On Fri, Mar 16, 2012, at 05:25 AM, Oli Glaser wrote:

> So I have a question:
> Is there a cheapish half decent "general purpose" camera you (or anyone
> else) can recommend? It will be almost entirely for product photos (bar
> the
> odd picture of the cat doing something stupid...) so I'm particularly
> interested in macro capabilities for PCBs, and ease of use for taking
> quick
> quality pics (I must have taken about 200 pictures the other day just to
> get ~10 images I was satisfied with)
> Also, anyone know of some good sources of info on general setup, lighting
> and suchlike?


I tend to like Canon.
Any good point and shoot camera will work fine for what you want.
Seriously.=20

Get a tripod.

For product photos, get a "light shed".

And get two 500 watt incandescent lights with reflectors. You might also
consider getting a couple of umbrellas.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/402604-REG/Impact_DLS_XLK_Two_Light_D=
igital_Light_Shed.html

Or a couple of these and then the light shed separately:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/308804-REG/Impact_401471_One_Floodlig=
ht_Umbrella_Kit.html

Get spare bulbs because they only last a few hours even if you're
gentle.

Learn how to set the white balance.

Bracket your shots at different exposures (using +1 -1 etc) and pick the
best ones later.

Bob

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