Well, a couple of things. First of all, if you want a closeup of grain (or anything else) get close. JPEGs aren't intended to preserve extreme detail, but to produce reasonable sized files for a level of detail. Expecting one to be detailed all the way down is extremely optimistic. This i just as true for a DSLR as it is for your camera. I don't know much about the simpler cameras, but I know that several are capable of good macro performance,
Now that being said, a good DSLR with good lenses is always going to outperform the little guys. But all that flexibility and machinery comes at a big price. For an extreme example the 40 megapixel Leica S2 will sell at something like $15,000 and the lenses will come at $5,000 a crack. The top of the line Nikon is $8,000 for the body, lenses run about $1,000. But people don't buy them to take pictures of pens.
Whatever you do, don't spend money on a DSLR if all you want is pictures of your pens. They are for people who like photography, will put up with the complexity for the results, and/or like to show off their toys. >
OK well, I don't particularly want to show off the grain in close-up, but I do what the grain in the pen picture to look nice, not like some childs finger painting.
I hear what you're saying about price. You get what you pay for, and on the entry level DSLR's, virtually none of the lenses are good for macro. Even a single focal length basic macro lens would be about $400+ extra, which also puts things out of my price range. Whether the kit lens witha close-focus of 28cm is capable of a better picture than a top range compact at 10cm is another question I haven't broached yet.
Finally, to your last point - you've found me out. I don't want a camera just for taking pen photo's, but taking pen photos is my justification for wanting a camera I can't afford (as in, I have the money, but should probably be spending it on more "useful" things). I've always enjoyed photography, videography and playing with images. I most recently (several years ago) did the wedding video for my sister-in-law, along with a slideshow montage of photo's and put it all on a multimedia DVD presentation for them, and really enjoyed it, but that was a rare occurrence. I've done other things in the past involved with image design & manipulation, and the many web sites I've built over the years have all required images in one way or another.
So is it just for pens? No, but currently that & my boomerangs is the only way I'm making money back to pay for the luxury of being able to do it, and I believe standing out from the crowd by going the extra mile and presenting the best you can instead of good enough is what will keep that going. My old Powershot S1 allowed me the creativity to express what I wanted to. The A580, doesn't.
While producing images that may be "good enough" for the online shoppers, isn't good enough for me. What I need to find is something that is good enough for me, that I can afford, and not feel guilty about spending the money for the next however many years it takes that piece of equipment to die. What I don't know is, what is the cheapest price-point where that quality is achievable? Can a $100 compact produce it? Can a $600 compact produce it, or improve to a significant degree where the extra cost for another compact is worht the value? Can a $1000 DSLR produce it, and if so, is it worth the cost for the expanded capabilities to be more expressive not just with pens, but other areas I like such as low-light shooting and macro photography, while losing the portability? If nothing up to this price can give me what I'm looking for, then I might as well stick with what I have & I'll say, that's "good enough" for me, as long as I know my technique is the best it can be, with the equipment I can afford.
Well, sorry for the dissertation. Most of that is subjective. If you can help me make sure I am doing the best I can with what I've got, give me some hint sof the abilities of upmarket camera's in comparison, then the final decision on what it's all worth to me, is mine to make in an informed way which hopefully I won't regret later.
I really do appreciate everyone's time & effort in helping me.
Russell.