Cheap Cameras for eBay

Harlequin565

Harlequin565

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Ian
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Our charity shop needs 3 cameras for our volunteers to take pictures on eBay.

They need to be...

1. Cheap & compact (no DSLR/Bridge sized cameras)
2. Chargeable from a cable-to-Windows PC rather than battery out and into a charger. (People forget to charge it)
3. That same cable needs to be able to transmit the images to the PC without the need to take the memory card in and out. (People can't manage the technicalities of image transferring very well)
4. Have some sort of easily accessible macro function to take close ups of labels/manufacturer marks/damage to items.
5. Have relatively good low light capability. We have 2 LED light panels providing light, but nothing fancy like flash. Having either good ISO performance or a decent minimum aperture would help.
6. Be able to view jpeg thumbnails in the Explorer view in Windows (Samsung doesn't!)
7. Have a relatively wide angle lens. Zooming isn't important, but min 28mm (full frame equiv) would be good.

We're using donated cameras which means each workstation has its own process depending on which camera is being used and it's beginning to cause headaches as the cameras finally break and we need to replace. Having identical cameras would reduce training issues to a minimum.

The budget I was given was £100 per camera which feels ridiculous, but I'm really not au-fait with compacts.
I personally use my GR3 which is absolutely perfect, but completely out of budget.

Can it be done for £100, or close to it?

Thanks in advance for all your help!
 
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No experience with it myself but what about a Kodak PIXPRO FZ55, seems to tick all your boxes except possibly the Explorer view(can't find info on it) and the low light capabilities which I doubt would be very good with such a small sensor. Comes in a bit more at £114-25 depending where you look but it looks better than most of the non name branded ones I've seen in my quick search this evening. £114 at Jessops
 
Thanks Ryan. Also to add, it doesn't have to be new. If I can get something second hand that would be fine too - esp if it was common enough to have multiple copies for sale somewhere like MPB.
 
Frankly your phones if you can sort out decent constant lighting and some phone tripod thingy. Even that will be a challenge for £300 all in but perhaps doable if cutting some corners. Half decent camera and crap light would be far worse. The widengle lens will be a problem but at least if you get light proper it will be acceptable for quick ebay listing. And please don't use AI descriptions - I find that not only unuseful but really a waste of time and a wasted op to write something meaningful about your preloved product.
 
Thanks for the feedback but sadly, not all our volunteers have smartphones (most are aged 65+) and then there's the issue of listing the item and getting photos from the variety of phones they have onto a Windows PC. Each would likely require a different process. We have tablets but they are awkward to hold, especially for those physically impaired, and the cameras are very poor especially when trying to get detail shots of labels/damage/marks.

Looks like we're going to have to keep scratching our heads... Or spend some proper money.
 
I do not think you will get much for £100 but look out for a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 the original one had a 1" sensor and 28mm-100MM lens which was f2.8 at the wide end. You will not get one for £100 but under £200 is possible.
 
Harlequin565 said:
Chargeable from a cable-to-Windows PC rather than battery out and into a charger. (People forget to charge it)
Click to expand...
That's going to be the killer for a cheap camera IMO as it's a relatively new feature. Otherwise one of the older G series canon compacts would likely fit the bill.
 
I went to AI for an answer which was sad. It told me I could get a G7X mk2, and RX100 mk3 or an LX100 for "£200-£250". It was right about the suitability of the cameras, but wrong about the price.
 
Nod said:
Not sure if any of the compacts listed on Jessops would suit - they MIGHT even do a deal for a charity. https://www.jessops.com/cameras?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAlcyuBhBnEiwAOGZ2SyX6D3feYQN9zeqp98UMgfOl1r6ab5J3GeepfA0YslpmkxbOIjZllhoCIAsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&category=9&sort=price~asc
Click to expand...
Thanks Nod - and thanks to the others who have offered helpful suggestions. The boss is back next week and we need to figure out the best way to tackle it. I got in today and the volunteer who was using the camera on Friday left it switched on so it was flat when the next volunteer came to use it. We're probably going to have to bite the financial bullet and get something decent.
 
Years back I got a 'USB microscope' - a web cam that can focus across the room, as well as in close. It has built in LED lighting.
Plenty of similar beasts are still available and probably cheaper than the £20 I paid. Note I'm not sure how far out the average model focuses it never seems to be listed in the specs. I might just have been lucky, but I did specifically look for less high powered models.

If photographing within reach of the PC is OK then this should be perfect.
 
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