digital camera help

[sweptline64]

hi i'm new to the whole digital camera thing i need some advice on a good low end digital camera that will take good pictures the one i currently have only takes pictures of this quality.

no matter what i adjust this is the best quality i can get and i look at some of your pics and wish mine were that good so i know it's got to be my camera so if someone can help please thank you.

[tabsscale1]

What kind of Camers do you have? Does it have a Macro setting? That is a Tulip on the adjusting functions on most cameras. I have a Canon point and shoot Powershot A590IS and a Canon Powershot A540 the 590 is last years model. and was going for around $149 last time I was at Wally world. I have found out by checking the cameras out on the internet that 4 Brands stand out. They are Olympus. Sony , Nikon and Canon. I picked my Canons as they accept different lenses on the out side to do different things and the lense will automaticly focus as close as a 1/4 of an inch. The 4 mentioned brands have the better lenses on them. For taking pictures of models the megapixels really don't matter as you really don't need all the meegapixels unless you are going to print picture. Then those help in the better quality prints. I have always felt that you need to spend a little more to get a good quality camera and you would be better satified withit.

[sweptline64]

thank you for your help and my camera is a dxg 305v thats all i know it was a present for christmas last year.

[ARTEMIS1759]

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=175668&id=701323457&ref=mf

If you check this link to my Lego builds these were taken with a Kodak Easyshare C340. I believe it was 200 new. (got it from a friend for free while on deployment). Works awesome for closeups and anything else.

[ARTEMIS1759]

Also check this link for your camera:

http://www.dxgusa.com/CustomerService/Manuals/DXG305VE.pdf

On page 23 it tells how to take closeups.

[gbdolfans]

Hi,

I have a Nikon coolpix L18.It does a very good job of closeup pics.It doesn't have a macro setting but I like it.It goes for about $150-200 at Best Buy.I also have a Nikon SLR film camera that the lens does have a Macro setting.

Hope this helps,

George

[sweptline64]

thanks everybody this is really helping.

[Bernard Kron]

I looked through the manual for your camera and it's a very basic camera with fairly low resolution by modern standards - 3 megapixels and ISO 100 which means your pictures will be fairly grainy. Even so with a well lit model and using your closeup (Macro) setting you can get some pretty good pictures, far better than the example you show. Here are some basic tips I have found work for me in.

1) Use you macro setting. Your camera has a macro setting which is referred to in the section of the manual covering closeups. It lets you get in real tight, in your case as close as 17 to 22 cm. or about 6-8". Use you macro setting! It will ensure your shots are in focus and allow you to compose your shots in-camera without further editing (see below).

2) Use your "Auto" program. You camera is fully automatic which mean it takes care of the focus and exposure for you. But even with a more sophisticated camera, if you aren't into photography, use this setting combined with the Macro setting referred to above.

3) Light your model as much as possible. Where I live it rains a lot and it's not practical to take pictures in bright sunlight (we don't get much) so I use my kitchen hood which has 4 very bright spotlights in it. You can also buy cheap clip-on spotlights at your local hardware store that will do the same job. I use a plain white background most of time which reflects the light back onto the model. The more light the better. Your colors will instantly become more like the original and the auto-exposure capability of your camera will adjust to a smaller lens opening (aperture) which will increase how far back from the front of the image things remain in focus (depth of field). The result will be more detailed and have a more in-focus, professional look. Wherever possible you should avoid your camera's flash. heck in your user's manual and find out how to disable it. Flashes create a harsh foreground lighting with dark, bizarre looking shadows, especially when shooting small objects like model cars.

4) Frame your picture in the camera so it looks like you want it to look. Modern digital cameras have a display screen than allows you to compose the image before you shoot. Sometimes the image displayed isn't exactly like the actual photographed image but it's generally pretty close. In my case my camera records a slightly greater area than it displays so I can actually fill the screen with the main image knowing nothing will get clipped off. Framing your picture before you shoot will allow you to make sure the details, camera angle, lighting, etc. are what you want. It can also help you avoid having to edit the picture later which would require photo editing software.

5) Emphasize the subject of your picture, in this case your model. This implies that the objects surrounding your model will not attract the eye unduly. The most basic approach is to use a plain background like a sheet of paper or cardboard or a drop cloth. I use a large sheet of plain cardboard which I prop up with a bowl in my kitchen as my background. As I mentioned it's a white one, although sometimes I shoot with a gray or black background depending on the color of the subject and the effect I want. Generally speaking workbench shoots, while OK for W.I.P. stuff don't cut it for photographing the result of weeks or months of effort and creativity. IMHO, things like dioramas or composed outdoor shots are something you can get to later as you grow comfortable with your camera.

These suggestions apply to all digital cameras no matter how basic and don't require an extensive knowledge of how your camera works, photographic techniques or further investment in things like photo editing software, etc. They can get you very, very far along the way to good pictures without worrying about how good your camera is or whether you have fancy lighting equipment or digital manipulation software.

I started three years ago with a very basic 5 mega-pixel Fuji and it took me a few months before I got pictures I thought were acceptable. At first I thought it was my tools but then I realized the camera was showing me what my pictures would look like in its digital display. The rest was figuring out what the camera could do to get me taking decent looking pictures. The key for me was bright light and using the macro setting. I admit that I now have a 9 mega-pixel Fuji, that I crop my pictures, manipulate them in Photoshop, no longer use the Auto program, worry about things like white balance, depth of field etc. But frankly my pictures aren't that much better than they were without all that nonsense. It's like guys who can shoot awesome paint jobs using rattlecans and hardware store paint as compared to using an airbrush and custom blended specialty paints. With a smooth, clean surface (a good composition) and proper application techniques (good lighting and sharp focus) it doesn't matter what you use. At the margin the better tools and materials will help but the bulk of the effect can be achieved with most basic tools and techniques.

I hope some of this is useful,

B.

[sweptline64]

thank you gbk1 that helped alot and i know what you mean about the weather up there in seattle i used to drive truck through there all the time till i lost my job. and i love it up there when i was a kid i lived in idaho and montana and i miss it trying to get back up north and out of (ugh) cali.

[Pete J.]

gbk1 has given you just about everything but here are a couple of additional pieces I gleaned from your owners manual. This is a fixed focus camera which is why the macro mode has such a narrow range of focus(7" to 8 1/2"). To get an in focus shot your model has to be that distance from the lens. You have a digital zoom, which means the model must still be in that range, but you can "zoom" in to get closer. Unfortunately it looks like you do not have an adapter for a tripod which would make this a lot easier.

Next is the white balance. Auto will work, but if you can set up some lights, that would help. If you are inside and using regular incandescent bulbs, set the white balance to tungsten. If you use florescent, set it to florescent. Auto sometimes has trouble distinguishing light in macro mode.

Last, don't be afraid to experiment with white balance, lighting, and picture quality. You aren't burning film so play with it and see what happens. You might also experiment with non-macro and move back to three feet and use the zoom. See how that works. I use this method when I am getting distortion from being too close to my subject. Have fun and experiment. You will surprise yourself with the quality you can get out of any camera if you use is correctly.

[MoparWoman Jamie]

You all seen afew photos of my builds on here, the photos was taken by a Sanyo Camera model VPC-E870 that I bought last winter for 60 some dollars online at wal-mart. It's the flat face silver color one. It has afew settings for taking photos and also a video cam corder and a audio recorder also all built into it but each as to be set on there own setting though. I think the camera is a good camera and is good enough for me to take photos of my model builds.Down side is you will have to fork over around $12.00 extra for a memory card for in one.

Edited July 7, 2010 by m0parman

[Pete J.]

I just reread your opening post and realized that you were in the market for another camera. First thing you have to do is define "low end" For some people, under $1,000 may be low end. I am a photography hobbyist and I have several great cameras that are in the $300 range and they do amazingly solid work. Sony makes some really nice pieces with quality lenses that get real close and also shoot high definition video. If you give us a range, that will help.

Edited July 7, 2010 by Pete J.

[Bernard Kron]

Pete J:

Two great points you made: 1) that Garred's camera is a fixed focus camera; 2) that Garred's shopping for a replacement. The fixed focus combined with the low resolution and ISO pretty much guarantees fairly grainy images and difficulty with focus and camera shake despite the macro mode. So replacing it to improve the quality of the pictures is a good idea.

Here's my personal list of basic features for model car photography as a shopping guide:

1) Minimum resolution: 5 mega-pixels. Anything less and cropping images becomes a problem. Currently lower resolution cameras than this tend to have lower quality photo sensors, lenses, etc.

2) High quality JPG mode (typically referred to as "Fine" mode). The JPEG or JPG technology is an image compression technology that analyzes the image and then creates a smaller image file by "summarizing" the information in the image, such as color values and brightness. "Fine" mode summarizes this information less aggressively leading to a more accurate and natural looking image with clearer, sharper transitions between colors (edges) at the cost of a larger image file.

2) Ability to program white balance so that color reproduction is relatively accurate compared to the actual model. Programmable white balance allows you to calibrate the camera by "showing" it a white object, such as a sheet of paper, that you consider to be an acceptably pure white, The camera software then adjusts all the other color values it records relative to this value. A variation on this ability are pre-programmed routines that assume the light source you are using such as "outdoor", "flash", "tungsten" (for incandescent light bulbs) or "fluorescent".

3) Ability to program the lens aperture (size of the lens iris opening) so that you can maximize the range of distance from the center of the image that things remain in focus (depth of field). The smaller the lens opening the deeper the depth of field. The downside is that the length of time the lens remains open (exposure time) increases as the opening gets smaller, making it harder to avoid blurring the image by shaking the camera.

4) Tripod mount and timer mode. This allows you to use a small tripod and a delayed exposure for hands-free photography. Combined with aperture programmability this permits tack-sharp focus of the entire model by eliminating camera shake.

In my experience the best choices relative to performance when buying a new camera with full factory warranty can be found among recently discontinued models (up to 18 months out). Cameras with the above features can be readily purchased for under $200.00, and with careful shopping, for under $100.00. Speaking personally, my favorite brands of cameras with good quality lenses and photo sensors and excellent price/performance include Fuji, Canon, Kodak, Sony, Olympus and Panasonic.

Here are 3 websites with searchable databases of prices, brands and features and clear, readable in-depth reviews:

Digital Camera Resource Page: http://www.dcresource.com/

Digital Photography Review: (dpreview.com): http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/

DigitalCameraInfo.com: http://www.dpreview.com/

Edited July 8, 2010 by gbk1

[sweptline64]

thank you everybody this is helping and to calrify one the photo and the begining of this thread was taken with the camera set for flouresent lights macro was on no zoom and i was 1 foot away. also i am on a very low budget so my price range for a new camera is around 100 dollars. thanks again everybody.

[Harry P.]

Asking people for their recommendations never works, because everyone will recommend the camera that they have! All you'll get is a bunch of different recommendations with no common baseline or point of reference. Well-meaning recommendations, but not too useful.

You'd do better to do your own research. All the information you'll ever need is online... prices, reviews, etc., and the reviews can be broken down by price... so you won't waste your time looking through reviews of cameras you can't afford.

Here's a link to start you out.

http://www.digitalca...le-camera-deals

Another one:

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camera-reviews/?filter=100021_9231531_&tag=centerColumnArea1.0

[MoparWoman Jamie]

thank you everybody this is helping and to calrify one the photo and the begining of this thread was taken with the camera set for flouresent lights macro was on no zoom and i was 1 foot away. also i am on a very low budget so my price range for a new camera is around 100 dollars. thanks again everybody.

After seeing what you said and mention, I did alittle research work to maybe help you out here. http://www.walmart.com/browse/College-2010/College-Electronics/College-Digital-Cameras/_/N-95k4Zapsy?ic=48_0&path=0%3A3944%3A133277%3A1009180&ref=125865.427108+500000.500002

[sweptline64]

After seeing what you said and mention, I did alittle research work to maybe help you out here. http://www.walmart.com/browse/College-2010/College-Electronics/College-Digital-Cameras/_/N-95k4Zapsy?ic=48_0&path=0%3A3944%3A133277%3A1009180&ref=125865.427108+500000.500002

thank you that helped alot i think my new camera will be coming as soon as i get paid.

[MoparWoman Jamie]

thank you that helped alot i think my new camera will be coming as soon as i get paid.

No problem man, I thought it would be of help to you maybe. I had the cameras that was over a 100.00 before and they just didn't last long around me, the cheap ones like in the link lasted longer then the others did.

[charlie8575]

Although we do have a digital camera, and many of the pictures I've posted here are taken with it for convenience, I still use a lot of film. In fact, it's almost all I use. I've found I have a very hard time getting as good a picture as I like with the digital camera; for some reason, I can't focus the things. The one big thing a digital camera has that I do like- the "erase" button.

I've had very good luck with getting my pictures developed, put on a CD and loaded on Photobucket that way.

If you're in the market for an inexpensive digital camera, I've been told Kodak probably has the bet of the bunch for the +/- $100 range. We have a Fuji Dad picked up on clearance for $99, so check to see what's on clearance, too, you might be able to get a really nice camera at a substantial reduction. I've used my cousin's Kodak a few times for pictures here and it's a nice camera with sharp focus and it's easy to use. The Fuji has a bit of a learning curve to it, but also takes decent pictures once you can get the focusing right. I've found I really need a conventional viewfinder for good pictures, the screens make it tough for me to get one.

For the record, I have a Samsung Fino 70 35 mm point-and-shoot that's a nice little camera. Great optics on it and very, very easy to use. My more serious equipment is a Pentax SF-10, a Canon FD and a Canon AE-1. Dad has a Nikon N80 and a Mamyia 645. At the moment, I'm thinking of getting a Nikon N65, which is still available new through a few vendors. If I find myself with lots of money, I might go for the F6 or a Canon EOS IV.

Think I'm bad? Dad still shoots 620 in c. 1938 Kodak DuoFlex and plays with his 4x5 Crown Graphic whenever he has a chance. He also likes 120 slide film. Just for shear beauty, it's hard to compete with the pictures you get from that.

Charlie Larkin