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.

So, I was taking some pictures of a model I did yesterday, and it occurred to me that I sort of hate my camera. I have Kodak Easyshare Z990 that I got in 2012. It wasn't a bad camera per se, and I think the pictures I've taken with it are mostly alright. I shoot in manual mode, can adjust the fstop and exposures, etc.

However it has some really annoying things, too. It has a really long time for recovery between shots (20+ seconds, feels like) because I assume it has a slow write speed. It also can be very difficult to get it to autofocus on what I want it to focus on.

So, I also realized that there wasn't really a good reason to be stuck with it. I can by a new one that fixes some of those problems! So, ideally, I want a camera that:

Allows for manual adjustments, macro mode, shoots in RAW, etc which is probably all of them nowadays

Has a decent shot to shot recovery time, I don't mind waiting a second or two but this one is just so slow

Can be charged via USB instead of using rechargeable AAs

Has a touchscreen, and can be focused using the touchscreen

Integrates with a tablet or phone as a viewfinder? Is that a thing yet?

I'm not a pro photographer so I'm not looking for DSLR equivalent, I can't see myself ever swapping out lenses... or using this for anything other than shooting minis while on a tripod, my cell phone is good for everything else. Lets say in the $200-$300 ballpark?

You can get a used entry dslr for that sort of price. The dslr-look cameras are mostly just phone camera sensors in a camera shaped package....

Regarding the slow recovery time, get yourself a good fast SD card to try. You'll want this for the new camera anyway.

Get a mobile phone with a good camera. That is probably more worth it than getting a consumer of pro-sumer camera, which is why the cheap-o point and shoot camera segment is being killed off by the mobiles.

It doesn't have to be a Huawei P20 or this seasons iPhone or similbar fashion statement. If you get a decent phone with a price where they don't have to put in crappy speakers or camera chips, and read a review or two you should be good.

In fact, due to the small aperture, mobile phones are good at providing a wide depth of field, which allows you to get not only one model but several models sharp in your image.

A few thoughts;
1) Mobile VS Point and shoot. For the same money a mobile won't be as good as a good quality point and shoot camera; however the reason mobiles are beating other types of cameras is because of convenience. Most people taking happy or holiday snaps only want a quick point and shoot and for them their phone does really well at that and it lets them upload it to facebook and call their friends and text and whatsapp etc... so that's why its pushing the point and shoot market down.

2) For what your after the camera doesn't really matter. Now what I mean by this is that any good quality camera is going to give you what you want more or less. Many of the features you are after are widely sold and things like focusing on the liveview are things you'd likely find in a point and shoot camera very readily (most DSLR cameras can focus in liveview, but it will be on a dedicated button not the touch screen).

3) Lighting is critical - a pair of desk lamps and a basic light box/tent can give you a nice controlled lighting setup that will give you better results no matter what camera you use. Google home made light tents/box and you'll find loads of very easy to make guides.

4) I would say head to a local camera shop and talk to the staff about what you're after and try out a few display cameras and see what fits your needs. For just taking photos of models pretty much anything off the shelf is going to work. Plus a lot of close up work is easy with models (they don't try to fly off!). If you want I'd also suggest checking out a good camera phone as well. You say that you'd use your camera phone for most other things, so you could consider sinking your money into a good phone with a good quality camera for all those occasions and models - with the right lighting setup (as noted above) you'll get good results and macro is an area where small sensors in phones works greatly to your advantage.

My phone is a Galaxy S9. I'm not super crazy about the mini pictures it takes - they're not bad exactly but they never seem to be as good an actual camera.

I guess I will show you instead of telling you. Here are some images right from the camera, not full size since they're like 4k and 6k pixels per side respectively:

Actual Camera:



S9:



As annoying as the actual camera is to use in terms of focusing and slowness, I think it takes pictures that are clearly better (although it's hard for me to articulate exactly why it's better). I am pretty comfortable adjusting the fstop and exposure and so on, it's just a lot of little platform annoyances more that output quality issues - the focus annoyances, the fact you need to hit timer 3 times for every picture, the lousy battery life, picking exposure zones requires digging into a few submenus (again, every photo) and so on. Pretty good technical camera but lots of little irritating UI things, essentially.

Depth of field is often one big technical area that can make photos look "better". With a phone and the photos like the ones you've posted the aperture your pick almost doesn't matter as most of the shot is going to be within the depth of field or close enough to appear as if it is. The sensor in phones is tiny, really tiny and that causes it to have a lot of depth of field.

Now a DSLR has a vastly bigger sensor and thus can achieve a smaller depth of field at smaller f numbers (wider apertures). This gives you that sharp main subject that you've focused on and then a blurry background or blurry fall off that many people find desirable.

Between the two there is a myriad of options. Certainly a modern point and shoot camera is going to beat what you've got right now. You could even consider a modern mirrorless camera (which are basically akin to DSLRs but they exclusively use liveview*and thus don't have a mirrorbox on top which cuts down on size**

If you want a better proper camera then a nice point and shoot or mirrorless would do for many of your basic needs. You don't even need a super-macro lens as most model shots are closer to "close up" than true macro shots

*many have a video viewfinder either built in or as an optional extra
** mirrorless are the "new hotness" in cameras mostly because they can be smaller than DSLRs because of the lack of a mirrorbox and a mirror in the camera so a lot of the size cuts down. Though lenses still have to be the same size for the same size of sensors in the mirrorless (they vary lots from smaller to full 35mm sensors).

Thanks for responding. I will do some further research with what you suggested.

Head to a store and try some stuff out - heck take a couple of models to try some shots of. As said above your budget is in the realm of entry level DSLR and who knows you might find that you actually prefer using one (manual controls are typically a lot easier on them as they are made for it; point and shoots and other cameras are more made for auto mode and "scene" mode shooting rather than changing settings so they often require using menus or holding buttons down - whilst a DSLR has a dial to turn specific to the setting)

I like the sound of your old camera actually. Don't see a real problem excpet the slow write speed.

What is the write speed of your memory cards? That dictates how fast you can save images. Back in 2012 it was 4x. Nowadays it's 64x or more. Do you have a newish card to save on?

If the 20 second wait time is frustrating you can also embrace that element of the process. Slow down, compose your shots, get the focus just right. Get the perfect shot. People tend to just blast off gakky thoughtless photos nowadays because it's so easy.

RAW is advanced stuff, more trouble than it's worth unless you are hardcore prosumer photographer. Trust me don't get into it unless you know what your doing and have the time to mess with RAW files on your computer.

Remember in photography "It's the magician not the wand."

But too answer your question I've worked with canon cameras forever. I'm sure they have nice point and shoots available $300ish.

 womprat49 wrote:


Remember in photography "It's the magician not the wand."

Unless you've got Thestral hair in your elder wand!