# Defect Pictures How To?!



## deej (Jun 18, 2006)

Would anyone be so kind as to post up some instructions on how to take top quality pictures of defects with the Brinkmann or site lights in the picture?

Thanks guys. :thumb:


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## j450n (Jun 21, 2006)

me too I can never get any defect pics they all look perfect when they are not


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## richie.guy (Apr 10, 2006)

j450n said:


> me too I can never get any defect pics they all look perfect when they are not


Even with force flash on?


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## j450n (Jun 21, 2006)

richie.guy said:


> Even with force flash on?


I never thought about the flash doh
I'm hopefully doing some pc'ing this week (weather dependant)
I shall have another go at some pics


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## deej (Jun 18, 2006)

I can get some alright pics that show defects but i always notice Dave and Clarks pics as standing out from the crowd.

Waits for them to step in


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## Tone (Oct 25, 2005)

Bump! on this, as I would like to know too. I'm doing a detail at the mo, but cant capture the marring well enough. Seems to just pick up the metallic flake instead, lol.


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## MattFletcher (Oct 27, 2006)

i had problems also this weekend


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

I always had problems with the brinkman, the reason was that I was always holding the light too close to the car. I now hold the light about 1.5 meter away and zoom in on the light if necessary and this works well.


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## MattFletcher (Oct 27, 2006)

maybe were i went wrong i think i went to close to the car, will try next time


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## s2kpaul (Jul 27, 2006)

think there a knack to getting the light camera angle right ?


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## Hallsy (May 24, 2006)

I really can't do it!!

The sun is shining on the bonnet and you can see loads of swirls, I focus on shining light, use force flash, yet on the camera they look totally different to naked eye, and can't see any defects.

What am I doing wrong!!??


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## Moddie (May 27, 2006)

What camera are u using? if its direct sunlight itll be very strong to to get any detail in the pic u will have to make it darker, try lowering the ISO if you can and decreasing the shutter speed! turn the flash off also unless its a direct reflection of the camera your taking a pic of!


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## Hallsy (May 24, 2006)

Thanks for that, it's a Nikon Coolpix 4100 which I'm not happy with anymore, so I'll soon be buying either a Fuji s5600, Canon s2 is or Panasonic FZ5 

I'll have another go with the Nikon anyway, taking on your advice


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## TangoMan (Jul 28, 2006)

I usually work around spotting the swirls by eye then position the camera. I have an SLR camera so I put it into manual focus and move it up and down until I can see the swirls. Oh and in the meantime I have a bloody strong light bouncing off the panel.


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## timb (Jul 29, 2006)

I have found that having a camera with manual focus helps a lot and as is mentioned by others the camera angle can be very important.


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

The most important thing when trying to photograph things with minute detail, such as swirl marks is the angle to the light, try experimenting with the angle of the camera in relation to the bodywork you will soon get the hang of how to do it.


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## TangoMan (Jul 28, 2006)

Dont agree on that, the most important is focus. The camera will focus in on the trees or whatever is in the reflections, then it is angle. Both are very important though as well as strong direct light.


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## Coxy914 (Jan 14, 2007)

TangoMan said:


> Dont agree on that, the most important is focus. The camera will focus in on the trees or whatever is in the reflections, then it is angle. Both are very important though as well as strong direct light.


Correct. Very difficult to get shots of defects if your camera is on auto focus as it will focus on what's in the reflection and it will leave the paintwork out of focus. 
If you're having difficulty on focussing on the scratch marks, then find an angle on the body or even something like a washer jet or bonnet badge.
Angle is fairly important but if you can see them with the eye, then as long as you have the camera at the same angle, there is no reason why you wont get a decent picture of them unless your camera is set to Auto Focus. If you don not have a manual focus option, the only way is to trick it by placing something on the paintwork for it to focus on then crop it out of the picture afterwards.


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## Tone (Oct 25, 2005)

Coxy914 said:


> Correct. Very difficult to get shots of defects if your camera is on auto focus as it will focus on what's in the reflection and it will leave the paintwork out of focus.
> If you're having difficulty on focussing on the scratch marks, then find an angle on the body or even something like a washer jet or bonnet badge.
> Angle is fairly important but if you can see them with the eye, then as long as you have the camera at the same angle, there is no reason why you wont get a decent picture of them unless your camera is set to Auto Focus. If you don not have a manual focus option, the only way is to trick it by placing something on the paintwork for it to focus on then crop it out of the picture afterwards.


Yep. What i now do is just place my finger on the paintwork so the camera focuses on this, remove it, and take the photo. Job done!


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