Help with a camera

[FW190A-8]

Hey Herd,
Sorry if this topic has been covered (and if it has can some1 plesae give me the ink to it).

I am embarrassed by the quality (lack of quality) of the photos I have been putting up on the GB thread of my build. Can someone recommend a particular camera that won't cost a $squillion but still takes good quality close ups? Some of you are able to take brilliant close ups and I would like to do the same. Any suggestions on Brand and model of a camera that will solve my problem?
cheers,
FW190 (John)

 

[Quaralane]

The little Samsung S85 I use for my stills only set me back about $100 a couple of years ago.
It has setting for both a timer, and for adjusting for hands shaking.
It's also got a pretty good zoom

 

[Ziz]

What make/model camera do you have? Unless it's several years old (and even if it is), it's more likely you need to just learn a bit about playing with some of the manual settings instead of depending on "auto".

 

[FW190A-8]

Hey guys. I only have my iPhone4 for taking pics at the moment.

 

[panzerace007]

FW,

I use a Sony Cybershot DCS-S500 . I can't remember how much I bought it for , but it's been a few years ago. It serves it's purpose until I can get th $$ to upgrade. Ya' might want to look into this camera. Also ... another thing is a decent Tripod. I bought one for $20 at th local Camera store & it does everything I want it to. Which is basically hold th camera steady & I also use th timer feature on it ( th camera). There's only one setting that I can manipulate th White Balance ( which is a Big one to getting Great pix. & th F-Stop )

Lighting is another biggie. But no worries here you don't have to be Ansel Adams to get great shotz. The more lights th better - it helps to disperse th shadows. Light it from every angle - Top & sides with 60watt lights or less , but once you start to experiment with that, you'll find out which lights suit you better.

I also picked up one of these from Micro-Mark - http://www.micromark.com/PHOTO-STUDIO-IN-A-BOX,9552.html - this really helped get My Pix in order !!

Happy Camera shopping Bro !!

 

[FW190A-8]

Cheers panzerace. I like the look of that photo studio box thingy. And I will check out that camera right now on the web. Thanks for the great advice.

 

[spud]

i use a 5D MK II and a 100mm macro lens but thats out of your budget i geuss i also use my iphone when being lazy it takes realy good pics and close ups.

thing you should have for close ups is a tripod you can get a small one for a few quid.

also a light box is an easy thing to make.

get a carboard box paint it white or line it with some white paper, posotion your light over the top of it and you have a cheap but effective light box. of you can just use 2 A4 sheets 1 flat and 1 vertical thats what i use most of the time this link will expalin it better

 

[TRM]

Hiya FW!!

Certainly being pointed in the right direction here. The camera is definitely a big player in getting the pics better. But a few other things like lighting and background make all the difference in the world.

I have been shooting with a Sony Cybershot, 12 mp for just over a year. One sale, it was about $100 USD. It has steady shot, witch helps if you are taking a picture of "in-process" build. You should look into a cheap tri-pod. I stole my wife's and set the camera to a 2 second delay. Let's me get the clumsy hands out of the way and stop any movement.

Recently went down this road myself to improve some shots. After reading a bunch of stuff and talking with some friends...after you get a new camera, whatever it will be, mess around with and take the same shot on the same piece using ever imaginable setting change you can think of. Make not of which shot was which setting and when you look at them it will be easier to narrow down what looks best!

Couple things that helped me (just the 2 cents)...

Tripod

Depth of focus (take the picture farther away on a higher resolution and crop later...whole picture is in focus then)

Change the ISO setting. Mine is set to 100. My camera goes to 3200 for capturing a tiny piece of PE as it rockets out into the carpet but while on the tripod, 100 is perfect. This will allow more time for the light to be taken in by the camera.

Lighting - I picked up 2 clamp lights at Home Depot for $6 each and some Day White Energy saving florescent bulbs (the Sony I have, I can change what the light source is being seen)

Picture Box! Made one from used poster board. 3 sides with angles on the sides for the clamp lights to hang off. Doesn't have to be elaborate...just functional!!

Background - paper, blotters, A4 and so on. Stick to light colors if not white. It allow what your shooting to show up better and be the focus of the attention. I am currently using a piece of PVC roofing material. It's white, flexible, cheap(free in my case). I use binder clips to attach it to the inside of the box and it smoothly cascades down the back and across the floor of the box to the front edge.

The rest is just messing with camera settings and lighting!

I'll try an get a couple shots of what I am using just to help hopefully. Might give you a good starting point.

(sorry for going on and on her) Good luck!

 

[spud]

duno if you camera has F stops trm but teh huger you set it the more infocus you pics will be but at the cost of longer exposures but a higher iso will reduce that also.

 

[FW190A-8]

WOW!!! Thanks TRM. I don't mind at all that you went into a detailed explanation. I am keen to learn more about macro photography and want to take good close ups of my lil models.. Going to the stores now to check out some cameras u guys have mentioned and talk to camera "experts". Don't worry...I wont let em talk me into spending mega bucks.

Thank you also Spud. I will investigate the lighting box/studio as you and panzerace have pointed out. I have already secured a tripod. I have had it a few years but never used it. It is not a desktop one but rather a full size thing. Should work tho.

Great advice guys. No wonder this forum is so popular.

 

[spud]

if plan on spending a few hundred but not major $$$$ check out the 4 thirds cameras there a step up from point and shoot and will give you better macro options and i think you can buy a macro lens for it,

 

[Grendels]

I am something of a camera nut, and have a few different cameras.

Do not go out and spend a lot of money on a camera. There is no reason to unless you are really going to get into photography.

Most of the point ans shoot cameras you can buy will do a good job. Just from past experience I would stay away from Kodak, Fuji, and a few of the cheaper brands.

Cannon, Nikon, and sony make good point and shoots.

I use a cannon powershot elph 100HS for my model work. I have other cameras, with interchangeable lenses, but I won't get them out for desk top work. The macro setting on point and shoots are good enough for what we are doing here.

I reserve the other cameras for outdoor photos, or when I need an extreme close up. Not for day to day hobby work.

I would check the open item sales at Best buy or of all places office depot. Sometime office depot will have better prices on cameras than Best buy.

TRM gave you great advice on the rest.

 

[13aceofspades13]

Most of the point ans shoot cameras you can buy will do a good job. Just from past experience I would stay away from Kodak, Fuji, and a few of the cheaper brands.

well aint that the flipping truth, i have a camera that is great for doing shots of families at the beach... stuff like that, but it ain't for scale modeling.

i use a 10.2 Mega pixel Fujifilm digital camera... not so good for modeling, it does no justice for smaller details and the slightest inadequate lighting can be a nightmare... but i have a nice digital video camera...

 

[spud]

if its just for modeling related stuff a point and shoot will do. there are other good brands other than sony Nikon and Cannon, While these would be teh better ones on the market tge name bumps the price, so look at other makers. but if you want a decnt camera and have the money look into a 4 thrds to start you off before you decide you want a Realy good camera, if thats the case then you cant get any better than Cannon or Nikon.

but for model related stuff any point and shoot that has a decent macro setting will do you

 

[FW190A-8]

Hey herd,
Check out this link...
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

easy to make, easy to pay for and well...just easy
Or maybe I might pick up one of those fold up jobbies from ebay.

I have checked out all the cameras you guys have mentioned and I am still no closer to getting one. I am narrowing down my list though but I will keep looking. Still undecided on whether to go for the point and shoot variety now or talk my better half into splashing out for an Olympus XZ-1 maybe. She has always wanted to get a decent camera so maybe .... nah... too much money. Good camera but $430 Aussie is too much. So you can see my predicament. Never mind. I keep looking and thinking.

 

[13aceofspades13]

the great thing about this place, is it does not matter how bad your photos are, people will still appritiate your work,
just to make sure, there is nothing wrong with my camera, it does its job, im happy with it, but i like my video camera even more, that was a blessing in itself, it makes nice videos...

this may be off subject a tad but i have noticed thing about scale modeling, you must, or it is a good idea to have the following skills

1must be mechanically inclined and good with your hands

2must understand glues and other adhesives

3must understand paints and colors

4is good too understand the history of your kit

5is good to be a good photographer to show your friends

i like scale modeling beacuse it combines all my hobbies into one big happy one, and you don't need a good camera here, beacuse people will appritiate your work reguardless, so don't spend too much money on a camera, leave some money in the building budget first...

 

[spud]

lol ace you dont need to be good photographer unless you realy want to do something special and in teh case of modeling you dont . and FW190 i use my iphone as much as my Cannon 5D Mk II for taking pics of my kits, i know i shouldnt but i have it pluged in to the pc so when i take a pic it comes up on my monitir so i can tell if its clear on a bigger screen

 

[Ziz]

Another thing to consider with "cheap vs fancy" is that in reality, all the equipment is built by only 2 or 3 manufacturers - the rest are just changing the appearance and sticking their name on it. Sometimes you can even tell which ones share the same lineage by just looking at the layouts of the controls and seeing if the menu displays use the same graphics.

Make notes of specs of your top choices and compare them point for point. You might be able to get the "off brand" version of the more expensive camera without sacrificing quality or features.

 

[spud]

if your going for a point and shoot there all more or less the same if its a more fancy one Like my 5D then its the Lenses make the differance not the camera, i could put my 85mm f1.2 on a cheap ass cannon and get just as amazing results.