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Hi there I'm looking for a good camera that can take nice pictures of minis and such.

What specs should I be looking for to get great results?

MACRO mode. (This is what setting will be used). This is the only important bit.

Self timer that can be used in Macro setting is also good (if they're on the same dial, this is bad as you generally can't use both at the same time) for eliminating camera shake.

You can get good results from 4 megapixels up, depending on your skill. No camera can take a perfect picture unless YOU know what you are doing.

Unless you plan on printing photos in A3+, you don't need more than 6mp.

At this day in age, most any digital camera will suffice for taking basic army/mini shots. Unless you've got a whole studio set up for taking pics of GD-worthy display armies/minis (In which case, you'd probably know all this already ), then your basic Walmart Sony Digital Camera will work fine. It's nearly impossible to find a camera without an autofocus close-up function in these times. That, and a good lightsource (Because the flash will do terrible things to your pictures), and a lightbox - if you prefer one - are really all you need to get started

I use my cellphone camera with some proper lighting. Just put up a white background, hold your breath(seriously though, hold your breath when you take a picture... it reduces the shaking), and press the button.

Fafnir wrote:I use my cellphone camera with some proper lighting. Just put up a white background, hold your breath(seriously though, hold your breath when you take a picture... it reduces the shaking), and press the button.

And never use a cellphone camera. At least, not unless it's on a blackberry or similar high-end phone. Your standard cellphone camera takes very low-res pics, has a very poor autofocus function for closeup shots, and doesn't do much to counter even the slightest bit of shaking.

Fafnir's seems to be a high end model based on some of the shots, but you're better off with a camera for results.

It's nice of the camera has a manual mode. More control is always a plus.

For something simple I'd suggest the canon sd1200. If you want to spend a bit more I'd suggest the sx120.

metallifan wrote:
Fafnir's seems to be a high end model based on some of the shots, but you're better off with a camera for results.

2016*1344 resolution, which is more then enough for forum posts. HTC dream. It took some time to figure out how to use it, but I've managed to use it for art projects while still managing to get an A.

Frankly, at this point even the most basic digital camera will suffice. I think the really important things are:

1.) Proper lighting (daylight is best)
2.) A tripod
3.) Reading the manual for your camera

There are several tutorials that discuss lighting, so I'll leave that alone. However, a tripod, in my experience, has made the most difference in the quality of my shots. Ideally set up the tripod, set it to 5 second timer so that no last second of finger wiggle can throw it off, and you're done.

I got my sister and I matching cameras last christmas. I've produced excellent images with mine without issue, and she has yet to take a single picture with hers that isn't blurry or out of focus. When she came to live with me recently, I discovered she had autofocus off and was using the macro setting for pictures of the kids 6 feet away. She was amazed at the picture I took with her "broken" camera. (ironically, after pointing out how to use it correctly, she continues to take blurry out of focus images, but Dakka doesn't have a forum to discuss the shortcomings of my sister, so that's enough for now).

A cell phone camera that is capable of taking quality shots is not yet common and best avoided for now. I think any off the shelf camera you can buy now for $75-$100 USD will be more then adequate.