Hadier Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Hi, guys as the title suggests i am trying to buy a new digital camera..actually i guess a digital camera period my cameras are 2 old 35mm minoltas. I love them but there is no way they will cut it for mini pics so any suggested brands or just what cameras as a whole would be best would be appreciated. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dargrin Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 I really like my Kodak EZ share camera. I takes really good pictures. What ever camera you get make sure that it has a macro mode. This is important for good picture taking for this hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heisler Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 A price range would be good to know too. You may as well do a search on digital cameras here since I know there have been a number of threads on this same topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug's Workshop Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I just bought a Canon A590. You can see the pics I was able to get if you look through some of my posts. There's definitely a learning curve, and I spent the better part of a day just taking test shots, uploading them to my computer, and looking at them. I took notes, recorded settings, tried different settings, etc. I have discovered that half the battle is knowing how to use a photo-editing program. The software that came with my camera has an auto-fix for colors, which works great. The autofix for exposure usually over-exposes the mini. I use GIMP as my editing software. The camera, AC converter, and a small tripod came to just about $160. Good luck! -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Snack Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 (edited) Be careful about "features" that may be buggy. I bought my Canon because it had an option to take pictures through your computer (so you could see what your results were going to be before you took the picture) and I've NEVER gotten it to work. I'm still happy with the camera, but I would have saved some money if I had known the computer control feature wouldn't work... Edited January 7, 2009 by Dragon Snack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kheprera Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Digital Photo Review Best website to check out cameras and pricing. Look for ones with: Macro features. Canon and Nikon make some excellent ones with a 5 cm focal length (how close you can get and still be in focus). The closer the better. Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority: This will allow you to fiddle a little with the depth of field. Shooting 3D objects close up requires this ability since most automatic macros "assume" you want less depth of field (for flowers and bugs). Flash control: Most have it, but not all. You will find you will want to be able to control how strong you want your flash output to be and you need the ability to turn it off at will. Ease of controls. This is where you will want to be able to handle the camera, see how it fits in your hands, and to check and see if your handling of it will result in your fingers getting in the way. Different cameras handle differently. Even if you don't buy from a brick and mortar store, being able to hold the camera will go a long way in you choosing just the right one. Tripod mount. Don't take it for granted that all cameras come with one. Most do, but not all (especially the cheaper ones). You're going to want a tripod. Megapixel range: Face it. While you will shoot minis with it, you're going to end up using the camera for other occassions. Make certain you pick the highest MP range you can afford so when you do get that great shot you can get better enlargements. Memory media type: The SD card is awesome, in my book. Popular, they are inexpensive (I have about four myself, now) and newer laptops now have slots that accept them. Battery: Many cameras now use AA size batteries. If you can I highly recommend this. Even the high-cost lithium AAs are cheaper than the specialized camera batteries that aren't always easy to find. Also, if you get in a crunch, you can hop down to the local gas station and grab a pack of batteries. AAs you can find anywhere. The other kind, not so much. Options that are nice: Threadmounts for filters/lenses. These allow you to add things like close-up lenses to get even closer to your subject. Hotshoe mount for external flash. Add a separate flash for better, more controlled lighting. You will see this most often on DSLRs although some higher-end point and shoots offer it. Flip-back preview screen: My camera has one, but my husband's and my mom's do not. I can turn the preview screen around and protect it so it doesn't get damaged. It also turns off so I don't waste battery power. The downside is it is smaller than the other cameras. My personal recommendation: Canon A590 is an excellent camera (I bought one for my husband for Christmas). It is inexpensive (and Circuit City's liquidation sale starts tomorrow if the courts approve), has a decent megapixel range (8 IIRC), and has the aperture/shutter priority as well as a 5cm macro focus range. It's a good camera. The Nikon P60 is also a good choice, comes with pretty much the same as the Canon A590, but not quite as close in macro (IIRC). It is also an 8 MP, uses the SD card and AA batteries. I got it for my mom for Christmas. Each of the above cameras has their own little "thing." One does something better than the other (but I can't recall what, offhand) but I do know that I gave my husband the Canon because as I recall (Doug, correct me if I'm wrong) it can be hooked up to the tv for showing movies (it has a good movie function). I don't have a manufacturer preference (I own Canon and Nikon cameras as well as a couple of others from before I was born) but have found that Canon and Nikon consistently have good cameras for a good price with the kinds of bells and whistles I look for (and I'm picky). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimL Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 It's well into the pricey range but I borrowed a friend's Nikon D40 and its macro settings were perfect for minis. All around it is a great camera especially if you loved taking 35mm photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hadier Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Ok Guys, First of all I want to thank you for your advice, and I am here fora bit more help. I recentally borrowed my dads Nikon D100 its a nice camera that has fully ajustable settings but was wondering what lenses would you advise for taking macro range pictures. I am looking at these but am not sure what would be best at the moment they are from Nikon's web page but am prefectally willing to use a differant companys if it fits. http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/...f_28d/index.htm, http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/...f_28g/index.htm, http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/...28_if/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Personally, I'm a Canon-girl, but from what I read on the three lenses you're looking at, the third seems to be the one with the highest quality elements and inner-workings. Of course there is always price to consider, and if you find that a wee improvement in quality might push the limits of your budget, then you might want to save some dollars on lens and put those dollars toward minis. Of course, if your budget allows, go for the best. In all seriousness, you can make a pretty darn good mini portrait with a standard non-macro lens. If you're doing pics for the internet, and your camera has 10 or 12 megapixels of sensor, then a photo taken from three feet away can be cropped down to just the mini subject with zero loss of resolution. If you prefer to spend your money on an all-around versatile lens, you can probably find a decent zoom lens that will let you get close in (like my kit lens, which has a minimum range of 7.5"). Here's some I took the first day I took my DSLR out of its box. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3071/288435...5b93891d1_o.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/286732...40e4692f6_o.jpg I have personally made some nice macro photos with my 50mm prime lens also. Mind you it's a prime lens, so it cannot zoom in or out, but you can adjust the f-number down to 1.8 and get some amazingly crisp focus, not to mention amazingly smooth bokeh. Here's the second picture I ever made with my 50mm prime http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3508/319460...8e8203a23_o.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaGeek Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I love my Pentax K100D. It cost about $500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I love my Pentax K100D. It cost about $500. K20D for me (gotta love 14.6 MP). I've shot over 3000 pictures since I bought the camera in late October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moneyon Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Hi, I am using Pentax K20D Digicam. It works well and worth the Price. Check the reviews about K20D Digicam. Then you will definitely buy it. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonelf3 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I used to use a Canon Powershot A70 which worked well and was relatively cheap, but it eventually broke. Now I use my dad's Canon Powershot G9, 12 megapixels, an amazing manual macro focus, and a big LCD which cuts down on pics taken. Well worth the money, IMO, but I don't know if that's an option for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitywyde Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I will definitely look into the Pentax K20D Digicam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sundseth Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Worry less about the number of pixels on your sensor plane and more about the quality of the optics in the camera. A 10% increase in pixels will result in just over a 3% (square root of 10%) increase in dpi. Frankly, a $200, 8MP snapshot camera with decent macro capability can give you pictures that will show every possible fault in your painting. And that's the point, right? Finally, I will second (or whatever) the claim that the place to look for reviews is dpreview. Their comparison articles are unrivaled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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