I’ve been asked why do I still use a digital camera (digital single-lens reflex camera – DSLR) when out rail-fanning when I have a Smartphone?
Over the past decade, smartphone cameras have come a long way but they are still not the best option for railroad photography.
The smartphone has a lot of limitations including its ability to shoot things over a great distance. When using the zoom-in feature on a smartphone image quality will go down. Both the resolution and megapixel rate is higher on digital (DSLR) cameras over a high-end smartphone. During the daytime on extremely sunny days, the touchscreen can be extremely hard to see. This being said it makes the viewfinder on a true camera a valuable tool. These are a few of the reasons why I don’t use my smartphone for railroad photography.
I’m no professional photographer by any means but I’ve picked up some tips here and there.
Picking a camera
I would recommend looking at both Canon and Nikon and take a close look at each and the feature sets that are appealing.
Lens
I would recommend a wide range of primary lenses. I’m currently using 18mm to 200mm. The wide range lens is great for chasing trains because you can’t always be up close when shooting a train.
Batteries
Batteries tend to last pretty long but it never hurts to have extras.
Camera Strap
Don’t be cheap about getting a good strap. Get one that is conformable. I love the across the chest strap because it is great for walking around and I don’t have the weight of the camera on the back of my neck.
Camera Bags
I would recommend a backpack type of bag to store your camera and gear. I know some of the great railfanning spots, may be a hike to get to. So be sure the backpack is comfortable. Something else to look for in a camera bag is storage pockets for extra camera batteries, scanner batteries, and SD cards.
Smartphone Apps
Most of the current DSLR Camera manufacturers have a smartphone app for retrieving photos off the camera so they can be posted in real-time to social media platforms. There are great apps for editing these images and even adding a watermark to posted photos.
Although I don’t use my smartphone for photography. I do use it to shoot video. Most camera shops carry smartphone and tablet mounts for tripods. The tripod would keep the shots steady and the pans smooth.
No matter what you use for taking photos, be safe, and have fun!
