Digital cameras and model railroading

[nachoman]

I occasionally browse through model railroader magazines from the 80s or early 90s, and compare the modeling seen therein to what I see today. I notice a marked difference in detail levels - with today's modelers adhering to higher detail standards not just with their rolling stock, but with their structures and layouts in general.

It is true that commercial products have improved details, and a highly detailed model is much cheaper than it used to be. for example, one can pick up a bachmann spectrum steamer for a hundred bucks today, but 30 years ago one would have had to spend more money on imported brass to get that level of detail. So, it is much easier for someone to have a higher detail standard than they did 30 years ago.

But 30 years ago there were no digital cameras. I never took close-up photos of my models until I bought a digital camera about 6 years ago. I would think most of us were the same way. One needs to have a decent film camera and lenses in order to take close-up pictures of models. A point and shoot 35mm camera simply doesn't cut it. And - that film needed developing, and it would often take something larger than a 4x6 print to see much detail on a model photo. Plus, the developing lag time didn't allow for instant scrutiny of the photography or the modeling subject.

I have noticed that evan my relatively cheap 4 megapixel digital camera can capture model details quite well if I give it proper lighting. And, I can plug it into my computer to get nearly instant feedback. I have noticed myself caring more about smaller details than I did before - some of them are details small enough that one's eyes will never be able to see well in person - but the camera will catch them. If I didn't have a camera, or never planned on photographing my trains, I think I wouldn't bother with such details and never notice that they were missing.

The digital photograph is a good critic. Do you think that the advancement of digital cameras, and the nearly ubiquitous ownership of them has pushed our hobby to a higher detail threshold?