Saturday 31 January 2015

Foldio take 2

ok so from my last post, following my explorative suare with my new foldio i was left a little wanting for more. whilst some results were ok-ish i just could not get a single good photo using a white background. so i set about trying to master it.
ill keep this post short. because there was no good outcome really.
i tried every setting and in the end, when i was about to give up.. i took a photo on the cameras default 'auto' setting. and managed to take the best picture of the night.
and still...not a great shot really. but that was the best i could muster. at this point im a little deflated. whilst the foldio was a present..it hasnt really quite come up trumps. i feel the promotional images that suggest all you need is a foldio and a camera phone can produce great results. i havent posted a image from my phone. because they were all total crap (iphone 5s) whilst using the foldio i am capable of capturing the colours and hues of the model how i see them in my eyes. the pictures are turning out not to be as crisp as i have previously been able to achieve

so i revert back to my old 15 quid broken to hell frankenstiens lamp (held together with bolts and clips and glue and anything else that stops it from falling apart)
additionally i also use the foam background that came with my foldio. as well as the same camera. and took a photo using same setting etc as i would of done previously before owning the foldio.
comparing the 2 images side by side. i would probably have to say that the second image is by far superior. whilst the colours are more accurate with the foldio..i just simply cannot get a sharp image. and as a result i feel it somewhat washes out the model.
the second image being just my camera and an old beaten up lamp ends up exagerating the colours somewhat and there is a little flash reflection. but also inturn i am getting a much sharper image.

now im no photographer, but i have managed to take some decent pictures in the past. so maybe i have a lighting issue? so lets combine the 2 together. the foldio with my old lamp angled in front of the foldio pointing direct at the mini.

so the flash is turned off because it seems impossible to take a picture within the foldio with my flash on. and with all this lighting. i shouldnt really need it anyways. so again i feel another slightly out of image is created. i do not have shaky hands. but for some reason when the flash is turned on..the camera seems to lock onto its target better.

what have i learnt?
nothing at all. lighting doesnt seem to be the issue. but i still feel im getting better images by still following my old ways. but my old lamp isnt going to last forever. infact i think something broke of it when i was moving it to take the last image shown above.
maybe a tripod would do the trick? i dont really wish to go out and spend xx cash on a tripod when i dont have any faith that it will do me any good.
do i need to buy a new camera? i dont think so. and ive gotten by for a long time with this camera and its served me perfectly well.

so what do you guys think? anyone else got one of these foldios or having similar problems to me?
if so how did you solve them?

anyways  i tried not to make this a rant. nor make it a review as such. but kind of think i failed on both of those.
but hope you enjoyed the read :)
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4 comments:

  1. Paul8 February 2015 at 22:51

    I have a cheap tripod (£15) which has proven more than adequate over about 10 years use. Has turned out to be useful for all sorts of things, not just tiny models!

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    1. AmpersandDI11 February 2015 at 10:08

      im interested. did you have the same troubles as i have with the foldio? if you look at my pictures youll see the obvious issues. the graininess of the images has left me a little deflated. yet with the exact same camera and a slightly different setup (old lamp and white paper) the graininess vanishes

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    2. Paul14 February 2015 at 01:08

      I tend to use the manual mode on the camera and set for ISO 100 at smallest aperture/max depth of field. Camera is positioned 6-12" from the subject and I zoom in slightly to fill the frame. This is because I find that because I tend to photograph either vehicles or lines of 15mm troops, photographing from too close on macro has a slightly noticeable barrel distortion (someone else might not pick it up, but I know it's there!). This means a 5-10 second exposure depending upon lighing, hence the need for a tripod! I also have a sheet of foamcore handy (gradually shrinking as I use it to make buildings...) which I can use as a reflector to reduce shadows/boost light levels. I usually try to use daylight rather than a lamp but that's mainly because I don't have a suitable lamp. Also reduces shadows because it's less directional though that probably isn't such an issue with your dungeon photography.
      Do you think the graininess on some of your photographs is because the camera is automatically boosting to a higher ISO setting to compensate for slightly low light levels?
      Have been enjoying your HQ articles, has given me lots of ideas and I've been busy casting up lots of extra furniture for my dungeon recently in preparation for running a games day for our Scout Troop this weekend.

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  2. AmpersandDI14 February 2015 at 02:47

    i have no idea why the images come out grainy. this only occurs when i take images inside the foldio. obviously the light levels vary and so i need to make slight adjustments..but if a take an image using same setting using a sheet of paper and my old lamp..the graininess vanishes....totally bizarre!. look forwards to seeing you HQ stuff. and thanks for getting back to me :)

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