Which Camera?

[ellis_esquire]

Had a little search around the forum but nothing about modern cameras.

 

Im struggling a bit with the iphone 3's camera to get anything like a good pic of my guys without blur -

What do people use for cameras if i was going to invest in one - what do people reccommend?

 

Im in the B&C painting comp so need something pretty quick!

 

Thanks all

[Terminatorinhell]

surprisingly my EVO's camera is really good, It takes much clearer pictures, but for a pro camera, I would say something from the sony Alpha series.

[winterdyne]

Quality photos require:

1) Steady camera and miniature -buy a tripod- (cuts blur)

2) Slower exposure, low ISO - see below for background too (lessens noise)

3) Good lighting - as close as possible to natural - do not use flash - use several light sources (makes colours 'right', cuts shadows)

4) Correct focal distance - Macro modes can introduce noise to the image - sometimes it's better just to focus at the right distance

5) Gradient background - print or a backdrop gradient; from 1/3 light blue to 2/3 white works well - a pure white background can cause the auto mode on some cameras to over or under expose.

6) Open frame - don't try to focus on one part of the miniature (unless it's very large) - easier to grab the bits you want in photoshop or GIMP.

 

The actual camera itself matters less these days - almost every digital camera I've had has been perfectly adequate for taking web-publishing photos. For magazine / professional work then some sort of digital SLR with a big fat lens could be better. I use a 7.1MP Canon Powershot A470. It's not the most expensive or brilliant camera in the world, but it works very well. Was about £50.

[Cyrox]

Great advice from Winterdyne - its not always about the hardware.

 

 

As for the actual camera though - What budget are we talking?

 

I have a Nikon D60 SLR - i didn't buy it for taking pics of mini's, I've a;ways wanted an SLR, but its a great camera. I stick it on a cheap Gorilla pod for stability.

 

 

If you want a decent digital point and click, then this is a great litlle 12.1mp camera:

 

CLICKY

 

My missus bought me the S8000, and its bloomin' awesome!

[WingsOfTheFalcon]

If you want to take good photos of minis you need to invest in a mini tripod (google it, they only about £7-10) to hold the camera and prevent wobble and basically any camera with a decent resolution (6-10MP) with a macro setting.

 

If you want to take excellent photos then Winterdyne has laid it out perfectly. :)

[djhg]

The cheap 'toy' cameras available now are getting close to the 15 megapixel range which is WAY more than you would ever need, but it does also mean that the image size is very high resolution so you don't even need to get close anymore.

Even MS paint can crap and resize images (Ctrl+W to resize in paint... bizarre shortcut)

 

Something like this is a cheap and good toy camera. The sort of camera anyone can use. No fancy jargon or know how required.

Point at your mini's and click the button. Easy -_-

http://iforce.co.nz/i/riynij0p.s2x.jpg

 

 

If you want to get into the technical side of photography but don't want to mortgage your house or anything then you should look at an entry level DSLR camera.

Should you choose this road then I would recommend doing your homework and picking 1 brand to work with as mixing lens brands can cause some beef.

Personally I use Canon cameras exclusively now and they're kick ass IMO, but you may want to go with a different brand.

Look up some stuff, ask to borrow someone else's camera and see what's good for you.

Something like this will cost approx 10x - 15x what the camera above costs, but when you know how to use it you can do all sorts of neat photo's (Not just mini's)

http://iforce.co.nz/i/uvek3izw.cll.jpg

 

 

Either way as everyone has said... get a tripod.

You'd be surprised just how much better things get (and just how shaky your hands are).

[Brother Crazywolf]

I have to agree it is the photographer and not the hardware. If you get a dslr, get a macro lens or at least one that gets you close enought if if doesn't hbave a macro fuction, and maybe a flash. If you get a point and shoot, get a midrange one that allows for you to grow into it.

 

I also have to agree with a basic tripod. They do wonders.

 

All flashes are balanced for daylight so don't worry about that. Do as many of your photos with natural light as possible, but if you need assistance use a flash. Otherwise, depending on the source of your light, it will shift the colors.

 

Above all, take as many photos as it takes. There is always something that can be learned from.

[Ironwulf]

You mention that you have an iPhone 3. Is that a 3GS? I've used the newer software downloads, good light and my iPhone 3GS to capture decent pictures like this (keep in mind that's my first painted mini EVER, about 20 years old.) You also might try the GorillaCam app for your iPhone too. I THINK that it's still free, I'm not sure though.

 

As people go into detail about how many megapixels a camera has, just remember that the web is only 72 dpi. When uploading images, there's only so much detail that can be seen, unless your photo is going to be HUGE, and take forever to download. I used to have a 1.5 megapixel camera that did great mini shots.

 

I hope this helps. I just know that an expensive camera doesn't always fix the problem.