Time to upgrade (but in a tight budget)

[fieldarchy]

I currently have a Kodak Easy share CX7430 and it\'s time to upgrade. Now that I\'m able to paint great models my camera just isn\'t doing them justice. I still like this camera for taking regular pictures and it served me well in Italy but time for a new one.

What do y\'all use out there? I\'m especially interested to hear from the pros who\'ve been doing this for a good while and have done the competition circuit.

Mind you I don\'t have a lot of money to buy a new camera. Something in the $200 area is ideal, it\'s amazing how quickly money goes when building a house

 

[Legacy Account]

The mrs has one of these:

Tested it on a few minis and it suffices, though I wouldn\'t use it myself! Only cost 120 quid mind, which is a bit of a bargain for what you get.

I\'d be tempted to try to pick something better up second hand or just wait until you can save enough money to buy something proper. $200 doesn\'t buy a great deal of quality really....

 

[Torn blue sky]

A Fuji E900 ...but my photography sucks lol
Good Camera though.

 

[fieldarchy]

$200 will buy a decent camera. I don\'t want anything I have to spend more than that on really just for taking pictures of minis, you know? But I need to get a better camera than what I\'ve got if I want to to really sell minis, right now my photos look like crap and that\'s even after having improved in my photography. The thing that\'s keeping me back is the camera unfortunately.

 

[Legacy Account]

Depends what you call decent. Haven\'t come across a cheap camera yet that doesn\'t have serious problems in one way or another - cheap CCDs, poor optical quality, massive chromatic aberration, poor macro settings, stupid noise levels, ropey low-light performance.... Buy cheap, buy twice!

Try that Canon or a Samsung if you really must do it on the cheap!

 

[fieldarchy]

I think you\'re mistaken as to pricing at least here. Most of my friends that I\'ve talked to have said between 179 and 229. The camera that Jen Haley said she had, the newer version is around $200 depending on where you look. I know Anne Foerester just got a new one earlier this year for $200.

All I\'m trying to get across mate, is don\'t knock something just because it\'s $200. It could work just fine even fantastic. No point in spending $500+ on a camera just to take pictures of minis. That\'s the sole purpose of what I\'m shopping for, nothing else, nothing fancy. Just need good macro settings and the photo stabilization. now 200 Sterling may not be a lot to you where you\'re located but $200 is decent for a camera around here.

 

[Arkzein]

Solely for minis? When looking around for cameras with a good macro function I read that the Nikon Coolpix 4500 and 5700 were hard to beat without going into SLRs. (Even though \"only\" 4/5MP) The 5700 was going for around £70 on ebay uk, perhaps similar on the US site. Read up on them in any case if you want, just going off what folks with far more knowledge than myself have written.

Perhaps a bit outdated for other uses but I\'ve seen some fantastic shots taken with a 5700. (look at a few in here http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=20628). Plumped for an 8800 myself but they run at about £200 so a good bit above your target. Apparently the newer coolpix models are actually a good deal worse for macro shots as well.

 

[airhead]

I got a Nikon Coolpix 5000 just as they were being discontinued for the 5500\'s. Picked it up on ebay for a song.

I would imagine that the 5500\'s could now be bought for what I gave for my old 5000.

 

[Jericho]

I can say from experience that the Nikon Coolpix line has good macro, you can snuggle up even closer than the 4cm minimum that the specs advise, and still get good results most of the time. Many have optical lens stabilization too which is always nice.

 

[Legacy Account]

Originally posted by fieldarchy
....now 200 Sterling may not be a lot to you where you\'re located but $200 is decent for a camera around here.

Errr, $200 is less than a hundred quid? That buys you not very much in these parts....

 

[fieldarchy]

yes I know $200 is less than 200 quid. Economies are different though.

 

[Roger Bunting]

Electronics stuff is generally cheaper in the US than it is here.

The canon A series has good macro. Whilst the current 650i will be over your budget maybe you can get a 620 or 630.

 

[Beelzebrush]

I\'d go for a Nikon or Canon in that price range. Nikon have always had a good optic reputation in point and shoot cameras. I can\'t see why you\'d need image stabilisation though for mini photography.... that\'s assuming you use a tripod - if not, you really ought to.

My old Nikon point and shoot took great pics for what it was.

 

[JesterzUSMC]

I use a Sony CyberShot 5.1 Megapixel.
I\'ve gotten one or two really good pictures when the lighting was just right, so I\'m thinking it\'s aces, I just need to get a lighting set-up.
The camera regularly sells on ebay and I got mine for about $34.
The lighting set up that I\'m looking at runs about two to three times that.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Beelzebrush
I\'d go for a Nikon or Canon in that price range. Nikon have always had a good optic reputation in point and shoot cameras. I can\'t see why you\'d need image stabilisation though for mini photography.... that\'s assuming you use a tripod - if not, you really ought to.

My old Nikon point and shoot took great pics for what it was.

Yep I\'ve been quite happy with my Coolpix 5000 until I seemed to have lost my setting and couldn\'t get a decent picture of my mini\'s.
One thing I have found though (and I\'ve been using Nikons longer than Meg\'s been breathing) is that in comparison to other Nikon\'s the Coolpix range do tend to chew through batteries like they are going out of fashion.

 

[SJB]

I use a Canon Ixus 950 which is pretty similar to the Canon mentioned above. Takes amazing pics of minis.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by SJB
I use a Canon Ixus 950 which is pretty similar to the Canon mentioned above. Takes amazing pics of minis.

Yeah but in your case you\'ve got amazing minis to photograph. [envy] lollol

 

[squidders]

This is meant in the nicest way but are you 100% sure you need a new camera?

I have spent a shed load recently on some very good camera equipment to help compensate for my less than very good ability...

I had a look back to some of the very early high rated minis on this site...

http://www.coolminiornot.com/82
http://www.coolminiornot.com/113

are 2 good examples... now, they must have been using \"old\" cameras for those shots because the shots are old.

I wonder if going all out playing with lighting, backings and mounting might save you some cash?

I mean that, as I have said, with respect, i\'m not saying you are a bad photographer, just checking that every single available setting, option or condition has been investigated before you spend your cash on a new camera just for minis.