Advice on what camera to buy

[vball]

The company I work for want to purchase a camera for taking good pictures of parts we manufacture for use in brochures, web sites, etc..
We make parts for the Aerospace/Defense industry so the parts are metal and usually shiny..
We currently have a Canon EOS 20D with a zoom lens but it isn't company property and we would like to purchase one of our own. My skill level is beginner, I kind of fell into the company photographer job as I had shown the ability to take decent (point and shoot) pictures in the past (meaning I was the only one who bothered to read the manual)
We have purchased a soft box set and a photo cube for smaller parts along with a sheet of black and white muslin for the backgrounds..
The budget I have been given is around $700 but I think I could talk them up to $800-900..
attached is an example of a pic I took of a part we made to give you an idea of what we will be doing..
Any advice as to what to purchase would be greatly appreciated..

 

[Designer]

Instead of thinking "camera" think; "system", as; you're going to use it all together. So camera (and lens of course) lights, light tent (or cube) and tripod. Of course they don't all come from the same manufacturer, but they need to "work together".

You say you have a "soft box set", but did not mention lights. Also the cube, and I assume you are using the same lights for both setups.

Don't skimp on a really cheap tripod, and you would probably grow to appreciate flash as opposed to continuous lights, but with the budget you have proposed, you're going to have to make some compromises.

What lights do you have already?

If you are talking only about a camera at that budget, I'd get a Nikon D3300 with the 18-55 lens and a decent tripod, assuming you already have some lights.

 

[vball]

Thank you for the recommendation. One thing I forgot to mention is that they occasionally want pics of the eq itself at some difficult angles.. I found myself having to lay on the floor to get some of them.. A variable angle LCD would make that much easier.

I found the D3300 and the lens you mentioned for $500
Do you think the D5200 with the same lens you recommended for $600 would be a good choice ?
Or even the D5300 with the same lens for $800 if I can talk them up to 800 ??

the lights came with the soft boxes..

3 x Studio Soften Light Soft Boxes:

• High-quality nylon construction.
• Two 20"L x 28"W large soft boxes
• One 20"L x 20"W soft box for top light
• Removable white covers to soften the light
• Extremely soften the light and get rid of the shadows to improve the quality of your images.

8 x 45W Daylight Bulbs & 1x 105w Light Bulb

• Save Electricity! 45 watts Energy Saving Compact Fluorescent Spiral Bulb
  -Total 8 x 45w + 1 x 105w = 465w
  -Equal to 2,000 watts light output -Saves energy up to 80%
• Color temperature is 5500k, most perfect color temperature for photo taking.
• Average life 8,000 hours.

2 x High Quality 4 Light Holders:

• Using 2 On/Off switch buttons located on the back to operate 4 Bulbs separately

the light box came with the following

• 1x 24"" Cube Light Tent and Carrying Case Two in One
• 4x High Quality Backgrounds (four colors)
• 2x 45w Side Lamps
• 1x 45w Head Lamp
• 2x Tripod Stands (Height adjusts from min.11"" to max.18"")
• 1x Tripod Stand (Height adjusts from min.17"" to max. 29"")
• 1x Holding Arm with Grip Head (Length adjusts from min.28"" to max.53"")
• 1x Sandbag

it's what I was given to work with, really have no idea if it's good lighting or not but it's what I used to take the pic I attached in the first post..
The tripod I have is what was used with the camera I have now, no idea if it is a decent one or not..

thanks for the help with this...

 

[Designer]

One significant difference between the D3xxx and the D5xxx cameras is that the D5xxx cameras have a tilting LCD screen at the back so when you have to put the camera on the floor, you can angle the screen up to see what is being captured. Not every shot needs live shot mode, and live shot mode slows it down some, so I don't use this feature very often.

The continuous lights (CFLs) will be o.k. for product shots, but don't expect to be able to photograph people with the same lights.

I have a cheapie tripod that I got with my kit, and I use it as the "bag" tripod for when I just grab the bag and go. I also have two other tripods that are more sturdy, and will sometimes take one of them along. The cheap tripod will work as long as your camera is not really heavy, and if there is no wind or floor vibration to worry about.

Additionally, I see that the example you showed is needing just a little more light on the right side to show more detail. Don't try to make every shot evenly lighted, but just a bit more on the side away from the main source of light will help.

 

[gsgary]

You will only get recommended to buy Nikon

 

[vball]

So would the D5xxx be a good choice if I wanted the tilting LCD screen ??

There are no plans to photograph people other than the occasional facility tour or company function..

all photos will be taken indoors in a room set up for it, no wind or floor vibrations to worry about..

The pic was my first attempt at taking a product pic after reading a few articles online about photographing shiny objects.. I'll get better..

thank you for all your help..

 

[Designer]

Yes, if you want a tilting screen.

 

[vball]

Do you think the D5300 with a DX VR II lens is worth the extra $200 over the D5200 with a 18-55mm DX VR lens ??

 

[Designer]

I have not tried both lenses side-by-side to compare them, but there probably isn't a lot of difference between them, just a newer version of VR, IMO.

Besides; you don't use VR at all when the camera is on the tripod, just when you are hand-holding it.

But you should read some online reviews about the VR - VRII to learn more.

 

[A/Ox4]

If the ONLY feature you want in the 5300 is the tilting screen, consider a D3300 with a WiFi adapter ($50) and a smartphone. Then you don't have to be on the floor at all.

I will say, I had a D3300 and now have a D5300 and am glad I upgraded, but we shoot differently. You might be able to take the savings between a D3300 and D5300 and invest that in other aspects.

Do you think the D5300 with a DX VR II lens is worth the extra $200 over the D5200 with a 18-55mm DX VR lens ??

I agree with the 18-55. However I don't really think you need a VR lens (good luck finding a non-vr on a shelf) as you should disable VR when on a tripod anyway.

Do I think that a D5300 and VRII is worth $200 over a D5200 with a VR I for your situation? No.