DetectingWales.com

hi all , i was after some advice on a good camera for taking sharp  close up images of finds etc , any ideas i would be grateful for

thanks

A lot depends on what you have to spend.

I use a digital Olympus  Tough TG-310     14megapixel

Its shock proof,waterproof down to 15feet. Has super macro settings for close up photo's of coins etc.

Its cost approximately £80.

Ideal for metal detecting especially out doors in damp rainy conditions.

Easy to use. ;D ;D ;D

thanks for that , i have a 14 mega pixal camera now a cheap one  but the images are rubbish , but i dont knoiw much about them the one you wre suggesting had zooms etc for better clarity in close up ?

I suspect that you don't know much about cameras, David. Most digital cameras have a macro facility. Forget about the zoom. What camera do you have now? Can you see the macro symbol ... it's in the shape of a little flower. Switch to macro, DONT ZOOM  and have a little practice.

(http://www.packshot-solution.com/userfiles/macro_symbol_packshot.gif)

hi john yes you suspect correctly , the camera is a vivitar  vivicam F128  cant see that symbol

update i just googled it and found it , its on the side will play with the camera tomorrow thanks a lot

Yup ... you probably won't on a fixed focus lens camera costing around £24.
You get what you pay for - an upgrade is needed. Stay off Vivitar and buy a compact camera costing about £80. There are many to choose from - choose from Canon Ixus (many models, Nikon etcetera. Good luck.

Amongst other cameras, I use a Canon IXUS 80 IS and it takes super pictures. If you have a tight budget, they are available from Amazon (used) at only £42.00. The newer model costs much more, of course. As well as taking macro shots with this camera, I have also taken cover shots for magazines. Recommended.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Digital-IXUS-80-Camera/dp/B0012ZEDV4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407707046&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+ixus+80+is+digital (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Digital-IXUS-80-Camera/dp/B0012ZEDV4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407707046&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+ixus+80+is+digital)

Buying a camera is very subjective ... there are loads to choose from. Hear what others say. Don't just take my word for it!

Good - have a go. Forget what I said above.
I'm sure that the Vivitar will take reasonable macro shots, albeit not as close as dearer models.

I suspect that you don't know much about cameras, John :D :D David if you want a camera for your finds then yes you do need macro though unfortunately nowadays the term is used incorrectly and so you need to do some researching on minimum focussing distance, on your current model it is 10cm which would be OK for a large Georgian buckle but not that clever for small hammered or Roman coins so you really need to look for a model that focuses down to 1cm and don't pixel chase, pixels mean nothing without the sensor and more importantly a good lens to back it up. I've just had a quick look at what's a good/reasonably priced model at the moment and would recommend the Canon Ixus 145:-
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2482516.htm?CMPID=GS001&_ (http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2482516.htm?CMPID=GS001&_)$ja=cgid:12705104942|tsid:41408|cid:177575702|lid:76501554422|nw:g|crid:44052743942|rnd:13114165511093223979|dvc:c|adp:1o1
Like so many things the cost dictates the quality and for a budget camera while it isn't waterproof like Outlaws it does produce better quality images which is what you want for any type of record keeping ;)

Thanks for info john and geoff,   i will look into properly tomorrow when not so tired 

 thanks again

david

Only joking John ;)

I know!  ;D ;D

A small gorrilla pod is also a good idea for close up shots. The steadier the camera the clearer the image.
The handy thing about them is that they can be wrapped around almost anything to hand.
Check these out

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-MINI-GORILLA-POD-FLEXIBLE-TRIPOD-OCTOPUS-LEGS-SHAPED-FOR-DIGITAL-CAMERA-DSLR-/181473490454?pt=UK_Tripods_Monopods&hash=item2a40a9b616 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-MINI-GORILLA-POD-FLEXIBLE-TRIPOD-OCTOPUS-LEGS-SHAPED-FOR-DIGITAL-CAMERA-DSLR-/181473490454?pt=UK_Tripods_Monopods&hash=item2a40a9b616)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diamond-Robot-Digital-tripod-Stand-For-DSLR-Compact-Cameras-Gorilla-POD-Octopus-/301013989987?pt=UK_Tripods_Monopods&hash=item4615d4fa63 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diamond-Robot-Digital-tripod-Stand-For-DSLR-Compact-Cameras-Gorilla-POD-Octopus-/301013989987?pt=UK_Tripods_Monopods&hash=item4615d4fa63)

Iam not a camera buff, but listen to those who are and a few years back I purchased a easy to use NIKON Coolpix 7900.

The camera has produced some nice results for me to use with any finds that come along.

This model must be available at a reasonable price these days.

Here is a shot using it from a few days ago. Jerry.

I spent around 4 years at night school shooting with 35mm and a Bronica etrsi medium format so was a die hard film man so going over digital was something i was not keen on as i soley shoot in manual , so point and shoot was very alien ,
But finaly i did change and went for a fujifilm bridge camera( by using a bridge camera such as this it allows you to become for createive with manual shutter speeds  and f stops) which has been very good and have owned for around 6 years now. here is a example
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-camcorders/digital-cameras/bridge-cameras/fujifilm-finepix-s6800-bridge-camera-21270348-pdt.html (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-camcorders/digital-cameras/bridge-cameras/fujifilm-finepix-s6800-bridge-camera-21270348-pdt.html)
Also by downloading your photos to a site like photobucket enables you to upload photos in high resolution to sites such as this  ;)

example only shot in 6.5mp
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd96/joebristow/digs/th_DSCF9294_zps6d31ab34.jpg) (http://s222.photobucket.com/user/joebristow/media/digs/DSCF9294_zps6d31ab34.jpg.html)

This is why I said don't pixel chase as it's worth knowing that a "normal" computer monitor can't replicate quality above around 3.5mp, I use a 14mp camera when detecting and also a 36mp professionally but if I took the same subject in the same lighting conditions and posted them on the net you would notice little if any difference and this is why lens quality is paramount ;)

The Light is everything in photography. The job of a photographer is to capture light into an still image.  All the time we spend fiddling with white balance, thinking about exposure, tone, contrast is basically all about trying to best capture the light we see that reflects back off our subject.

Well I'm going to add my 2p of idiot proof advice.   Point and snap, that's the way to go, but with a camera that does what you want it to do.
We have a Panasonic DMC-FX500  Wow that's pricey, I can hear you say, but what about 2nd hand. Have a look at a new one on Amazon (link below)  and then consider one of the 2nd hand ones (on same advert) £88 or £150 and £150.
This is the sort of Macro it's capable of (below)  even Geoff has complimented me on some of my shots.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-DMCFX500-Digital-Still-Camera/dp/B0018DE54A (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-DMCFX500-Digital-Still-Camera/dp/B0018DE54A)

Val

Exactly Val does what you want it to and gets the job done that all you need in a camera

Great shot Val but couldn't you find a better more cuddly subject  :o Yes a lovely camera and most is down to the Leica lens ;)

Thanks everyone for your input

david

Last Word?  ;D

David - If you simply want a method of posting pictures on a forum, then I recommend a scanner.
I reckon 99% of the pictures I place on forums are made with a scanner. Here are some examples:

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x264/JohnSenWint/Fibulae2copy_zps71a206be.jpg) (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/JohnSenWint/media/Fibulae2copy_zps71a206be.jpg.html)

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x264/JohnSenWint/IMG_2273_zpsaea0c204.jpg) (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/JohnSenWint/media/IMG_2273_zpsaea0c204.jpg.html)

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x264/JohnSenWint/2013-07-02165115_zps937d3d1b.jpg) (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/JohnSenWint/media/2013-07-02165115_zps937d3d1b.jpg.html)

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x264/JohnSenWint/SealTest971-1-1-1-1-1_zps3369e3e0.jpg) (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/JohnSenWint/media/SealTest971-1-1-1-1-1_zps3369e3e0.jpg.html)

A must when buying any compact camera is to have both Macro and auto focus, I suspect your vivitar is fixed focus, my inlaws have one and its useless for anything other than outdoor shooting. I use a Fuji Finepix S1800 (bridge camera) 12 mega pixel, and a Samsung S500 compact 5.1 mega pixel which I have had for about 10 years both take cracking macro shots. I also use a mini tripod not the gorilla but similar one bought from 7 day shop,
http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-tripods-bendy-tripod-wirepod-selfie-pod-fits-99-of-cameras (http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-tripods-bendy-tripod-wirepod-selfie-pod-fits-99-of-cameras)

Those scanned pix are so clear.

Great pictures John

I deliberately chose bulky objects to show what a scanner is capable of ... it also takes cracking pictures of coins of course:

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x264/JohnSenWint/Close_zpsf943fb77.jpg) (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/JohnSenWint/media/Close_zpsf943fb77.jpg.html)

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x264/JohnSenWint/ThreepennyBit.jpg) (http://s183.photobucket.com/user/JohnSenWint/media/ThreepennyBit.jpg.html)

I think they have come a long way over the years great light and colour saturation, they used to have very muted colour when scanning thicker items