blockquote> <p>The camera's shutter won't fire unless proper focus is obtained - the camera will first need to achieve focus before releasing the shutter if you hard-press the shutter button, so precious time is lost and the moment's gone. </p> <p>To get around the problem, go into your (Nikon) camera's menu and look for something that says AE-L/AF-L and choose AF-L which will program the button next to the viewfinder to autofocus the camera when depressed. Consult your manual for other camera brands.</p> <p>In practice, you look through the viewfinder, use your thumb to press the AF-L button to first achieve focus, then press the shutter button to take the picture. This way you can prefocus in anticipation and release the shutter when the action occurs.</p> <p>All this sounds complicated, but it's really quite simple and you'll get used to it in under 10 minutes - it will facilitate the type of action shots you're after. </p> <p> </p>

<p>I'll echo Stephen's remark - you'll just get blurry images unless it's on a rock-solid mount. </p> <p>You'll have more flexibility with a USB inspection microscope; similar performance at lower cost. Just use the search term on eBay. </p> <p> </p>

<p>A microwave oven is a <em>complementary</em> appliance to ones traditional oven, along with toaster ovens, pressure cookers, fryers, IR convection cookers, etc..</p> <p>In the same way, many photographers, such as ourselves, will acquire multiple cameras to complement our primary (or workhorse) camera and choose to use them accordingly.</p> <p>It's all the same; only the name changes. </p>

<blockquote> <p><em>"But I was thinking of at least two constant lights (maybe LED panels?) and a shotgun style mic on a boom and out of sight. We should have access to power. I was considering something like a Beachtec DXA-SLR Pro to improve audio quality recorded by the camera. Sound good/bad?"</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Sounds good to me, David. <br> <br> Even those cheap eBay shotgun mics are very effective and great bang for the buck. Check out the quick demo below. I bought a couple more out of curiosity and was knocked over backwards by the low cost; something like $25 shipped from China.<br> <a href=" </a><br> <br> There aren't too many alternatives to what you've named so it'll probably come down to how the gear is used, and I hope you'll have an assistant/helper. <br> <a href=" </a></p>

<p>It'd be nearly impossible to make any useful suggestions without knowing exactly what you, the producer, have in mind, and what the recording process will be. </p> <p>If you don't have much experience shooting video with audio, then I'd recommend looking through some of the "Playing for Change" videos such as the one linked below to get a sense of setup vs. results:<br> <a href=" - 5:27</p> <p>Lights will require power; mic levels will need to be adjusted properly while anticipating unexpected transients from random musicians, so the gear is the easy part but using it effective becomes the challenge. </p> <p>Maybe we can offer better suggestions if you can communicate more details such as the outdoor setting, natural light condition, camera field of view, etc.. </p>

<p>I imagine they might add the feature if it was thought to be either useful or potentially profitable, but it'd seem unlikely to me.</p> <p>I recall back when GPS was all the rage, computerized telescope mounts that had GPS capability were thought to be a big deal until GPS became common and redundant; now almost everything can be tethered to, or controlled by smartphones equipped with GPS.</p>

<blockquote> <p><em>"Don't blur the sky! "</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Good point, Matt; no one will believe me if I ever have a real UFO encounter. </p> <blockquote> <p><em>"I use a Contour Roam 3 on my bicycle helmet."</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Thanks for sharing, Robert. I like your horn! </p>

<p>I've watched quite a few TechMoan's reviews on YouTube and his reviews are actually quite good, touching on everything a photographer would be interested in.</p> <p>Trouble is, you never really know until you own it; on the other hand, once you own it, you'll probably just end up happily using it and it'll just become another car appliance. <br> </p>

<blockquote> <p><em>"I'd not be permitted to record every ride full length and couldn't use the footage in court to claim compensation for an accident"</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Jochen, you're in Germany, correct? It's fascinating that there will be such complications over dashcam usage while camcorders are not. </p> <p>In Canada, privacy laws are only concerned with recording conversations, and only one-party consent is required in many jurisdictions (the recordist is a participant in the conversation) so generally there will be no problems. </p> <blockquote> <p><em> "Stop motion would not be appropriate."</em> </p> </blockquote> <p>Edward, I can use my Android device and Torque app. as a GPS-logged dashcam complete with ODB2 data, but I'm primarily interested in trip recording and time-lapse "art" as well as convenience without complicated startup fiddling.<br> <br> Good point about the implications of non-continuous video, though. <br> <br> </p>

<p>I've been looking at dashcams for years and the more I looked the more confused I got, so in total frustration I decided to try my Canon Powershot SX130IS and couldn't be happier, albeit a stopgap solution. </p> <p>It shoots 720p video which is more than adequate and 32G records plenty of time. There were a few challenges, though, so I loaded CHDK (firmware hack) and got it to:</p> <ol> <li>Turn off its LCD while recording to save power; and</li> <li>Use Canon's "Miniature Effect" to record time-lapse video in 6, 3, or 1.5 fps to save space, or record in real time; and</li> <li>An external power bank to power it for hours; and</li> <li>All under full manual control (useful for night recording) and more. </li> </ol> <p>Interestingly, the Miniature Effect mode turned out to be perfect - it blurs the top and bottom third which would be sky and hood when used as a dashcam anyway, and it's not permanently installed so it can be removed from the dash and used for other purposes. </p> <p>I'm still looking for a purpose-made dashcam, though, but now I have a reference. </p>