I need advice on which camera to buy for my online shop

A

Awesome93

Messages
4
Name
David
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello,

I run a small business online selling smaller antique and collectible items. I need a camera that will get me detailed close-up pictures with a blurry background. My budget is around £400-600. I would greatly appreciate some advice as I don’t want to buy the wrong camera.

Thanks
David
 
Hi and welcome to TP.
Can you tell us a bit more detail about what you’re photographing, and maybe a link to a photo you’re wanting to copy?

There’s a wide variety of what people consider ‘good enough’ ranging from phone pics to spending 5x your budget just on lighting.
 
Depending on the size of the objects (if they are small enough), I'd really recommend an LED Light cube (something like the below- which comes in 3 sizes), then just use your mobile phone. Most phones due to their tiny sensors have really close focussing and great depth of field.

 
It's not so much the camera as the lens that will give you the images you're after, and a decent lighting setup is also a must. Not an area of photography I have any experience in but I'd think to achieve images of a similar quality to those in your link would need a setup costing more than £400-600. You'll also need photo editing software, and a PC / Mac or similar to run said software.
 
Sootchucker said:
Depending on the size of the objects (if they are small enough), I'd really recommend an LED Light cube (something like the below- which comes in 3 sizes), then just use your mobile phone. Most phones due to their tiny sensors have really close focussing and great depth of field.

Click to expand...
I’ve had two light boxes and wasn’t happy with the picture quality
 
RichardC27 said:
It's not so much the camera as the lens that will give you the images you're after, and a decent lighting setup is also a must. Not an area of photography I have any experience in but I'd think to achieve images of a similar quality to those in your link would need a setup costing more than £400-600. You'll also need photo editing software, and a PC / Mac or similar to run said software.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. Is the editing software easy to use?
Im a noob when it comes to anything like that.
 
You need to look at several online tutorials. Try and get some good grounding on the methods involved in how to achieve what you are looking for.

Youtube has some good resources.
 
Awesome93 said:
Thanks for the advice. Is the editing software easy to use?
Im a noob when it comes to anything like that.
Click to expand...
There are literally hundreds to choose from so I can't comment. Lightroom is by far the most popular photo editing software I would say, but this requires a monthly subscription that some people have an issue with for some reason. But if you're a beginner I would choose Lightroom, as there are loads of online and YouTube tutorials on how to edit photos using it.
 
Awesome93 said:
I’ve had two light boxes and wasn’t happy with the picture quality
Click to expand...
In what way were the results not of good quality?

Perhaps post some of your early images for constructive criticism?
Awesome93 said:
Thanks for the advice. Is the editing software easy to use?
Im a noob when it comes to anything like that.
Click to expand...
Unless you are prepared to accept Straight out of camera (SOOC) images you will need to use some editing software to enhance the images.

You are the one in control of the camera and the final image.

A good mastery of the camera & lighting will yield a decent image that is the starting point to enhance if/as needed the final published picture.
 
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Recommend this book by a gentleman of this parish.

Product Photography Magic : Edwards, Mr Garry: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Buy Product Photography Magic by Edwards, Mr Garry (ISBN: 9781090313089) from Amazon's Book Store. Free UK delivery on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk

The scene will require to be lit with several lights on the item itself, with further attention to the background. Once lit to your satisfaction, you will need to use some form of editing software to slightly enchance the photos as they usually benefit from a bit of spit and polish. Lightroom is relatively easy to get to grips with, and is £ 10/m subscription. Alternatively Affinity Photo is a subscription free purchase.
 
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Ah I used to deal in coins and antiquities so understand your needs fully . TBH you really need to forget what the others above have said a small compact camera with 1 or 2 cm close focus will be best and an ordinary desk lamp or two will suffice for lighting. Ricoh used to make the cameras you need even a used one will do . You only need to shoot in jpg so basic editing will only involve cropping as needed . A good tip is to place subjects on a piece of glass raised on blocks either end to eliminate shadows. Will carry this on further when I get home with images samples

sample images taken as described above
gold angel henry viii by jeff cohen, on Flickredward the confessor penny by jeff cohen, on Flickrdenarius of marcus aurelious by jeff cohen, on Flickr
 
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the black fox said:
Ah I used to deal in coins and antiquities so understand your needs fully . TBH you really need to forget what the others above have said a small compact camera with 1 or 2 cm close focus will be best and an ordinary desk lamp or two will suffice for lighting. Ricoh used to make the cameras you need even a used one will do . You only need to shoot in jpg so basic editing will only involve cropping as needed . A good tip is to place subjects on a piece of glass raised on blocks either end to eliminate shadows. Will carry this on further when I get home with images samples
Click to expand...
I dont know if you checked the link but one of the items shown was a BIG standing stone type thing, you'll need a thick bit of glass... ;) For large itens I dont see a few desk lamps cutting it mate.
 
swanseamale47 said:
I dont know if you checked the link but one of the items shown was a BIG standing stone type thing, you'll need a thick bit of glass... ;) For large itens I dont see a few desk lamps cutting it mate.
Click to expand...
As stated I use to deal in similar items and you will be surprised how small MOST of those items are . Please don’t be condescending when I’m trying to help the guy I can’t add sample photos at the moment as I’m out shopping. Come to think of it even these day my eBay items for sale are taken on a small PL2 camera with a small lens about £80 quids worth total
 
Awesome93 said:
Pictures on this page would be something like what I am going for.
Click to expand...

The images on that page are not especially detailed or sharp. Lighting appears much more critical to the quality of photos than a specific camera outfit - the Gary Edwards book is definitely recommended, to help you understand how lighting works.

And as you can see above, there are a LOT of different opinions, and there's probably also several ways to generate results that you would find acceptable.

What sizes are the objects you wish to photograph? Anything over 30cm tall? Anything less than 10cm? How much space do you have to use for taking pictures? This does have a bearing on the kit you can use.
 
Awesome93 said:
I’ve had two light boxes and wasn’t happy with the picture quality
Click to expand...
As I predicted in my first post. ;)

There’ll be people who think some crap light boxes and a phone will be ‘good enough’, some who will tell you a cheap camera is all you need, and others who could spend 10x your budget just on lighting.

The truth; other than it’s up to you (unhelpful if you have no knowledge), is that the lighting is more important than the camera or lens. That tutorial I linked should offer some knowledge
 
o.k home now so to add to my comments above your best advice is to go onto FLICKR and do a search for roman brooches ,hundreds of results will come up simply look at the camera data and you will see that 99% of them are taken with small compact close focus cameras using minimal lighting and shooting in .JPG files so basically straight out of camera and cropped .as they focus so closely you will also get the out of focus background you asked for .. my idea of using a bit of suspended glass works well as it alleviates any shadows . most of my old shots are now lost in the mists of time but the few coins above show what can be done .so this is what I suggest you need
a small compact camera with close focus 1 to 2 cm ,probably used as there not made these days circa £20-£100
a basic editing suite probably downloadable from the net circa £15 to £50
couple of small lights either desktop or small l.e.d banks circa £10 each
a puluz home studio with built in l.e.d's circa £20
some nice plastic stands to put items on and possibly a black mirror piece of glass for reflection shots couple of quid
total outlay a couple of hundred pounds or less

as I additional p.o.v my first ever photo sale was a king George gold guinea photo sold to and used by whites metal detectors in the u.s.a in there advertising for which I got paid (20+ years ago) £400 + I then later sold the actual coin for £600 ... would be worth more these days
 
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the black fox said:
As stated I use to deal in similar items and you will be surprised how small MOST of those items are . Please don’t be condescending when I’m trying to help the guy I can’t add sample photos at the moment as I’m out shopping. Come to think of it even these day my eBay items for sale are taken on a small PL2 camera with a small lens about £80 quids worth total
Click to expand...


I think that when you actually check the link that you are going to be surprised by how large some of those artifacts are.

There is absolutely no chance that a normal sheet of glass suspended on a couple of bricks (the normal set up) is going to work.

One of the apostolic statues is almost a metre tall.

And that is not exceptional.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
The images on that page are not especially detailed or sharp. Lighting appears much more critical to the quality of photos than a specific camera outfit - the Gary Edwards book is definitely recommended, to help you understand how lighting works.
Click to expand...


You might want to revisit their website and look at the full sized images if you think that. They are pin sharp and well detailed. Not the result of a compact camera.

And the lighting is a lot more complex than a couple of table lights.
 
DemiLion said:
You might want to revisit their website and look at the full sized images if you think that. They are pin sharp and well detailed. Not the result of a compact camera.

And the lighting is a lot more complex than a couple of table lights.
Click to expand...

I followed the link given - was there an additional site? The images were low-res and unimpressive.

I made no mention of table lights.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
I followed the link given - was there an additional site? The images were low-res and unimpressive.

I made no mention of table lights.
Click to expand...


The lighting comment wasn't really aimed at you - it was rather in passing.

You need to click on the object to go to its sales page and then click again on the image.

Most of the pictures are 3000 x 2000 minimum and available to view at full res.

What you are looking at is a result of website compression.
 
Before jumping to conclusions ,the OP gave that site as an example , i assumed it would be small antiquities he would be Selling others that it would be large and heavy statues etc ..
so perhaps it would be best to wait for the OP to reply as to which it is

also if its the latter then your talking of then the values will be many thousands of pounds and in all honesty worth employing a proper photographer not a diy job
 
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the black fox said:
sample images taken as described above...
Click to expand...


I'm sorry for the unwanted critique, but you have posted those images as exemplars of how to shoot the referenced images...

The detail is poor, the lighting is bodged and the overall presentation is makeshift.

There is no chance that they are in any way similar to those shown, which were almost certainly shot by a professional photographer.
 
Awesome93 said:
Thanks for the quick reply.

Finch & Co | Collection

www.finch-and-co.co.uk www.finch-and-co.co.uk
Pictures on this page would be something like what I am going for.
Click to expand...
It wouldn't require much of a camera to take those pictures... even at full resolution they are only ~ 6MP. And the "blurry background" is really more like a seamless background (paper roll). I've done reasonably equivalent product photography using a Fuji X20 (12MP, tiny sensor) and more often with a Nikon1 body (16MP, a little bigger sensor, variety of lenses). The biggest issue with those types of cameras is controlling/triggering the lighting.

The more critical aspect is the lighting. Most of those images were taken using at least two (relatively) large softboxes in a cross lighting pattern... based on the size of most of those objects (≤ 35cm) I would say that 600-900mm boxes would be sufficient. You could get similar results using one softbox and a reflector. And although I didn't really see it, I would use a third hard light source across the surface of a lot of those objects (to bring out texture/detail and add a little fill).

You could get something like the Godox SL60IID/SL-60W (or SL100D) led 2 light video lighting kit in your budget with money left over. It doesn't have much power, but sufficient for small stationary objects at short distances. They also don't have complete color spectrum/accuracy... but almost no-one viewing the images will have anything close to a calibrated monitor either. I'd hate to put up pictures I know are obviously inaccurate; but either way the ubiquitous "color may vary" disclaimer is pretty much required.

I would prefer to use flash, but the cost and complexity (learning curve) does make the constant (video) light option more attractive for you IMO.
 
To be practicsl
You could buy a Canon 400d in excellent condition for £62
A Canon 50mm 2.5 macro (£150) or a Sigma 50mm 2.8 macro (125)

That leaves money for some small LED panels, but in the long run you’d be better with flash.

Actually with the top end of your budget you could buy 2 flash with softboxes if you shop carefully.

That would genuinely give you all you need to produce very good quality images, as per those you’ve linked.
 
Phil V said:
To be practicsl
You could buy a Canon 400d in excellent condition for £62
A Canon 50mm 2.5 macro (£150) or a Sigma 50mm 2.8 macro (125)

That leaves money for some small LED panels, but in the long run you’d be better with flash.

Actually with the top end of your budget you could buy 2 flash with softboxes if you shop carefully.

That would genuinely give you all you need to produce very good quality images, as per those you’ve linked.
Click to expand...

My thinking was similar - assuming enough space then an older APS-C camera and a 50mm macro lens for about £100-£150 each, then the rest on lighting and modifiers. If space is tight then it may be necessary to get a 24/28mm lens too, although a kit zoom might be adequate for larger objects.

And the boring bit - a tripod of some kind too - make it heavy for stability.
 
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