What camera do I need?

[QA_Engineer]

Hello everyone. I am a quality engineer for a company that makes small wiring harnesses. Our department does not have a digital camera and I have been tasked with finding a camera that will suit our needs for a decent price. The pictures I will mainly be taking will be of subjects which are about 3" in length and usually about 1" or so in width. I need to be able to get good detail on these pictures. The camera our production department uses is an older Canon PowerShot. It works okay, but gets grainy when I open the picture on my PC and try to zoom in on detail.

Our budget is around $200.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Most 'digi-cams' have a decent 'macro' mode. Many of these cameras can focus on subjects that are very close to the camera/lens, and thus, allow you to get very close up photos.

So for your needs, I'd look up the minimum focus distance for perspective cameras. You don't need the closes one...but maybe avoid models that need 12 inches (give or take) as a minimum.

As for quality of the photos, most cameras in that price range (excluding the really cheap ones) should be pretty comparative. I'd suggest that you can maximize the quality of your images by using a tripod or some other means of support for the camera and maybe setting up a couple lights. If all your photos will be of similar size, you could probably set up a mini studio and shoot all or most of them with the same setup.

 

[QA_Engineer]

Thanks Mike. I think that the minimum focus distance is going to be key. The camera our production department has takes at least 2' before it is in focus. Okay, I'm looking at the FujiFilm website and comparing cameras. There are several different focus length categories. Normal wide or Normal Telephoto, Macro Wide or Macro Telephoto. Is this a setting on the camera to switch from Normal to Macro?

 

[Ron G]

I always have a Nikon CoolPix 950 or 990 on hand to document my camera repairs or anything else that requires good macro capability.You can take a picture of a quarter and fill the page with fine detail.
Having the ability to rotate the lens seperately from the LCD makes closeups a breeze.I will never be without one for that reason.Ron G

 

[Big Mike]

It sounds like you are looking at lenses that are meant for SLR type cameras. Interchangeable lenses.

What you are looking for is probably going to be categorized as a compact camera or 'point & shoot' camera. The lenses on these cameras are built-in, so you'll have to look up the specs of the camera.

Statistics for compact cameras: Digital Photography Review

 

[QA_Engineer]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help. Ron, sounds like exactly what I need. I'll have to into that camera.

 

[joealcantar]

Check out this one , look at min. focusing distance.
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Nikon Coolpix S3100 Digital Camera (Black) 26263 B&H Photo Video a little over 100 bucks?
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Leaves you enough for a little light kit. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...DIB18WKT_Infinity_Board_Digital_Lighting.html

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Shoot well, Joe

 

[Lauwerecht]

I'd use it on a tripod, lowest ISO.

 

[Ron G]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help. Ron, sounds like exactly what I need. I'll have to into that camera.

There are plenty of them around on the auction sites,the one thing to watch for is the battery compartment door,that was the weak point on those cameras.The latches break on them.If you don't mind using the power supply even that won't be an issue.The power supplies are less than 10 bucks at your door.Ron G