i have a general digi camera for taking pictures (snapshots) but i do some shots to use on the net ,but my (kodak c743) camera (or it could be me) isn't great at sharp close up shots of things ,as they often comes out blurry

sample shot's






as i can't hold the camera steady this don't help (but i do have mini tripods) i would like a dedicated camera for close up shots that i can leave set up ready on a tripod ,so all it'll need is a little tweeking ready to take half decent sharpe shots of often tiny objects (fishing fly's etc) or close ups of part of a item .

i don't know much about camera's ,I know it needs to be digital most likley SLR (what ever that is) but doesn't need a excess of functions ,but i think its a better optical zoom i need and good macro function.it'll mostly be used for web quality shots


i'd appreiate some views on a suitable camera (not bothed if they're old or s/h or brand spanling new models) that i'll probably spend around £50-100 (less the better) on e-bay probably
(if you use a link to a possible camera on e-bay please use the e-bay link function ,so elton & AN can benifit if i buy one)

yours thankfully
steve (chavender)

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You certainly don't need an SLR to get close up or macro shots, most compact digis have that function.

Chavender,

Most cameras have a timer facility on them these days. It may be worth seeing if yours does.

Yes optical zoom is what you want, digital zoom is something you can do later in most good editing programs and your price range would exclude you from buying a DSLR + macro lens, so point and shoot it is for you.

I would suggest that while your browsing ebay looking for that bargain, or even before you have a look over at http://www.dpreview.com/

They review most cameras on the market and have an archive of many older cameras too, this should be a good guide for you and assist you in getting "up to speed" on what features do what and how well they do it. I'm neither a macro or point and shoot user so cannot help any further than that.

Steve...

Tripod and timed release, unless you have a good light source. You may be trying to zoom in to much with the camera close to the subject. Try backing off a bit (about 3ft) and then set camera on macro, and then zoom in until the pic goes out of focus. Then zoom back a bit.

Many people make the mistake of trying to get the camera as close as poss, but this reduces the depth of field and makes focussing more difficult. It may also pay you to take the pic from a short distance, and then crop to get enlarged image.

Den

yes ,my fishing camera has timmers 10sec ,2sec & 4sec+2x and is excellent for its use of quick snapshots and posed fish cuddling shots but poor at indoor close ups



thats what i've been getting by on ,but i want to do better

thanks for the replies so far guys ,its all good stuff.

Peggy runs a business selling art glass paperweights entirely via the internet. So she needs to take good photos as it's all prospective buyers see, and you can't sell art glass with just words.

She too uses a mini tripod, her's coming from 7 Day Shop after discarding several as unsuitable as they toppled over when pointing downwards. The one she bought was this one, currently on offer at £7.99 delivered: http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_in...26e806a5b78b902.

Particularly for photographing glass with all its reflections, Peggy found a light tent invauable. The largest size means that the tripod and camera easily go inside. Peggy paid about £15 on eBay. You probably won't need this, but I've added it for the benefit of others.

As Den suggested she found that using the self-timer can make a difference to the quality, even on a tripod. Being able to change settings, especially the aperture (that determines how much is in focus) and the white balance (that compensates for artifical lighting), also helped a great deal as otherwise you're stuck with whatever the camera decides.

Last year she upgraded her camera to a Canon Powershot A610, paying just £40 or so on eBay. It was new but a previous year's model hence the low price.

However it takes excellent photos as you can see from her web site (link below). It's also a brilliant fishing camera!

Have a read through the specs for the camera and see what the minimum focus distance is.

You may have a simple facility on the camera for taking close ups, look for a stylised flower symbol ( a bit like a Tulip) for that setting.

With Den on this one, back awaya little and zoom back in

Hand held at a party table....Chip sticks....from a very old Fuji M603

We went to a camera shop a few months ago to buy a macro lens for Jan's camera. We left with a fairly inexpensive compact point & shoot camera (about the size of a packet of fags) since it has a macro setting that allows really great super close-up shots and was less expensive than a lens would have been.

They are widely available now but neither of us never knew they existed until then.