Hello! Can you help me find a camera?

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victoria plum

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Hi everyone.

I have joined the forum to get some advice about buying a camera and hope to use the forum as I start using the camera!

I make all kinds of things - gifts and soft furnishings, jewellery and drawings and paintings. I am setting up my own website and I want to be able to get hassle free photographs of my items for the shop and for adorning the website. I previously had a website dedicated to just jewellery and got really good results with the samsung nv3 camera we had at the time. I did buy a little tripod and a light box, but in actual fact I found a great window in the house which gave me great results. I enhanced and cropped on the computer just a little and that worked fine.

My main requirement is ease of use - good results without having to do a lot of work to every photo on the computer. A LOT of editing will take up too much of my time as I need to making things to put on the website too.

We have a budget of MAX £200 but if it could be nearer £100 then all the better. We have a camera which we use as our family camera but the Macro is shocking!

Can anyone recommend a camera with a good macro function and that doesnt need to be flooded with light to get a decent shot. I also love my garden and would love to be able to take some good close ups of flowers.:)

I would be really grateful for any input.:)

Thank you
 
is it a DSLR you're after or a compact?

if it is a DSLR then you may be limited by budget unless you're prepared to buy secondhand?

A bit more info would help us to help you

and welcome to the forum
 
mrgas said:
is it a DSLR you're after or a compact?

if it is a DSLR then you may be limited by budget unless you're prepared to buy secondhand?

A bit more info would help us to help you

and welcome to the forum
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Sorry - ommited that information by mistake!

I am looking for a compact - point and shoot
 
victoria plum said:
Sorry - ommited that information by mistake!

I am looking for a compact - point and shoot
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Are you looking for new or secondhand ?

I'll be honest I know very little regarding the macro capabilities of compacts, i'm pretty sure someone will point you in the right direction though
 
mrgas said:
Are you looking for new or secondhand ?

I'll be honest I know very little regarding the macro capabilities of compacts, i'm pretty sure someone will point you in the right direction though
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I think new, as I'm choosing one to ask for as a birthday present.
 
Save up a bit more and get the Fuji X10 even on auto it produces great results and it has macro and super macro which work really well. Can't be beaten I would say in a compact. A refurbished model from Fuji will be just over £350 but will be worth it by the time you have bought a couple of crap compacts...

I have an SLR and used to use a dedicated macro lens with it and the results the Fuji produce are outstanding!
 
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Try a Canon Ixus 115. Focuses as close as 3cm, so ideal for your jewellery, and just a generally good all round camera.

Currently going for £100 in Currys.
 
Second the IXUS is buying new. A lot of compacts under £200 do pretty good macro and are all fairly similar really just with differing amounts of zoom or other 'features'

Second hand is a different matter and there are all sorts of options under £200.

Canon S90 or S95, Lumix LX3, Samsung NX10, NX100, Nikon P300, P7000 and so on. (in other words nicer cameras although not all super compact)
 
Thanks for your suggestions

I have looked at the canon ixus and it looks good - I explored the range a bit and the canon IXUS 230HS focuses at 1cm which sounds pretty good. The reviews are excellent.

If I pop into a jessops or such like can I have a look at the cameras and use the zoom etc? Haven't been in a camera shop for years!
 
victoria plum said:
If I pop into a jessops or such like can I have a look at the cameras and use the zoom etc? Haven't been in a camera shop for years!
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Yes, you can play with the cameras in Jessops. You will usually get pounced on but just politely say you are just looking and they shoudl leave you to it.

On the other hand there is a chance they may be able to help and point out your options based on your requirements.
 
I'm finding this really difficult. Every time I think I have found a possibility I then find another - but the ixus 230hs still comes out well and I keep going back to it. It's tricky because on a photography forum everyone has very good cameras, above the level I'm looking at.

Does it make a huge amount of difference whether you can focus at 1 or 3 cm with a camera - 3cm really isn't that far is it!

I guess it's a good macro setting (that is will focus well pretty near) and being capable of focusing on that item without needing to be flooded with artificial light indoors.

I'm not sure where it is best to get advice from :$
 
While a lot of people on this type of forum will have very good cameras a lot of them also own compacts as you can never have too many cameras. They would have gone through the same decision process when buying their compact.

You know roughly what you want so get to a shop and try a few out (just don't listen to the sales guy telling you you need a DSLR with an expensive macro lens as that is not your requirement)

I can't help with macro unfortunately as not something I do but am usually impressed with that feature on compacts more than most of the other features when I do play with it for a few minutes...
 
Hi victoria,

when finding out about close focus, also ask about the focal range that you can focus at that distance. i have a g11 that is touted as being able to focus as close as 1cm, but this is only at its widest setting. my preference for macro photography is to use a longer focal length to cut down on the background showing.
 
Hi victoria,
if you take a look at the picture linked below, you can see how distance from the subject affects perspective. Being more distant, and consequently having a longer focal length cuts down on the amount of background show, and i find it preferable and easier to compose macro shots with a longer focal length.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedadnan/3790704704/
 
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Ooh ok! That's clever.

So are you saying being further away, but being able to zoom in for fine detail is preferable to a close up focus with a macro focus?

Now how do I go about finding that in a camera - what do I ask for?
 
victoria plum said:
Ooh ok! That's clever.

So are you saying being further away, but being able to zoom in for fine detail is preferable to a close up focus with a macro focus?

Now how do I go about finding that in a camera - what do I ask for?
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Hi VIctoria, it is my preference, but by no means the only way. I've seen a few wider angle macro shots that are brilliant. The best way to find about a specific camera is to google reviews, and maybe google the camera name and "minimum focus distance".
 
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