John, without knowing your camera I\'d say it\'s very likely more than good enough for this. Certainly there\'s enough resolution, you can get good shots with a 3MP camera, same as a 12! Even if the camera doesn\'t allow you to get as close as you\'d like for shots of minis, with 8MP, you can shoot at max resolution and then crop down (\"post-photo zooming\") and still have an image that\'s many times the size you need for posting online.
In terms of improving your shots, I agree with the first post above - lighting and tripod are THE things that make the difference between results that are bleh and good. If we take it that professional product photography is the gold standard to which we should aspire, lots of diffuse light is one of the key aspects of the way those are shot and the results speak for themselves.
Then get the white balance right - not necessarily a custom, if a preset gives better colour then don\'t be afraid to use it! - and you\'re 90% of the way there.
Try to use the slowest ISO rating the camera has, while also using the smallest aperture (hence the need for plenty of light).
After the shot is taken then it\'s Photoshop or the GIMP\'s turn at the plate; you can do a lot to improve a not-quite-there shot but the better the photo is to begin with the better the results. Many threads have pointers on the basics and what you should routinely use is partly based on what software you\'re using, but the simplest is a bit of Levels, with maybe a bit of Brightness/Contrast, then you reduce to final size and sharpen (using Smart Sharpen or Unsharp Mask, or just reduce using Bicubic Sharper).
If you have a reasonably fast machine, and the photo is as good as it can be beforehand, tweaks in PS shouldn\'t take more than a minute for each image.
Einion
