picture question

[jefft]

Man, some of you guys take some great pics. These pics and videos are very useful to people with questions on how something goes back together and such. I want to be able to have that capability myself of taking good quality pics without breaking the bank on a expensive camera. So, my question is what sort of camera (brand/model) are some of you using to take pics? What's a good camera for the money?
jefft

 

[goodgollyjosh]

Smart phones are getting better and better. I think mine takes a pretty good picture.

 

[5twins]

You don't have to break the bank to get a good quality camera today. Prices are much lower than they used to be. I got my 1st digital cameras probably about 15 years ago. They were cheapies with only 1 or 2 megapixels and the pictures were not that good. About 10 years ago I decided to get something better and bought a Fuji A340 with 4 MP. At that time, 4 MP was pretty good, not the best, but good. It took wonderful pictures and has served me faithfully all these years. Most of the pics you see me post here were taken with that camera. Even with only 4 MP, I needed to turn the settings down a notch or so because the pictures were huge and actually too sharp and grainy. They also filled the memory card quite quickly, not allowing many to be taken.

Well, after all these years, the battery pack on the A340 is fading, not holding a charge for very long. I plan to replace it (only about $10) but thought I'd see what's new. Since this Fuji has been so good to me, I looked at some of their current offerings. I was able to score a new JX680 with 16 MP for $57. Seeing that the A340 set me back like $180, this is quite an improvement in quality and price. Once again, I needed to turn the settings down, this time several notches, to get smaller pictures and adequate storage on the camera.

Even though the settings are turned down on both these cameras, the pics are still quite large and very good quality. In fact, most that I post are cropped out portions of them. You need a good pic to start with if you're going to be cropping a small area out of it. That brings us to the photo editing part of the story. The big main stream programs like Adobe Photo Shop are huge and difficult to use. Sure, they'll do most anything with a picture but like I said, they're complicated. For what I do most, simple cropping and re-sizing, I found a nice little free program, Fly Free Photo Editing.

http://www.5dfly.com/free-photo-editing-software/

 

[Gene]

composition of the picture overrides the quality of the camera. An expensive camera won't do you any good if you can't take a decent picture. You need to shoot shoot and then shoot some more pics. Once you get the understanding of light, settings, composition, then it's worth moving up to a better camera.

 

[XSLeo]

I have two cameras now. Both Fuji's. One I got of Ebay. A factory refurbished E900. 9.0 Mega Pixels. About $100. Takes great pics. I thought it was broken so I bought a FinePixAX655 at Wal Mart for a bit under $100. 16 Mega pixels. Take a lot of video with sound, maybe some time I'll figure out how to.
Once I got the new camera I figured out what the problem with the first camera was. I tried the same batteries in the new camera and it wouldn't work right either.
New good batteries made both cameras work right.
Most any camera in the $100 range will take great pics.
Ebay has lots.
Leo

 

[jefft]

This stuff is advancing fast and I am way behind. I just realized the other day that you can buy a lens to fit over your smart phone to take pics. I didn't even know there was such a thing. I need a camera that is easy to use and takes great quality pics.
Thanks for all your help.
jefft

 

[gggGary]

It's not the pixels it's the lens, used digital cameras are SO cheap now because they have been mostly replaced by phones. But for MC stuff quality close ups are crucial. Grabbed a Nikon S8100 on CL for about $80 w/ battery and card 10x zoom great close ups full HD vid, good menus & controls. I budget about a year's use from a camera but flog them mercilessly. Agreed practice practice practice. The best camera takes crappy photos if you don't learn it.
I'm a dinosaur and still use a laptop.






I like this photo editor does everything I need but simple to use.

http://faststone.org/FSMaxViewDetail.htm

 

[fredintoon]

It ain't the camera, it's the composition.
Clean up the background, the clutter don't help.
Take two photos. One shows the problem item in close-up, t'other pans back to show WTF it is.
And right way up is good, too.

 

[neanderthal]

new digital cameras are good enough to take great automatic photos. you dont need to worry about settings unless you want to get into photography. find a decent point and click with nice glass. dont get a dslr if youre just taking photos of bits and pieces. and keep in mind that this camera will be in a shop/garage and exposed to dirt, oil and grease. so with that in mind you may not want to spend too much.

 

[gggGary]

The only camera that will take a picture is the one you HAVE WITH YOU. It has to fit in a pocket or it won't be where you need it. Buying used watch feel and listen to the lens action. It should open, close, zoom smoothly with no grinding or hesitation. gunk in the zoom is a major cause of pocket camera death.

PS it's all about the lighting good even light no flash for parts pics. Now if I could just follow that advice....

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

The only camera that will take a picture is the one you HAVE WITH YOU...

Samsung Galaxy S4 active, 8mp camera, at 4x zoom, shot about half hour ago, after sundown, thru a really dirty window, then cropped to about 30%, image quality reduced to allow uploading. Pretty bad.

10 Point buck in velvet, at 30 yards. He shows up regularly looking for handouts.

What's he planning???

 

[neanderthal]

PS it's all about the lighting good even light no flash for parts pics. Now if I could just follow that advice....

or find a camera with a high iso. 3200 or better should be fine.

 

[weekendrider]

Most of my shop pics are done with an old Razor flip phone.
They only wanted to give $5 for it as a trade in so it became the shop camera.

 

[5twins]

A dedicated shop camera, I like that idea. That old A340 I've got has become so cheap on eBay (less than $20) that I'm tempted to get another just for the shop.

 

[jefft]

That picture looks sort of grainy to me. It may look different in person. I just want something that will take good quality, sharp pictures up close like when your taking pictures of still motorcycles or maybe some video of parts disassembly and such. I think a big part of it is just me not knowing all the ins and outs of how to take a good picture. I grew up in the day of a Kodak brownie and poloroid instamatic.
jefft

 

[Gene]

A sharp image is dependent on the lens.

Here's a couple shots comparing my iphone, which at times can take a really clear image (if out in bright light) and my DSLR shot. Using a 50mm f/1.8 lens (a $100 lens)
Iphone:

DSLR:

Both pictures hare taken in the same area in my shop

 

[neanderthal]

if you want quality and options go dslr, but for part catolog (potential grease oil and dirt) id go point and click. if you want dslr i have a camera body for sale. youd have to buy a lense. its a nikon d80, its outdated by other dslr, but still a fantasic camera and better than a lot of other options. any interest let me know and ill give you a deal on it.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Are these new cameras difficult to learn to use effectively?

 

[I am Carbon]

It for sure is the lense a great DSLR with a cheap lense will take okay pics
A cheap DSLR with a pro quality lense will take great pics.
It you get a good pocket cam not even a great pocket cam you will get good pics mostly and some great pics too.
I have a older nikon D40 10.3 with a really good lense and it takes great pics.
But I paid 5 times more for the lense than I did for the camera.

The latest pics and videos are from a canon power shot a little over a $100

 

[jefft]

Here's how up to date I am on this subject. I had to look up to see what DSLR stood for. LOL.
jefft