Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I couldn't find out where this thread would belong so I decided to put it here so if it is in the wrong section please move it mods. I am in the market for buying a new digital camera and I wanted to get opinions on cameras that would be good for taking pictures of models. Any and all suggestions welcome.

Pretty much any digital camera now adays will have both a micro mode and sufficient resolution to get you nice pics of your models. This however presumes two conditions:

1) Your models are well lit
2) Your camera is steady

I've got a camera that was less than $200 two years ago. Something like 3 or 5 Megapixels and I still get pretty good pics of my stuff as long as I rest the thing on somthing (tripod is best) and the models are carefully lit. The lighting is just something you play with. Daylight all around is the best. Window + Lamp far away is ok too.

Alright thank you for the advice, so I just need to make sure the camera has a micro mode?

mAcro mode is what you want and many small run o' the mill camera's have this.

i use an old fuji finepix s602 zoom and its fantastic for miniature photography

This is the current equivalent to the camera I bought my wife about a year ago. It's 12Mpx, has a macro function (and about a dozen other modes) and is stupidly easy to use. It's also a nice enough camera that after a little instruction, it takes perfect pictures in almost any condition or circumstance. All for less than $100.

Powerclaw is mostly right, though. A good camera will still take gak pictures if the light isn't great and you don't have anything to stabilize it with. Even a table edge will work if you treat the camera more like a gun trigger than a video game controller - gently squeeze, don't mash or jerk. And breathe. Use a proper backdrop and natural light bulbs.

Well this http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/digital_cameras/powershot_sd1400_is#Features is the camera that I am looking at buying but I can not find anywhere in the information about it that it says it has a micro or macro mode.

If your goal is to put the picture up on a website at standard size, camera resolution isn't what you're looking for. Taking a high-resolution image and shrinking it down to 400x600 and converting it to JPEG really doesn't care about your camera so long as you have a macro mode.

As people said, lighting matters more.

I originally posted this here:

MP (megapixels) are used to measure the dimensions of the images a camera takes, not the quality. The more megapixels, the bigger the image. This means that a 6MP may take better quality images than a 12MP camera, but as the 12MP image is larger you can get a higher resolution image at smaller dimensions.

For photographing small things like 28mm models, you really need a camera with a good Macro function. Macro photography allows you to retain sharp detail when focusing on pictures at close range, at the very minimum a good macro camera should be able to capture images at a 1:1 ratio (so the object in the photo is the same size as the object in real life).

You can spend an absolute fortune on a good macro lens and camera body,but for a cheap option I've heard the Canon Powershot A3100 has quite a good macro function. After googling about i found this review of the camera which has some examples of photos taken with the macro function. Not sure if it's a recent model, but I'm sure there will be a replacement version in the current line.

My 5 year old Canon Powershot 520 (I think) has served me well all these years. It's a 3 or 4 MP camera, you really don't need 12 MP for these kind of pictures.

If you only using it for models, you should be done in under $50. But I'd suggest looking for a nice, normal compact camera you could use on vacations and the like. As long as it has the macro-function (which they all do) you're fine for models.

Pretty much any camera will be just fine, just don't even think about going for a DSLR! They tend to have very shallow depth of field and won't work too well with the standard kit lens for taking pics of minis unless you can put a lot of time into getting the right setup. As others have said almost any point and shoot with a macro mode will be fine these days and I can't remember seeing a point and shoot without this mode. If in doubt go to a local electronics/camera store with a mini and ask if you can test out a few of the cameras

You need a micro/macro mode and live view. That is when you can see the camera's input on the screen on the back while you are viewfinding.

Apart from that you need to understand the instructions for how to meter and focus correctly.

The main thing is lighting, background and steadiness as others have mentioned. A small tripod or other stand is useful.

Macro function on the camera.

Camera mounted on the tripod.

Camera's built in flash disabled.

Remote control shutter release or timer function.

Diffused natural light (sunny window with a thin white curtain or sheet).

Then if you want to get fancier do as others have said and add in a light box, or maybe a backdrop / background and or your own artificial lights.

If you add artificial lighting make sure that your camera has an auto white balance or better yet can bet set to the type of lighting your looking for. This will prevent those cold blue or oddly yellow looking final exposures.

Buy a nikon D90, they're great. Oh wait, those cost like 1500$

In all seriousness, anything will do. Personally, if the camera doesn't have a focus wheel or an f-stop adjuster, it's not a good camera. I can't stand waiting for auto-focus when I know I could do it myself in a couple seconds. Auto-focus is bullcrap.

Actually, my good ol' k800i Sony Ericsson's 3.2 MP integrated camera has a decent resolution. And it even got some decent detail-quality options to go with it.

Most mobile camera's should do fine, i believe!

Tripod is a huge help. Can't stress that enough.

powerclaw wrote:
1) Your models are well lit
2) Your camera is steady

I've got a camera that was less than $200 two years ago. Something like 3 or 5 Megapixels and I still get pretty good pics of my stuff as long as I rest the thing on somthing (tripod is best) and the models are carefully lit. The lighting is just something you play with. Daylight all around is the best. Window + Lamp far away is ok too.

Ditto, I use a 5 year old 4 megapixel Olympia Caedia.

The lighting really is key. Personally prefer mid lighting and FLASH when taking WIP products. Multiple focused lamps and no flash when taking completed pics.

Use zoom instead of shoving the camera up the mini's anus.

Example of WIP picture with mid lighting and flash. No directed light...basically just flash and the overhead in my kitchen. As you can see, the pics are quite clear considering the age of the camera. It was a hand me down cam from my parents. Total cost $0.00!

As has been said already any camera will work it is really about the lighting and the stability of the camera. If you are the visual type I have posted some videos on my photo setup along with tips for things that will make things a little easier.

http://www.youtube.com/lathanm#p/u/44/HFL3YQMpOtw
http://www.youtube.com/lathanm#p/u/43/jbav7h_YR-Y
http://www.youtube.com/lathanm#p/u/42/fFsYyhlAAQU
http://www.youtube.com/lathanm#p/u/41/IURHyn3SI9s

I really can't say enough good things about the two Panasonics I own and the customer service when my wife not only dropped one but splashed wine all over it while trying to catch it!

Right now I'd look at the ZS7/TZ10 (same camera different model number in different countries):

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmczs7.asp

model_bits_matt wrote:Pretty much any camera will be just fine, just don't even think about going for a DSLR! They tend to have very shallow depth of field and won't work too well with the standard kit lens for taking pics of minis unless you can put a lot of time into getting the right setup. As others have said almost any point and shoot with a macro mode will be fine these days and I can't remember seeing a point and shoot without this mode. If in doubt go to a local electronics/camera store with a mini and ask if you can test out a few of the cameras

Perhaps if you knew what you were talking about, it might help.

DEPTH OF FIELD is a function of Aperture and focal lengths - not a camera issue. I've seen more compacts with DoF issues than DSLRs (but then just finding a DSLR lens with a DoF scale on it these days is next to impossible). My DLSR lenses go down to F1.5 and up to F32 (F32 has fantastic DoF but lengthens the shutter speed so much that a tripod is mandatory.)

You can get good results with a standard lens (50mm or equiv) and a DSLR with macro.
A decent macro lens will work a lot better though. The main advantage of a DSLR is that if the lens you got with it isn't adequate for the task, you CAN change it out for one suited to the task.

ALL close-up work will suffer from DoF issues. The key is knowing how to resolve the issues.

User of SLRs for over 25 years and DSLRs for 10.


That said, many P&S compacts these days can do macro and are capable of decent shots of minis. IF you know what you are doing (this is what the manual is for).