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GT1885

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Mr Grant Taylor
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Hi folks. I do apologise for getting straight to the subject.

Where is the correct forum topic to post into for some tips or advice on which equipment would best suit our needs?
 
Hi and welcome to TP

Well, it can do no harm to expand here in this starting thread by explaining what your photographic plans are ... ... ...and that should inform further and more wider ranging discussion :thinking:
 
Welcome to the forum.
 
As Box Brownie said above, the best thing is to tell us what your experience, if any, is, and what you want to do in photography, as an Intro, which will likely elicit advice in this thread. If you wanted to go into more specific detail after that, the Talk Equipment forum does what it says on the tin, so to speak
 
OK folks, and thank you very much so far.

I appreciate this forum and its content will provide way more information than we (my work and colleagues) will require but If I cant ask the field experts then whom can I ask eh?

I work for a rail maintenance team and we require to purchase a camera for taking clear and detailed photos (no real requirement for editing per say) of our equipment, mainly overhead lines. We will be taking photos from ground level and our target equipment will be approx 10-12m away. To date we have been using camera phones with some of my colleagues managing to take photos through binocular lenses - with varying success!!!

Our lighting due to being outside may not always be optimum.

Obviously we're looking for something that will have a fairly good zoom, almost point and click (sorry!!!!) and we'd need image stabilising i'd think? There are so many different cameras and specs out there that its genuinely like a needle in a haystack trying to start and sift through it all - hence my direct questioning.

We have a budget of around £500.

Would something like a Canon powershot sx70 HS be a worthwhile consideration? Or is that overkill?

Any advice or suggestions are welcome.

Thank you in advance
 
OK folks, and thank you very much so far.

I appreciate this forum and its content will provide way more information than we (my work and colleagues) will require but If I cant ask the field experts then whom can I ask eh?

I work for a rail maintenance team and we require to purchase a camera for taking clear and detailed photos (no real requirement for editing per say) of our equipment, mainly overhead lines. We will be taking photos from ground level and our target equipment will be approx 10-12m away. To date we have been using camera phones with some of my colleagues managing to take photos through binocular lenses - with varying success!!!
Just some thoughts/questions?
What is the purpose of the photography? Is it to record the condition of the overhead lines infrastructure, in a before & after works role, and if so just how detailed are you anticipating the photographs to be?
Our lighting due to being outside may not always be optimum.
Do you also take the photographs in the rain?
Obviously we're looking for something that will have a fairly good zoom, almost point and click (sorry!!!!) and we'd need image stabilising i'd think? There are so many different cameras and specs out there that its genuinely like a needle in a haystack trying to start and sift through it all - hence my direct questioning.
Please remember that the user takes the photograph not the camera i.e. some level of skill and camera-craft will need to be exercised!
We have a budget of around £500.
Is that the maximum or is there wiggle room?
Would something like a Canon powershot sx70 HS be a worthwhile consideration? Or is that overkill?

Any advice or suggestions are welcome.

Thank you in advance
 
Hi Grant, And welcome aboard TP. "Enjoy"
 
Just some thoughts/questions?
What is the purpose of the photography? Is it to record the condition of the overhead lines infrastructure, in a before & after works role, and if so just how detailed are you anticipating the photographs to be?

Do you also take the photographs in the rain?

Please remember that the user takes the photograph not the camera i.e. some level of skill and camera-craft will need to be exercised!

Is that the maximum or is there wiggle room?
I suppose there will always be wiggle room if there is a product that surpasses all expectations and is perfect for our needs.

There is a chance that the camera may need to be used during wet weather but that would generally be minimal.

The main purpose is to take clear photos (and possibly videos at times) for the monitoring and recording of the infrastructure, checking for degradation and condition. Yes there will be before and after photos taken of corrective works.

We are definitely fully aware the art of photography lies within the photographer but we are all very inexperienced in anything to with this field - hence the very generic questions I'm throwing out.

We don't know anything about different cameras, specification, what would match our needs etc. I'm almost embarrassed to be asking the questions to be honest but whom better to ask than this forum of experts?
 
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