Some weld pictures I took of welding

[MigPlazArc]

I just wanted to share some cool welding pictures. Hope everybody enjoys them.

[DaveO]

Nicely done! How did you set it up? Somebody else welding, you snapping pics? Timed shutter release? How did you arrange the welding filter over the camera lens, what shade filter did you use?

[MigPlazArc]

Nicely done! How did you set it up? Somebody else welding, you snapping pics? Timed shutter release? How did you arrange the welding filter over the camera lens, what shade filter did you use?

Yes, I had My brother welding with a 7018 rod. I used a Kodak Z981 camera which has manual settings; all digital, but work fine. No filters, I just used shutter speed, and ISO. It has such a wide range I can make day look like night, and night look like day.
This picture here was taken around 10pm and the bright spot is actually the moon.
This is another picture taken about the same time only a faster shutter speed.


These are all of the sun.

[redbeard]

Very nice indeed, I'd damn near call them art.

I take it you are happy with the camera?

[MigPlazArc]

Very nice indeed, I'd damn near call them art.

I take it you are happy with the camera?

Yes, very happy with it. Although I don't think the Z981 is available anymore, they do have a new one. The picture size is 12MP vs 14MP of the Z981, but the video is bigger on the new one (1080p vs 720p) and it has 30x zoom. it also has more ISO.

http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsu...ctID.221644300

Here is one very similar to the one I have only it 21x zoom vs 26x of mine:
http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsu...ctID.233417400

[Winky]

Those shots are very cool ... I'm going to have to try that.

[undercut]

Yes, very happy with it. Although I don't think the Z981 is available anymore, they do have a new one. The picture size is 12MP vs 14MP of the Z981, but the video is bigger on the new one (1080p vs 720p) and it has 30x zoom. it also has more ISO.

http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsu...ctID.221644300

Here is one very similar to the one I have only it 21x zoom vs 26x of mine:
http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsu...ctID.233417400

I love the fact that there are so many superzoom camera options out there. Great pictures and I like the fact that you were able to stop down the aperture and not use a filter. At first, I thought the welding pictures could have used a bit more light in the background but the more I looked at them, the more I liked the fact that the emphasis is so much on the welding. Really conveys the concentration of the welder. I like your non-welding pics too - excellent framing. Thanks for sharing.

[Brian Ski]

Yes, very happy with it. Although I don't think the Z981 is available anymore, they do have a new one. The picture size is 12MP vs 14MP of the Z981, but the video is bigger on the new one (1080p vs 720p) and it has 30x zoom. it also has more ISO.

How does it focus??? I have an older DX7590 I am happy with it except for the focus. It is slow to lock in and a lot of pictures are not very sharp. If I take a picture that I want to keep. I try to take 2 or 3 just to make sure one comes out good.

There are thousands of cameras out there so not sure which way to go. The one you linked to looks pretty good. (Kodak Max)

[undercut]

How does it focus??? I have an older DX7590 I am happy with it except for the focus. It is slow to lock in and a lot of pictures are not very sharp. If I take a picture that I want to keep. I try to take 2 or 3 just to make sure one comes out good.

There are thousands of cameras out there so not sure which way to go. The one you linked to looks pretty good. (Kodak Max)

The following link might be of some use for you.

http://forums.steves-digicams.com/ko...em-dx7590.html

Easiest thing to try is the half button press. This will focus the camera on whatever it is pointed at but not take a picture. Keep the button half depressed and the camera will stay focused for the distance between you and whatever it was pointed at when you half pressed. You can point the camera elsewhere or wait until the perfect moment and then fully depress. This is what Dan279 in the above link suggests. Hope this helps.

Oh, if you have a budget, we might be able to help you with potential camera options.

[Brian Ski]

Easiest thing to try is the half button press. This will focus the camera on whatever it is pointed at but not take a picture. Keep the button half depressed and the camera will stay focused for the distance between you and whatever it was pointed at when you half pressed. You can point the camera elsewhere or wait until the perfect moment and then fully depress. This is what Dan279 in the above link suggests. Hope this helps.

Oh, if you have a budget, we might be able to help you with potential camera options.

I think it may be a quirk with the camera... Nice to see others with the same problem... It takes 2 -3 seconds for it to lock on focus and I will notice it is not focused correctly so I let off the button and relock the focus... Another several seconds... You know what it is like to have people hold the pose for that long when others are just snapping pictures and you are trying to get the camera to focus???

Sounds like maybe a firmware update but it didn't help the other guy.

[undercut]

I have a non-DSLR and it hunts or has trouble finding focus sometimes as well. I try to help it along by pre-focusing to distance using the half-press method by aiming at something with strong contrast and while holding the focus lock, then pointing it at my subject(s). Like the side of a person's face or the edge of a table. Most (all?) non-DSLR type cameras use contrast to focus. I think they especially like contrast along horizontal lines but I'm not so sure about that part. It becomes second nature and (usually) doesn't take as long as it sounds.

Also try your camera with center focus instead of multipoint and use the above technique. In that way, it might help you let the camera know what to focus on instead of "where ever it wants to". Hope this helps - I know the pressure of trying to get the right moment.

[MigPlazArc]

How does it focus??? I have an older DX7590 I am happy with it except for the focus. It is slow to lock in and a lot of pictures are not very sharp. If I take a picture that I want to keep. I try to take 2 or 3 just to make sure one comes out good.

There are thousands of cameras out there so not sure which way to go. The one you linked to looks pretty good. (Kodak Max)

Well, It has auto focus and manual focus. Auto focus - Yes, press the button half way (it normally takes under a second) then when you are ready to take the picture, press it the rest of the way down. At the moment you press the button it takes the picture. There are actually two settings on auto focus...continuous and single. single auto focus only focuses when you press the button; continuous auto focus focuses when you press the button, but will still continue to change its focus if you, or something moves. Manual focus is controlled by the operator, but it not on the lens like a slr camera. Instead, you use the left and right arrows. There is a button on the top of the camera that controls the focus setting it is on. In order: Auto, close-up auto, macro auto, distant auto, and manual. All the Auto focus settings overlap some in focus distance for a wide range.

I love the fact that there are so many superzoom camera options out there. Great pictures and I like the fact that you were able to stop down the aperture and not use a filter. At first, I thought the welding pictures could have used a bit more light in the background but the more I looked at them, the more I liked the fact that the emphasis is so much on the welding. Really conveys the concentration of the welder. I like your non-welding pics too - excellent framing. Thanks for sharing.

Those shots are very cool ...

Thank you!

Also try your camera with center focus instead of multipoint and use the above technique. In that way, it might help you let the camera know what to focus on instead of "where ever it wants to". Hope this helps - I know the pressure of trying to get the right moment.

For auto focus, yes, it has focus point settings: Multi point, center weight, and spot. I usually use
spot and single.


Kodak now has this camera: http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsu...ctID.233417400

If you notice these cameras also have wide angle lenses, which is nice a lot of the time.


Kodak also has this video camera:http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsu...ctID.221644700
Doesn't have near as many features as the other cameras, but is an excellent pocket camera...And it's water proof, Just in case any of you are trying to tig weld water

[MigPlazArc]

P.S. I got My PlaySport for like $80-$90 from Amazon. The other cameras are cheaper there too.

[MigPlazArc]

Here I used Manual focus.


For this picture I used spot, Macro auto focus, centered on the "D".

The Kodak digital cameras also have a panorama feature:


This is a two picture, spot, auto focus; left to right


This is a three picture, spot, auto focus; left to right. Wall cloud with 70+ mph wind and heavy rain.
We got 1.5" of rain in about 15 minutes, which everything desperately needed!

[jakeru]

Migplazarc - those are amazing pictures of the stick welding action. More colorful than I would have guessed, being used to looking through a green autodarkening filter all the time!

Brian ski - I'm not sure how Kodaks work, but there may be a specific kind of beep you can listen for to tell if it successfully autofocuses. On my Cannon, "be-beep" (double beep) means successful focus, while a mere "beep" (single beep) means focus is *not* good. When the good focus doesn't happen, don't even try taking the shot, instead let off the trigger and try focusing again until you get a good focus. There is also usually a colored light / indicator on the screen to tell if the focus is good.

I recently bought a new camera, it's a "point and shoot". I think it was about $130, IIRC. A Cannon 300HS. It takes great pictures and is easy to use. Better than my old camera (a several year old camera point and shoot) in every way. It focus really fast. It can even take videos with varying focus throughout the video. So it basically doubles as a mini camcorder. (But now I need a faster computer to work with the videos.)

[MigPlazArc]

Migplazarc - those are amazing pictures of the stick welding action. More colorful than I would have guessed, being used to looking through a green autodarkening filter all the time!

Brian ski - I'm not sure how Kodaks work, but there may be a specific kind of beep you can listen for to tell if it successfully autofocuses. On my Cannon, "be-beep" (double beep) means successful focus, while a mere "beep" (single beep) means focus is *not* good. When the good focus doesn't happen, don't even try taking the shot, instead let off the trigger and try focusing again until you get a good focus. There is also usually a colored light / indicator on the screen to tell if the focus is good.

I recently bought a new camera, it's a "point and shoot". I think it was about $130, IIRC. A Cannon 300HS. It takes great pictures and is easy to use. Better than my old camera (a several year old camera point and shoot) in every way. It focus really fast. It can even take videos with varying focus throughout the video. So it basically doubles as a mini camcorder. (But now I need a faster computer to work with the videos.)

Thanks! Yes, the Kodak does have a focus indicator on the LCD display. I'm not sure if it has an audible indicator. I turned all of the sounds off on mine because to me, they are kind of annoying. Most of the Kodak cameras have a big enough display that you can see if it has focused.

Unlike some other cameras, it just uses AA batteries.

It also has single auto focus or continuous auto focus on the video settings.

And Brian Ski - I forgot to say: Yes, the older Kodaks were pretty slow at focusing. I have had five different Kodak cameras and the Z981 has been the fastest so far. I also think that the "bigger" cameras, like the Z981, (not the thin or pocket ones) focus faster. I have had: C330, Z650, Z915, Z981, and now the Zx5. I didn't like the C330, and my brother had a M series that he didn't like, so I just stuck to the Z series.