Digital Camera Recommendations for Macro Shots

[stick1]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a digital camera for our group's use in the workplace. One of the primary functions will likely be in the form of macro (close-up) shots of small areas and parts. This is generally helpful in documenting part failures such as breakages due to shock testing, gear tooth flaws or failures, and highlighting blemishes and imperfections. The camera will also be used to photograph larger scale test set-ups as well.
I have borrowed a camera from another group on our site, and I have really struggled to get decent close-ups. I would like to find a camera that can take these types of photos without having to make so many attempts. It seems that the focusing feature is what is giving us problems.
A very old Sony Mavica that records to floppy disks seems to perform best, but the recording medium is now outdated as most of us no longer have disk drives in our PC's. We would prefer to write to a SD card, and would also like a USB option as well.

Can anyone recommend a digital camera of reasonable cost (<$300-400) that they have had success using in a similar fashion?

Thanks in advance.

 

[memiles]

In that price range I would recommend the Cannon Powershot A560 7.1 megapix. Takes wonderful shots. Gave mine away for a Cannon SLR

Mike

 

[minerk]

Sounds like we use our cameras about the same way. I've always had good success with Sony's. My current camera is a Sony Cybershot DSC-W5, 5.1 megapixel. I bought this one personally since the sorry cameras our IT department provides can't do clear macros.

I see BestBuy has the current version of my camera (DSC-W55) on sale for $170 right now, I'm tempted to upgrade to the new one (7.2 MP).

 

[TheTick]

I have a recommendation: [!]buy the good lithium battery![/!]

I've seen this almost every place I've worked: company buys camera and equips it with cheap, off-the-shelf rechargeable batteries instead of the goo made-for-the-camera battery. Result: battery always dead when camera is needed or dies after 3 shots.

 

[Wareagl487]

I second the recommendation of the Canon Powershot by Memiles.

I also agree with TheTick on getting a good long life battery.

Andy W.

 

[CoryPad]

Maybe this isn't the advice you were looking for, but an SLR camera is best for this kind of work. Point-and-shoot cameras are HIGHLY variable in macro mode. An SLR is twice the cost of your target, but worth the money.

Regards,

Cory

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[Artisi]

Have a look at this link - it list all the camera available with reviews from experts and users.

http://www.dpreview.com/

 

[Jordonlaw]

I've used a Canon Ixus 75 (US name may be different). It auto focuses down to 10 or 15mm and takes razor sharp images at 7.1MP. Its much smaller and lighter than a SLR and much cheaper also. It has a Lithium Polmer battery that fast changes and takes perhaps 300 shots on a 1GB SD. I paid £107 (about $220).

 

[vims]

Take the picture with any new camera at a distance ~400mm. Then crop the picture in photoshop or equal program. Personally I get crazy on the people on my workplace documenting parts with extreme closeups. Often it´s very hard to even understand what detail they have photographed.

 

[swall]

CoryPad offers good advice--get an SLR. With the prices of these dropping, there is no good reason not to. Get a brand that offers a macrozoom lens (even though the lens will cost more than the camera body). That way, you can stand back a ways and zoom in for the close ups. Right now, I am working with a standard 60mm macro on my Canon XT350. Constantly having to move the camera and refocus to get the mag I want.A real PITA.

 

[rodkleiss]

I have had a similar requirement for years. I need to take pictures of micro-molded gears with the worst possible background, white-on-white. Recently I moved to a Canon SD 870 IS. It has excellent macro capability and wide-angle as well. It is the best I've come across yet. I JUST purchased a new video microscope from Willrich Instruments (

http://www.willrich.com)

called the minivivid. The first camera I got worked very well and you can do basic measurements on the downloaded picture with their software. I traded it back for the 1.3 megapixel model to get better resolution. The 640x480 unit is only $400 with the software. It is an amazing little device that is totally unadvertised.

 

[Artisi]

rodkleiss (Mechanical)

I don't have any need for the video microscope, but what a great piece of equipment.

 

[MortenA]

Disadvantages to SLR would be:

-Ease of operation. The importance of this depends on how many people will be using the camera
-Weight/size. If the pictures should often be taken under less than ideal situations e.g. where you have to hold the camera at a difficult angle without being able to see the screen completely then a small lightweight camera may be preferred to a more bulky and heavy SLR.

Best regards

Morten

 

[MRWilliams]

I was researching this exact problem a couple of weeks ago and found the Ricoh R6 is a point and shoot camera designed for 1cm macros and cost just £150 GBP. I am using it to take images of Rubber Crumb without any difficulties. I know it isn't going to compare to a SLR but I'm more than happy with it. Also get a tiny £5 tripod with it.

 

[Wicsteve]

Often there are add-on lenses that can screw over the camera lens. If your camera has the ability to accept a screw-on filter then it is more than likely that a screw-on magnifying lense is also available. Even my cheap Kodak digital camera has +7 and +10 magnification lenses available that work very well.

... and for cheap digital microscopes, 'Digital Blue' makes a children's microscope capable of taking digital pictures and movies. It can be purchased from most toy stores or from E-bay. The pictures aren't high definition by any means but often are good enough to show simple illustrations on the computer screen.

Also don't forget there are still a lot of good SLR cameras (film type cameras) out there that are capable of making high resolution close-up pictures. Prior to the ditigal age, there were many cameras with available close-up attachments (lenses, bellows, add-on lenses, etc.) If you don't need the picture right away, one can always make a digtial copy when the film is processed.

 

[stevenw]

Nikon D80 with a 60mm maco lens

 

[eliebl]

I have a Canon S2 (now obsolete) and it can do macros with the object touching the lens. For that you need good light. I believe that the replacement is an S5.

 

[vesselguy]

Stick1,

Interesting to see so many replies to this question. Trust me, for the macro shot you want do, a point and shoot is your best option. I do macro shots of my plastic models to support my articles that I publish for the web and for an international modeling magazine. I have great success using the old Nikon Coolpik and recently, I bought a new Panasonic Lumix DMCFZ18 for only $400. It shoots great macro. I also support the recommendations for Cannon Powershot as it shoot great macro. Do not get an digital SLR for this application because of your specification for a camera in the $400 price range. With any SLR, you also have to buy a macro lense separately and that costs $800+ on top of the camera cost.

 

[Toastie]

A Canon S3 or even the S5 if you can get it cheap will work great.
They have a macro and super macro mode. Also you can add lenses to the camera if you want for better macros and it is a 12x optical zoom in case you want to go from macro shooting to something far away and large

 

[stick1]

I want to thank everyone for the helpful suggestions. I ended up purchasing a Canon Powershot A720 IS.
So far, we have been very happy with the ability of the camera to quickly and easily take close-up shots in macro mode.
I also read a tip recently where a blogger suggested using a scanner to take shots of small items as well, and that seems like it might occasionally be useful.
I am uploading a spreadsheet that shows a few cameras that I compared in case anyone else is interested:

http://files.engineering.com/getfil...d-d0efc755d270&file=Dig_Camera_Comparison.xls