Can you help me select a camera?

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kingkeyman

kingkeyman

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I've been looking at cameras lately, and I am at a complete loss. I want a camera that will only be used for pen photography. I've seen some awesome pictures on this forum, and would like to know if there is a specific camera out there that will give me the most bang for my buck. Not looking for advise on lightbox or tripod yet, just camera and lens for now. Thank you in advance.
 
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$300. I could go higher if I was convinced it would be a worthy investment, but I really don't want to.
 
Here's what I'd recommend.

Amazon.com: Sony a3000 alpha a3000 ILCE-3000K/B, ILCE3000, Interchangeable Lens Digital 20.1MP Camera Bundle with 32GB High Speed Card, Spare Battery, Rapid Charger, SLR Guide DVD, UV filter, Padded Case, Mini HDMI Cable + More: Electronics

I have the A65, and have been very pleased with it. I bought my daughter the A58 for her birthday. I wish it had been available when I bought mine because I'd have saved some money.

I don't know much about this specific model, but it does have good reviews, and the ability to shoot in full manual mode. While full manual isn't absolutely necessary, it does make a difference to easily get the proper depth of field, and exposure. It also has Auto HDR which helps give greater detail in shadows.

A tripod is an absolute must IMHO. I'm not sure if this model has image stabilization. But with a tripod you don't need that anyway.

You can buy just the camera and lens for $299, but then you still need a memory card. A spare battery is nice, but since you say you only want this for pen pics, you could probably save a buck or 2 by just buying the accessories you need.

I'm sure there are other models in the price range you want. But my experience has been with Sony, and I've been happy so far.
 
I recently purchase a new pocket(purse) camera for my wife. After looking around a bit, I settled on this one. It's amazing what is packed into small cameras these days.

I prefer a DSLR for myself and currently have a Nikon D40X. I'm starting to hint around at an upgrade for me now!
 
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Just about any modern DSLR or even point-and-shoot camera (provided it has manual controls) is sufficient. Don't be afraid to buy last year's model, or even an older used camera. Most cameras made in the past 10 years from the big name makers are perfectly adequate. What's behind the camera is much more important than what's inside it.

Whatever you get, take some time to familiarize yourself with the camera functions and controls. The camera you're most comfortable using will take the best photos. A DSLR will have more convenient controls and may be simpler to adjust, but you can take great pen pictures without interchangeable lenses.

Take a look at http://www.penturners.org/forum/f24/photography-basics-composition-125808/ and see if you can tell which photos were shot with a $1500 DSLR and which were taken with a $70 point-and-shoot.

Regards,
Eric
 
I picked up a used Canon Rebel XS DSLR with a kit lens off Craigslist a while back and couldn't be happier. It's nowhere near the new kid on the block and would be considered a budget DSLR by most in the photography world (it's no full frame 7D blah blah). Any picture flaws are on me and my settings, not the camera.

They can usually be found in the $200ish range or more depending on the accessories and lenses included.

The only upgrade I've made besides a larger memory card was to add a nicer Tamron lens for other uses than for product photography.

A good point and shoot will do the job as well as long as you have a manual control or at minimum an aperture priority mode and good lighting.

That said, listen to Eric or any of the others that are much better at this thing than I am :biggrin:
 
Sylvanite said:
Just about any modern DSLR or even point-and-shoot camera (provided it has manual controls) is sufficient. Don't be afraid to buy last year's model, or even an older used camera. Most cameras made in the past 10 years from the big name makers are perfectly adequate. What's behind the camera is much more important than what's inside it.

Whatever you get, take some time to familiarize yourself with the camera functions and controls. The camera you're most comfortable using will take the best photos. A DSLR will have more convenient controls and may be simpler to adjust, but you can take great pen pictures without interchangeable lenses.

Take a look at http://www.penturners.org/forum/f24/photography-basics-composition-125808/ and see if you can tell which photos were shot with a $1500 DSLR and which were taken with a $70 point-and-shoot.

Regards,
Eric
Click to expand...



I give. They all look perfectly amazing to me.
 
OK, I just bought this on Ebay



Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D 10.1 MP Digital SLR Camera and All Shown
Item price $169.00
Quantity 1
Item number 381008209572
Shipping service Standard Shipping

Free shipping. Think I did OK?
 

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That camera should be more than good enough for pen photography. Sensor quality is probably similar to the 30D I used as a backup camera on my California vacation last year (see http://www.penturners.org/forum/f18/how-i-spent-my-summer-vacation-wood-porn-near-bottom-115061/). Some of the sailboat photos were taken with that camera. You'll need a lens for it though. A few options are:
  • 50mm f/1.8 - an inexpensive lens (you should be able to pick one up used for about $50). No zoom ability, but the image quality is fine.
  • 18-55mm zoom - an inexpensive lens that Canon shipped as the kit lens with this camera. Image quality is fair (although most people can't tell the difference between this lens and better ones).
  • 18-135mm zoom - a moderately priced lens that has a very good working range. Image quality is ok.
  • 28-135mm zoom - a moderately priced lens with somewhat less working range but much better image quality. For years, this was my go-to lens for pen photography. I'd still be using it if I hadn't picked up a 24-105mm L lens.
Used, you should be able to pick up any of these lenses (or a Sigma or Tamron equivalent) and still be within your overall price range.

I hope that helps,
Eric
 
I've got a fairly new Cannon Elph 340. Low light shots are actually pretty good, but image quality -- not so good -- everything seems a little out of focus. I've also got an older Olympus C-4000 that actually does a niice job. They're both point and shooters, but the Olympus has an obvious advantage in the lens department. Either one could probably be had in yard sales for small $$ change.
 
I vote for Cannon. Rebel is very good and comes with flash attached.
My wife shoots high end cannon. Let me brag, please forgive me.
Go to Peggy Nixon Photography. See a few of her photos.
As said most all new cameras are pretty good. An SLR usually gives you more options and is more responsive. When you push the button it takes the picture
 
I'm a professional photographer and own a large variety of cameras.

Easy choice in this case - Canon EOS M. It's small and takes FANTASTIC pictures. The autofocus is a little slow and the menu isn't the most intuitive but neither of those matter in this case. I use mine for product photography, landscape photography and pretty much anything else that doesn't require fast autofocus.

The best part? They're still priced to move. Several options around $300. Seriously, this thing takes AMAZING quality pictures - and great videos. At or above many entry-level DSLRs at a better price and more compact size so you can use it for other things (walking around town) as well.

Canon EOS-M Mirrorless Digital Camera with EF-M 22mm 6609B033
Canon EOS M Mirrorless Digital Camera with 18-55mm Lens and B&H
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Compact...F8&qid=1412133926&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+eos+m

There's certainly better cameras out there, but not one at this price. The lens in either kit is good quality - again, better than a kit lens with any entry-level DSLR like the Canon Rebels.

ADDITION - saw your post that you picked up a Rebel for $200. Definitely a solid choice, too. While the EOS M or others will have slightly better quality, you won't see much difference. Lighting, background and editing can make a HUGE difference. Someone following the right stuff with lighting etc can take a noticably better picture with an old iPhone than someone not paying attention to those things with a $5K camera.

Spend your $100 here instead:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/727653-REG/MyStudio_PS5_PS5_PortaStudio_Portable_Photo.html
 
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Here's my .02¢…I use an old Nikon D70 (digital, 6.1 megapixels). I bought it in '97. Works great for pen pix. It's a DSLR, Nikon to boot and has amazing adaptability, as in, complete manual control for those amazing close in pictures of your amazing pen turnings! You can completely control the white balance, which is critical in good pen photography and you can find them on Amazon for $65.00! Throw in a digital lens with auto focus for $196.00 and you still have money left over to buy some pen kits to try it out on!

Back in the day I spent over $1700.00 for this camera. Still works like a charm. I have taken it in once to be cleaned and inspected. I see no need to replace it as it takes fantastic pics.

Here are some links to the stuff I found on Amazon. For the camera body: Amazon.com : Nikon D70S 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) : Digital Slr Camera Bundles : Camera & Photo

For the lens: Amazon.com : Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens : Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

I'm not a fan of any point and shoot. They take away too much control from you. ..Just sayin':smile:

Hope this doesn't add too much confusion to your simple question:wink:.
 
I started out my Canon journey with a used (film) Rebel XS. I've since moved on to the 20d and then the 70d. I still have a few lenses that I bought way back when and have replaced along the way. If Carl can't fix you up with a lens, let me know.
 
Quick piece of advice-my daughter does quite a bit of product photography using a small seamless background and 5500k fluorescent lighting. She shoots with a Canon 5D mkIII, a 7D, and even gets great results from a Panasonic Lumix (Leica glass).

Anyway, when shooting under artificial lighting, especially close-in, be sure and use manual white balance. Most cameras, even point/shoot, will have a kelvin setting, but even if they don't, you'll be able to find a setting that works better than others. You'll save yourself a good amount of grief in terms of color rendition and post processing.

Good luck with the new camera!
 
Plenty of good advise above. I agree that almost any camera with manual controls will work. The Canon Rebel XS you picked up should work great.

Get a decent, inexpensive tripod that is easy to adjust. Buy a remote shutter release for your camera. Cheap and well worth it. Make or buy a light tent to shoot your pens in. As was mentioned, use manual white balance.

Finally, invest in some image processing software to bring your shots to perfection. I like to use Adobe Photoshop Elements, but there are many to choose from. It's great at removing those pesky specks of dust that show up, no matter how careful you are cleaning your pen. You can also tweek the shadows and highlights to bring out the detail in your pen.
 
I have a 10 year old Olympus C8080 (8 Megapixel) which, while not quite an SLR its close. It has features that I have no idea how to use as well as full manual mode (I wish I had the time/interest in learning them), but with a small tripod and an portable lightbox it takes pretty nice photos. I mostly use auto mode and adjust my lighting on the fly. I'm sure I could take better photos if I knew what to adjust in manual mode, which I might want to work on some day, but for now it works nicely.

I had thought about purchasing a new camera, but would a newer camera give me better quality photos than I am currently getting? probably not.

I guess this isn't really a recommendation other than to say, you probably don't need the latest/greatest to take good photos of pens. This camera runs between $100 and $200 on the used market.
 
Regarding the tripod, not all are created equal. There is a definite quality vs price thing going on there. You really do want a rock solid tripod that won't shake from you moving around behind it or pressing the button for a timed shutter release. A remote is a great option as well. Amazon has a $7 wireless shutter release that will work with that camera just fine.

For post processing, I've actually started using LiteZone. It's not as complete as some of the commercial products, but it's very good for the price (free). At list give it a fair look as it should do everything you would need for product shot touch up.
 
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