Pelican Parts Forums - Buying a used camera: Shutter count

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Here's what I found at lunch today. In the custom settings menu there is an Autofocus option. Selecting that gets a more selections and selecting AF activation gives you two choices, AF-ON only and Shutter/AF-ON

Choosing Shutter/AF-ON gets autofocus to work. It was on AF-ON only.

I'm sorry I haven't been more present on this thread, continuous training of new assistant and getting way too much work done has me a little overwhelmed. I greatly appreciate all the help. Honestly, I would pay someone good money for an in person lesson.

Have to get the 18-140 lens next. and so much to learn.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951 (Post 10739786)

THIS!!!!! (is the beauty of product photography...) You have a fixed focal length (If you have a tripod).

Back to the future:
"Where we are going, we don't need autofocus"

The bolts aren't going anywhere.

And with a tripod, neither is the camera.

You do not need autofocus at all. Switch to manual.

Luke- "you have turned off your targeting computers...."

On the picture of Matt (the guy I took a MTB pic of) - I think I disabled autofocus on the shot. The MTB riders were coming down a 2 ft wide singletrack. I was standing stationary. I didn't need autofocus, they were in a (fairly) set range. I set DOF as wide as possible to include them in the pic (within reasons for low/natural light- it was raining in pic/overcast) and instead of worrying about distance from (me- to - them) I worried about left to right tracking.... In your case, You know the distance and the subject is not moving. I'd focus on the half-axle splines (perhaps the brake calipers) as focal points as a starting point (because they seem to be the midpoint between raised/ and on the table focal lengths, get a reasonable DOF and go from there.

edit- another (constructive suggestion)- When you are lining up the bolts / etc. in the pics, use a ruler on the bottom edge of the bolts to line up their position. Then remove the ruler and line up the next line of parts in the next column down. This will keep the bolts lined up in perfect up/down alignment. To help with multiple rows of bolts, I would use a yard stick, which is very long and would overshoot the picture right to left. Out of picture shot (to the right and left), would be a board with graph / measurements/ markers to keep the yard stick in alignment from one row to the next, but out of sight of the pic. This would make product layout quick and easy.

p.s-- I'm liking the 1/4 window release handle pics! At least in terms of contrast/tonal value. They do look (again constructive) like, perhaps a mismatched pair, but that could be the angle, especially if you are shooting at a wide angle. I would also angle the allen bolt on the right window release knob down to be not visible.(as a side note- any 911 I've owned without that feature- I've installed it with the corresponding windows! great upgrade!)
Good luck!

It would be great if I could use a tripod but I can't for 95% of shots taken. Box came in today for a 89 Speedster for a dealership in DE entering the car in an East Coast dealership concours event. Assistant took the shot below and as you can see there is a slight angle. Lens should be perpendicular to the table. We take this shot and 20+ close-ups. The close-ups are critical to make sure everyone gets their own stuff back and the reason for the camera... sometimes you have really zoom in. Porsche has 10+ M8 bolts that are each 2mm longer than the one before so we are always counting threads, looking at head markings, seeing if the shank is fat or thin in a stud, a nick or rolled edge here says this part goes with this customer vs. another, etc. The tiniest details make sure whatever someone sends us, they get their stuff back. A $1000 camera is cheap compared to the time spent with a 10MP LX5 and the new Canon just plain sucks for these kinds of shots.

This new camera will expand the quality of social media and other posting, maybe advertising, so it's money well spent.

I've been doing plating for 4.5 years now, the company was originally founded on plating. Great idea for a ruler to line up studs! I used to do artistic shots but the pics like the below but pictures are used for: knowing who's parts is whose, did anything get lost in preparation or plating (Have plated well over 50,000 pieces in 4 years and only lost 2 small nuts so far), for billing (count pieces) and for customer before and after (everyone gets their own dropbox folder). So clearly laid out parts is critical for fast and efficient billing since we bill by the piece.

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if no tripod then add light - lots of it

another trick is to use a background not too dark or light - close to the shade of the parts - e.g. set them on burlap instead of a white cloth & see how you like that

you can also put them on a sheet of glass, with the burlap a foot or so below the glass - you can make them appear to float in space

good luck & have fun

Lighting is a HUGE challenge. Walls are very light grey with a hint of blue. Overhead fluorescent lights. Huge windows behind my back, 8 feet from the layout table.

Layout table is an old huge silkscreen oven base about 15 feet long with blue cloth cubicle dividers laid on it. That's for laying out somewhat clean parts. Greasy, off the car parts get laid down paper. Finished parts are laid down on light tan fleece as in the 914-6 suspension refresh pic.

I am always adjusting color in Preview. Can't wait to see how the camera works with the new lens with this lighting, both fluorescent and natural.

No lights, end of day, natural light streaming in only.

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https://www.adorama.com/sa531257n.html?CategoryID=248030

Gray tint seamless paper. Neutral color, use as guide for white balance when editing.

^ yep

I usually use a brown (which might go well with the plating)

you can put some LED lights at 45 deg & turn overheads off

Thanks Dean. Paper may work better than the fleece. Or paper on the wall? I like the soft fleece.

I'm going to a local camera store tomorrow, they have a used 18-140 that I hope will work for me.

If you use the paper you can set up a rack behind the table so the paper hangs. You roll it out over the table and it becomes "seamless" with a gradual transition from flat on the table to vertical to the roll. When it gets dirty, cut it off and roll out a fresh piece.

I don't know how big of space you're covering with components, but I just set up my full frame DSLR on my tripod, pointing straight down, with the legs spread to the 2nd locking point to get the legs out of the frame and put some measuring tapes underneath. I had a clear 28in x 16in rectangle of floor space at a 48mm on a 24-120mm lens. You'd need a 35mm lens on the D7200 to get the same field of vision.

You could then zoom as much as you wanted and reposition the tripod for detailed shots of individual pieces on a set up you could repeat over and over again.

Not sure where you're going, but Hunt's in Cambridge should treat you OK and point you in the right direction.

These LED light panels work really well on cheap light stands. A couple of these would likely be pretty helpful in your set up.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TJ6JH6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K69A0QY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, Hunts Dean. Hunts did not call today. I'll call them on my way to a wake.

Fun with the camera today.

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New lens. I can finally start to learn how to use the camera. They gave me a quick tutorial last night at the camera shop and as Scott has directed wants me to use manual. I'm doing a 1-3 hour lesson as well.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1581100136.jpg

He wants you to use Manual so yo'll be "forced" to learn what everything does.

You might be told to take photos of an egg - lots of different looks. Do it. Classic teaching method.

You really need to use manual settings for the type of work you are doing. You'll probably need to be setting the aperture at the highest f- setting the lens will give you to get enough depth of field. You'll also want to keep the ISO number under 350. Given your time constraints you should tell him you bought the camera for a specific purpose and ask him to emphasize what you need to know to do the kind of work you need to do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6 (Post 10740721)

Lighting is a HUGE challenge. Walls are very light grey with a hint of blue. Overhead fluorescent lights. Huge windows behind my back, 8 feet from the layout table.

You might consider getting a sheet of silverboard and propping it up at an angle in front of the window so the natural light is reflected onto the ceiling.

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is the Canon easier to use? easier to xfer images to the computer?

you are getting some big specular reflections on the polished metal

to make it look nicer (and more slable?) try this:

https://www.prophotostudio.net/2018/05/28/photograph-shiny-metal-objects/

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1581627447.jpg
A little file manipulation shows a lot more detail.

Don't tease - tell him how you did it

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWebb (Post 10751766)

Don't tease - tell him how you did it

Not teasing, he'll get there eventually. What I want to see him learn is how to get that picture right out of the camera.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWebb (Post 10751581)

is the Canon easier to use? easier to xfer images to the computer?

Canon you press a button and it works most of the time. It's small and light and easier to use when taking pics for internal use only. That's a key element. USB cable for both Canon and Nikon opens Photos... easy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWebb (Post 10751584)

you are getting some big specular reflections on the polished metal

to make it look nicer (and more slable?) try this:

https://www.prophotostudio.net/2018/05/28/photograph-shiny-metal-objects/

I will look into that, thanks. Bright anodizing is the most difficult to photograph with my current light limitations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas (Post 10751653)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1581627447.jpg
A little file manipulation shows a lot more detail.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWebb (Post 10751766)

Don't tease - tell him how you did it

Oh, I'm a pro at adjusting levels. Have to in most pics, all of today's I brightened significantly.

Preview works pretty well for adjusting color.

how are you at adjusting clarity?

This is what I have to work with. My Photoshop 5.5 doesn't work very well with Mojave.

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My new hot rod pc came with this:

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Man, that is pretty blurry now that I look at it. Must have been the handheld 1/10th sec exposure time.

that's a pretty sweet editing program! I will get my tripod out tomorrow. I think Saturday I'll be going through CinC and learning more how to use the camera.

WHAT?????

YOu haven't done that YET?

I've been insanely busy for the last week, or year, :D, got a cortisone shot in my shoulder, shopping for gf VD presents, seeing said gf and the list goes on.

BUT, now that I used the camera today I am definitely finding time to learn.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6 (Post 10751959)

This is what I have to work with. My Photoshop 5.5 doesn't work very well with Mojave.

PSE (Elements) is relatively cheap, and does about 95% of what the full version does, and is not cloud/subscription based.

Cool, thanks Eric. The subscription thing just kills me.

If my new computer hadn't come with this updated version of the software I was using on my old computer I'd be going after that PSE.

With enough work you can do a lot in camera, but you can’t do a LOT more with Photoshop. I still have a subscription to the full version. I cannot recommend it enough. More valuable than fancy lenses.

Sitting down and studying photography has been a problem. But given taking these pics, I am not sure I can do anything but use Auto. Standing on the top of a 5 foot ladder doesn't lend it self to careful focusing. Absolutely love the pics it takes.

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That last photo is art! You're doing well. You may be smart to do the best you can until you encounter an unsolvable problem and then call on the PPOT brain trust.

The only thing I would have changed, which changes the technical accuracy of the photo but makes it more viewable, requires photoshop. If you wanted total accuracy you might put some vaseline or frosted adhesive tape on the part with the reflective glare.
There are limitless tricks to use that have nothing to do with the camera. When I photographed antique tractors I used to run into the problem of some guy putting a white NAPA oil filter or a modern battery with a bunch of graphics on their otherwise nicely restored tractors. They stood out like sore thumbs in the photos. I carried some black construction paper to cover the batteries and cut the foot out of one of MrsWD's black pantyhose to slip over the oil filters.

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Until you've studied photography enough to get a good grasp of the relationship of the aperture-shutter speed-ISO tri-angle, you'll be hard pressed to 'out think' the programming of the camera itself.

I realize you're trying to get a one-photo inclusive of all parts photo for inventory purposes, but you're never going to get that with the lenses you have. They just aren't 'wide' enough.

If it were me, I'd rely on your old camera for an 'overall shot' and then take better smaller shots of sections of the table of parts.

Just turn the dial to "A" - then crank the aperture to f/16 - use a dial or on the lense - it should show up in the viewfinder

let the camera pick the ISO

the camera will also pic a shutter speed - for a decent distance, it should be 1/100 or so

for a close up use a tripod

------

you can also build a big rack instead of falling off the ladder - set the camera up & use a remote to trigger it - or use Nikon's app for your phone, which will let you see like you are looking thru the viewfinder

or move the LCD around to a convenient spot