Filming Railways

Right locations for filming railways

There are many places available for filming railways and each country has something else to offer. This is very special in Europe, as the diversity of train operators, gauges and countrysides makes the trainspotter hobby truly enjoyable. You have to decide which places make you most happy when filming railways and looking at the results afterwards. Perfect places are bridges, viaducts, platforms, stations generally, crossings, mountains, seaside, heritage centers and you can film while being on a journey itself. There are world-famous tours available like the ones on the Transsibirian Railways, but you don't need to go that far to find beauty around train routes. Especially the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and Eastern Europe are popular for their great rail networks. However, when you prefer to film in the coutryside you have to consider long waiting times for your beloved train action. For some of you filming at really busy stations in capital cities might be the better option for that reason. More information about good filming spots can be found under the Great Trainspotter Locations section.

Weather and time when filming railways

Don't be afraid to go out for filming railways when it is raining. Sometimes, bad weather can let you take exceptional shots which you can be proud of after all. Sunshine can even hinder and blind great filming and photography. Thus always check if you have the right settings enabled according to light and dark scenes and position yourself in the best way to avoid side effects that might impact the quality of your railways films and photos.

Technical equipment to capture railways

Never forget your camcorder. Make sure you have enough storage available and that your recording device is fully charged. With increasing storage on SD cards this will be less of an issue in the future. Just make sure that you don't expose your electronical equipment and suppelments to direct sunshine or water.

Right camera settings

As already pointed out you should set your camcorder properly before recording any train action. Consider taking some test shots in order to set the correct light effects, filters, flash and motion speed to be filmed. If you shoot through glas and windows, you also have to adjust this in your settings. Obviosly setting options will differ depending on the model and make of your camcorder. New cameras have already additional options like High Definition (HD). While these cameras have a very high resolution measured in pixel they tend to lack behind in terms of zooming functions. Older camcorders have high zoom but also no 16:9 screen and recording option. Read the user manual for all features of your camcorder or take it with you on your trips if you don't use all of the options regularly.

Here are the most important features a camcorder should have:

• Good quality lens with high zoom (60x would be great)
• Filter: 30mm
• Harddrive of more than 20 GB
• Dolby Digital audio recording system
• Movie recording in MPEG
• Face detection mode
• Video Light for dark environments
• Mode to record fast movements
• Color temperature for outdoor and indoor use within one push
• Minimum illumination of 3 lux, Shutter speed of at leat 1/25
• USB input/outputs
• Standard SD Card ready
• A/V remote connector
• LCD screen with at aspect ratio 16:9 (High/Definition if possible)
• Number of pixels at least 960x240
• Rechargable battery pack included, Li-ion
• Quick charging without damaging the battery
• Possibility to use a stand with the camcorder

Obviously, the more you want to do with your equipment the more you must invest in the device in the beginning. If you don't do so you might regret it later.

Find the newest cameras and camcorders:
http://mycamerastore.co.uk

Finally, make sure that it is allowed to film or take pictures where you are. More about this here.