Camera spec for macro/close-up/arty farty

[Elines]

My Casio Exilim EX Z850 is coming to the end of its natural life (some sort of crystal growing on the screen and buttons keep getting stuck) so I am thinking of getting a new one ie camera new to me – I could go for a second hand one if that was the way to go.

I would like advice please on the key bits of the spec that I should look for when making my final decision. I know the answer lies in what I want to use it for, so here goes:

· Macro photographs eg pictures of shield bugs that I can blow up on the screen to get a close up of the number of segments in the tarsi (bit of each leg) - this is a key feature in identifying the type of shield bug – in essence I would be using the camera as a kind of microscope as well as a means of recording
· Close-up eg leaves, crystals in rocks
· Arty farty photographs eg playing about with exposure times and aperture settings to see if I can create anything that by chance happens to look good/interesting

Things I don’t (think I) want it to do are take high speed photos eg of racing cars. On the arty farty side I could get interested in manipulating pictures on a PC

Of less importance are landscapes and portraits – I assume that any camera I get will cope with these.

I don’t understand focal lengths, Jpeg, RAW etc but I assume that some types of spec are better than others for the type of things that I want to do.

I liked the compact size of the Casio- approx. 85mm x 55mm x 22mm - and I generally had it with me, and so don’t want to end up getting something that is so big that I never actually take it out and use it. So something that would fit in a pocket, or at least not take up too much room in a shoulder bag would be good

Any suggestions/advice please on:
· what to look for in the spec
· any cameras to include in a shortlist – this is of lesser importance because there seems to be no shortage of ‘best buy’ advice eg Which? So once I am clear on the spec I think I will be able to choose from one of the review sites and by actually handling the cameras

As regards budget, I would prefer to leave that on one side for the time being, see what is best for the job and then work from there. - I could amalgamate future birthday presents for example, or sell something to get the money.

(I have tried searching the internet, including this site, but just end up confused on what the spec should be/include.)

 

[MrEd]

right you could get a couple of different types of camera that fit the bill the first being whats known as a 'bridge' camera, they are all in one units and perform reasonably well at most tasks but you may find the macro rather limiting as its called macro but really its pseudo macro. but the do do decent 'close up' photography which might be suitable for what you want. they normally shoot in JPEG and have a RAW option (raw is best for editing on the PC). High end models like hte Canon G series will set you back £500+ but are very good cameras, you would have to try one for yourself to see if the macro function is good enough for you.

The reason the macro function on bridge and compact cameras is limited is becasue of the lens design, it has to be able to focus at macro sizes but also do telephoto zoom at the other end of the lens range so the design is a compromise

you second option is to get yourself an entry level DSLR like a Nikon or Canon, this features interchangeable lenses + fully creative control and your options for macro become a bit better. You can pursue macro photography with them in 2 ways.

1. standard camera and lens to which you fit a magnifiying lens onto the front, or an extension tube onto the back. this increases the magnification of the lens as you wont be able to do macro photography with the standard lens alone, as it wont focus close enough. you could prob all this for around the £500 mark aswell

2. get a dedicated macro lens, which costs more money but will give you the sharpest and best pictures at a true 1:1 reproduction (or greater) scale - these tend to start at £250 for the lens alone, so budget that onto whatever camera you want to get

the other thing you need to think about is lighting, you are either going to need to use a tripod to photograph still subjects as the shutter speed is invariably long due to the small apertures required for macro photography, or you are going to need a flashgun or a macro ringflash. A tripod will cost you between £30 and £unlimited, and normal flashgun about £100+ and a Macro ringflash at least £300 so its not a cheep form of photography lol

It all depends on your budget and what sort of quality of picture you want to end up achieving.

this is a ichneumon wasp i photographed using a Nikon D90, Tokina 100mm Macro lens (dedicated macro lens) a flash on a bracket
the wasp is on a blade of grass.....

and here is a shield bug i photographed using my old setup (Olympus E500 + sigma 150mm macro and hot shoe mounted flash)

larger versions and more are here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flat4/sets/72157601849190546/

and this was my setup but i now have a ringflash instead

Have a google of the bits i have mentioned to get a better idea

 

[Elines]

Thanks for all the information - plenty to be chewing over - a lot pricier than I was expecting but gives me a good start.

 

[ickyan]

You could try getting it repaired, save money and the environment.
But if you want a new one, you want a new one!

 

[Elines]

It’s not that I need a brand new one - but I do need a camera with better magnification for taking pictures of shield bugs/slugs and small stuff generally. Pictures like MrEd's shield bug are just the sort of thing I want to be able to do - but probably not the ichneumon wasp.

When it comes to wildlife I like stuff that doesn't move about too much ; so I like plants and bigger insects. In the case of shield bugs there are only about 20 – 30 that I am likely to find, same with slugs. So as I am no expert on wild life, these suit me as I think I might get somewhere in doing a survey and having a reasonable chance of identifying them - having been on County Council (free) courses and got identification keys. I want to be able to take good close-up pics of insects, slug parts, bits of flowers etc to help ensure someone else can check/confirm my identification.

 

[MrEd]

It’s not that I need a brand new one - but I do need a camera with better magnification for taking pictures of shield bugs/slugs and small stuff generally. Pictures like MrEd's shield bug are just the sort of thing I want to be able to do - but probably not the ichneumon wasp.

When it comes to wildlife I like stuff that doesn't move about too much ; so I like plants and bigger insects. In the case of shield bugs there are only about 20 – 30 that I am likely to find, same with slugs. So as I am no expert on wild life, these suit me as I think I might get somewhere in doing a survey and having a reasonable chance of identifying them - having been on County Council (free) courses and got identification keys. I want to be able to take good close-up pics of insects, slug parts, bits of flowers etc to help ensure someone else can check/confirm my identification.

sounds like your going to want a dedicated macro lens/ DSLR with a magnifier in the standard lens (depending on budget)

you could get second hand stuff, and the shorter focal length macro lenses are cheaper, and you dont have to use a dedicated flashlight, you could use a bright torch or flashgun on a bracket. the key is to get the light source as near the creature as possible, you can get quite good results using the pop up flash on a DSLR and a milk bottle diffuser lol (google it, its how i started)

the thing with focal lengths is the shorter the focal length (i.e 50mm) in macro photography the closer you have to get to the creature, like 3 or 4 cm away - this is close enough to scare off most things. with the 100mm iam about 20cm away so can sneak up on more wary siubject, you can even get 150mm and 200mm macro lenses but imo good fieldcraft and practice you can get very close to insects, its about predicting where they are going to land and stopping your shadow fall on them!

 

[Elines]

Thanks again MrEd - my guess is that second hand is the way to go

 

[Daegurth]

a compact that'll do macro? easy. look at the canon powershot series. they're normal compact sized cameras, have semi/fully-manual modes like SLRs, most have a close-focus of 1cm, come in largely under £200- and some under £100- and basically do everything you want. the best one i used was a powershot A620. fantastic little thing, carried it everywhere i went for 2 years. i don't think they make that particular one any more, but there'll be one similar. i then had a powershot A470 which also went everywhere, until i got a smartphone and gave the compact to my girlfriend. i now shoot with an EOS 40D and a sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 macro. as you probably gather, i'll recommend any canon product quite happily!

i've looked through some of the ones on amazon, and my HUGE (ie, i'm now seriously considering getting one myself) recommendation is this, the powershot SX120 IS: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Power...Optical/dp/tech-data/B002LSI1IW/ref=de_a_smtd

features that stand out to me:
-new - best way with electronics
-canon - best user interface i've ever come across
- dirt cheap for what it is - 130 quid for getting on towards the power of an SLR, essentially.
-1cm closest focus - REALLY close macro
- 35mm equivalent 36-360mm lens - the main portion of the SLR range
- 360mm image stabilised - handy for when you don't have a tripod
- 10 megapixel - double digits are really where you want to be nowadays for decent quality
- manual modes - programme, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual, so you can artsy-fartsy about all you like
- physically wider lens than most compacts - better image quality

the single drawback i see is the 36mm wide end. landscapes are usually taken around 25-30mm, but the eye sees at about 50mm, so i don't think this would really be an issue. but, if you're going to do photomanipulation anyway, you could always just take two shots and blend them into a panorama if you needed that extra little bit of wideness.

there's absolutely no need to spend £400 or more (name your price, really. my basic, middle-of-the-road setup is worth probably around £700-800 used) on a second-hand setup that you can't carry around in your pocket when most of the powershot series (and probably a few other compacts- maybe fuji?) will do all of what you want for under £150, new.

 

[Elines]

Thanks Daegurth/Rob - will be including this in my 'tryout ' session when I go buying

 

[twisted firestarter]

+1 for the Canon Powershot range.



I've owned the G7 through to the G12 and for macro work I'd say you'll get the best results with the G10, G11 or G12 which will all focus as close as 1 centimetre away and can be bought new for £300 - £400

 

[Daegurth]

i'd love to have a G12, but there's no way i'd spend £400 on a compact at this point- it'd go towards probably a new sigma 70-200 f/2.8. that said, if someone doesn't have an SLR to begin with- or does and can afford to drop £400 on a "just in case" companion, it might not be such a bad idea.

i feel iffy talking about these new "compact system" cameras- interchangeable lenses (thus not pocket-fitting) and larger sensors, but not brands that i would trust giving £400-500 for a compact to- olympus, panasonic, sony and samsung.

(i feel like i should put a no-affiliation-with-canon disclaimer in here, haha. just a long-time happy customer.)

these are some shots i took within the first month or so of having my A620:

 

[Elines]

These are the sort of pictures I want to take - so thanks for posting them