Night scenes

Good looking pics. Amazing how good a model scene looks at night, eh?

The latest point'n'shoot cameras do 90% of what an SLR can do. A few years ago, a "professional" camera was anything that stored 10 megapixels or more. Nowadays, 12-14 megapixels is pretty well standard for all but the cheapest cameras, and those now have 6-8 MP, which is more than enough for holiday snapshots.

Wolf K.

Other night just for a lark I placed a Camcorder at track level on the HO loop around the garden, it was gone midnight and very dark. The only light came from the headlight ,strobe ,and number boards of the Loco and the relatively crude interior lighting of the 15 Bachmann heavyweight cars. Photographically it was terrible but artistically the effect was pleasing as the train passed looking not unlike a Turner image. What was unexpected was the sound, the camcorder has a fairly sensitive stereo microphone and by luck the position was near a track joint and a point/switch shortly after a tunnel. The approaching train with metal wheels hit that sound of whooshing rails that generates the excitement and anticipation of an approaching express perfectly followed by joint noise that was just right,the train then departed out of sight over the pond viaduct which is made of 10 old Marklin metal arch bridges mounted on metal studding within plastic cable conduit,the studding is supported by a small RSJ below the water. I Had not realised how much this structure actually "rumbled" under the weight of the metal Lionel Turbine but it came over very well on the recording. It was no Winston Link production but playing it back on the Home Cinema set up it prompted the missus to look in and query when and where I had been out recording trains in the dark. Will try it again with the sound activated on the Loco but I don't think it will sound as good. G.Harman

Let's have it on U-bend and drool :-) Guy