Digital cameras

[Missy G]

Hi, I need to trade in my old didgey camera for a new one , as its no good for taking close up pics of my nail work for my website.Can you point me in the right direction , or tell me what your cameras are that I should be looking for, to take these close up pictures.Is it the pixiles I should be looking at ?

 

[Ophala]

go to jessops! think there's still 1 in Reading, there were 2 but 1 closed down (where my bf used to work during uni!)

ask for advice from someone in there. the pixels are only important if you want the photo blown up. the more pixels, the higher the resolution when you blow it up. for close up work you just want something with a good macro feature, which i'm pretty sure all digi cameras have now - my very old first one took pretty good close up pics, just had no zoom.

at the mo i have a canon digital ixus (430) which is now about 4 or 5 yrs old and apart from being a bit chunkier than new cameras is fine. have a look at the new ixus!

anyway, hth!! xx

 

[Ruth Mills]

We swear by the Panasonic Lumix cameras here. We got DMC-F27 from Jessops a couple of years ago - was about £300 at the time - I think it's about 6 megapixels and it has 12x optical zoom (which makes a big difference when taking shots of distant objects - digital zoom is nowhere near as good as it just reduces the resolution).

We used to have a Nikon Coolpix 950 but didn't get on with it - we found the Panasonic a lot easier to use, and it gives consistently good results too - you don't need a PhD in photography to get it to give you quality pictures.

The macro mode on the Panasonic is great for close-ups too, and the optical image stabilizer is great when not using a tripod or shooting in low light.

 

[Seanny]

I gotta agree with Ruth here about the panasonic Lumix range, I've got two panasonic cameras, an FX5 with 12 times optical zoom and an FX55 which has facial recognition and is pretty good at shooting pics in low light, both cameras have automatic image stabilization which is handy when your hands are old and shaky like mine.

However.......


Its my firm belief that you dont need to have the latest state of the art camera to get the best shot possible. If for instance you take bad shots with your present camera, chances are that you'll also take bad shots with your new camera. Why not save yourselves a few bob and find out if your present camera has got the ability to take good close up shots. If it has, then all you need to do is change the way that you operate it. It might be a whole easier than you think.

If you're unsure as to what your camera is capable of, just list the make and model here and I'll try and source some close up photos that were taken with the same model by someone else. If they can do it....well then, so can you.

 

[UKRed]

I agree, Jessops are very good, theres another camera shop around here too that are good but I can't for the life of me remember their name.

I bought a Pentax Optio S a few years ago for around £200 and had no problems at all with that, but then I am not a photographer. It's brilliant and very easy to use

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h137/PrettyxLittlexNobody/EmpireStateTop1.jpg
This is the quality of a photo using my pentax with no zoom or features (My sister took the photo and is camera illiterate, Haha)

 

[Ophala]

i never thought to show you a photo with my camera!

Sophie Benjamin's Photos | Facebook

Sophie Benjamin's Photos | Facebook

that's just using the macro feature so on a newer camera would be as good, if not better. but like seany said - you might have the facility on your camera and not realise it. what camera do you have at the moment? xx

 

[roLLerGirL]

I love Canon & have only ever had Canon digital cameras. Nikon is very good too - I have a friend who loves them as much as I love Canon.

The megapixels won't matter too much but you will want something over 4 get a good crisp image. You won't really need a 10 for example.

You want a camera with a Macro function (has a symbol on it that looks like a flower). Macro shooting will give you great close ups.

This is a really good review site which also has visual tests so you can see what the camera is like before you buy: Digital Camera Reviews and News: Digital Photography Review: Forums, Glossary, FAQ

Happy Camera hunting! Let us know how you go!

 

[rebelrebel]

I have a canan EOS 400d it is brilliant but it was quite expensive when i got it a few years ago,but fantastic, I also got a Sony DSLR 200K which is also very good

 

[beautyseeker]

We swear by the Panasonic Lumix cameras here. We got DMC-F27 from Jessops a couple of years ago - was about £300 at the time - I think it's about 6 megapixels and it has 12x optical zoom (which makes a big difference when taking shots of distant objects - digital zoom is nowhere near as good as it just reduces the resolution).

We used to have a Nikon Coolpix 950 but didn't get on with it - we found the Panasonic a lot easier to use, and it gives consistently good results too - you don't need a PhD in photography to get it to give you quality pictures.

The macro mode on the Panasonic is great for close-ups too, and the optical image stabilizer is great when not using a tripod or shooting in low light.

Snap lol Ruth I got a Lumix too and its fab. Hubs broke the screen once and it cost £100 to replace, but the guy in the camera shop said its the best camera on the market at the moment. I love it. Its very easy to use as well.

:hug::hug::hug:

 

[cazjp69]

Rebelrebel I also have the Canon camera like yours and it's fab especially when i have another two different lenses and my big flash i look a real pro round the dog shows with it lol I also have a little Kodak camera which i also love and is idea for a quick pick up aim and shoot lol.

 

[Ruth Mills]

Snap lol Ruth I got a Lumix too and its fab. Hubs broke the screen once and it cost £100 to replace, but the guy in the camera shop said its the best camera on the market at the moment. I love it. Its very easy to use as well.

:hug::hug::hug:

Whoops about your hubby breaking the screen! Managed to do that to an old Sony Mavica that I had a few years ago - was a bit gutted too as that was a nice camera although only 1.3 megapixel - ended up buying the Nikon after that, until we got the Panasonic and I sold the Nikon on eBay...

 

[Missy G]

Aw thanks for your replies geeks , didnt expect to wake up to that many replies this morning:lol:.
Ive checked my camera it is a Vivitar vivicam 3650.I brought it off bid up tv, been really pleased with the pics from it, but its just the close ups.
I had a fiddle with it the other day..didnt have a clue what I was doing , but now I know what Im looking for I ll see if I can dig out the instructions.Thanks all.

 

[Warwick Wendy]

I only buy Canon... My small ones a canon ixus 5 million pix and my pro one is Canon pro shot 8 million pix

Great cameras, u cant go wrong with them


xxx

 

[Missy G]

I gotta agree with Ruth here about the panasonic Lumix range, I've got two panasonic cameras, an FX5 with 12 times optical zoom and an FX55 which has facial recognition and is pretty good at shooting pics in low light, both cameras have automatic image stabilization which is handy when your hands are old and shaky like mine.

However.......


Its my firm belief that you dont need to have the latest state of the art camera to get the best shot possible. If for instance you take bad shots with your present camera, chances are that you'll also take bad shots with your new camera. Why not save yourselves a few bob and find out if your present camera has got the ability to take good close up shots. If it has, then all you need to do is change the way that you operate it. It might be a whole easier than you think.

If you're unsure as to what your camera is capable of, just list the make and model here and I'll try and source some close up photos that were taken with the same model by someone else. If they can do it....well then, so can you.

That would be great if you could do that hun,but dont go to too much bother though.Thanks.:hug:

My camera is listed above, just let me know if you need anymore details.
Mega pixel 2.0 btw.xx

 

[naturalnails]

I asked this very question on another forum as I need a camera for taking really close up pictures of jewellery.

I did a lot of research and in the end I bought a Fuji S9600 and it is fantastic - a bit complicated but it does the job I need. I did try out a couple of cameras that friends have and decided on the Fuji. It has anti-shake and a macro and super macro to get in really close. Plus all the usual stuff.

If you go to Flickr you can actually search pictures which have been taken with the camera of your choice.

Hope that helps.

 

[Missy G]

Thanks for that Ive had a look through the flickr site..what a good idea ah?

 

[JessieBee]

I have to agree with Ruth about the Lumix, I've got the DMC-TZ3 and I love it!

I don't know much about camera's but I do find this really really easy to use. There's alot to this camera's functions without it being too complicated to use. It has a nice big lcd screen on it, it has a rechargable battery, no more taking 10 pics and the batteries going (or was that just my old camera?!), lot's of different scene options but also the plain and simple point and shoot modes.

I take a lot of pictures of my nails with it and I think it's brilliant, it shows up everything (although that's not always a good thing! :irked.

I think your best bet is to go into a specialist camera shop and find out as much as you can about different camera's (as has been mentioned), get them to show you how it works and if possible any pictures that have been taken with the different camera's, have a play with it yourself so you can see if it's easy to use, how the good the zoom is etc, at least that way you can make an informed decision as to which one to buy.

 

[Ruth Mills]

I have to agree with Ruth about the Lumix, I've got the DMC-TZ3 and I love it!

I don't know much about camera's but I do find this really really easy to use. There's alot to this camera's functions without it being too complicated to use. It has a nice big lcd screen on it, it has a rechargable battery, no more taking 10 pics and the batteries going (or was that just my old camera?!), lot's of different scene options but also the plain and simple point and shoot modes.

I take a lot of pictures of my nails with it and I think it's brilliant, it shows up everything (although that's not always a good thing! :irked.

Couldn't agree more there - the boffins that designed the Lumix certainly excelled themselves in making it "just work" like it should do without having to faff about or have a PhD in photography!