Cameras for macro photography on the cheap?

[chipchuck]

So without breaking the bank on a slick Nikon D7, what suggestions on cameras are there for photographing minis on the cheap?

 

Anybody willing to photograph mine for me? :)

[kristof65]

A lot of the name brand digital camera's these days have a decent macro mode. I'm quite happy with the two Canon's I've had for macro photography. I think the lighting setup is probably just as important as the camera - a good lighting setup with a mid-level camera will probably yield better results than a high end camera and a bad lighting setup will.

 

 

 

 

[WizardOne]

So without breaking the bank on a slick Nikon D7, what suggestions on cameras are there for photographing minis on the cheap?

 

Anybody willing to photograph mine for me? :)

I have a Panasonic DMC-TZ4 that I am quite happy with. How do I post/upload a sample image here? Could I attach a sample to a PM?

 

Edit: I hunted down partial answers to my questions and I posted a sample pic over in the Show Off Topic, here: http://www.reapermini.com/forum/index.php?/topic/39849-carnasour-rampaging-at-lonewolf-8/

[ktyler09]

Dude Lisa has a Nikon D60 that I can bring over sometime and take all the pictures you want.

[chipchuck]

That's why I keep you around, boyeeee.

[cookjimjr]

I just got a Samsung SL30 Recently for $79 at Wal-Mart (not including the memory card) that takes pretty good pics and has tons of settings to help in that regard. If you look at the photos I have taken in the show off and WIP you can see it is not bad for less than $100. I do use a light box with daylight bulbs in my lamps.

[Spike]

I was pretty pleased to see a Canon Powershot takking all the official for-Reaper photos of the paint contest entries this year at RCon. It's a good little camera that's under $100 and has loads of custom scene settings and a not-too-shabby movie recording function either.

[morganm]

I've been really happy with our Sony Cybershot DSC-P200. Way more settings than I ever thought I'd use but I started using them now that I've gotten into taking photos of minis. I've setup the Program setting just the way I like it now, it has Manual mode, and much more.

 

All of the photos here are with the same camera: http://s808.photobucket.com/home/pic_dumpster/allalbums

 

Here's the specs: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscp200/

 

I dunno what you mean by 'cheap' but when you mention an Nikon D700 then it's relativly cheap =) They go for about $300 new; saw some used as low as $89 on Amazon. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used one. We've put ours through a lot over the last 5 years and it's still great; original battery and nothing has broke.

[btannehill]

My link

 

I just use an older 8.1 megapixel Cannon that my wife didn't want anymore (too bulky). It's not SLR, all it comes with is x7 optical zoom and up to x28 digital. Link above shows what I get. The two most recent figures were taken using a light box and said $129 camera.

 

Side Note: I own an expensive Cannon SLR with a telephoto / macro lense. The cheap camera does better due to it having a better field of depth (i.e. the whole miniature is in focus).

[Jeremy]

My link

 

I just use an older 8.1 megapixel Cannon that my wife didn't want anymore (too bulky). It's not SLR, all it comes with is x7 optical zoom and up to x28 digital. Link above shows what I get. The two most recent figures were taken using a light box and said $129 camera.

 

Side Note: I own an expensive Cannon SLR with a telephoto / macro lense. The cheap camera does better due to it having a better field of depth (i.e. the whole miniature is in focus).

 

If your minis arent completely in focus then you need to change your aperture settings. A larger number will increase your depth of field (ie less shallow and more of your subject in focus) the drawback is that this will lower your shutter speed and cause you to need a tripod or other means to steady the camera than your hand.

 

Unless this Canon is REALLY old I doubt you would get better pics with an 8.1 MP Point and Shoot. The cheapest DSLR Canon makes right now has a 10.1 MP sensor.

[Doug Sundseth]

Another note: Number of pixels has only a very limited effect on picture quality.

 

First, small sensors with many pixels necessarily have very small individual sensors and very close spacing between them. Both of these increase noise in the captured image. DSLRs have larger sensors for a given number of pixels, so for a given image size and sensor speed, the image from a DSLR is likely to be better.

 

Second, linear pixel density increases with the square root of the total number of pixels. Thus a 9MPx camera has only 1-1/2 times the linear resolution of a 4MPx camera. The difference between 10 and 12 MPx is not going to be visible in the vast majority of cases.

 

All that said, you should be able to find a new camera that gives you acceptable results for around $100. I recommend that you take a couple of figures into a camera store, explain what you want to do, and try out a few cameras. (I also recommend that you buy the camera where you test it; in-store prices are only a little higher than online and it's rude to try in a store then spend your money with people who didn't help you.)