Macro camera

Cosmitz

Hey people,
I need to find a macro camera, or camera/lens setup, to take detailed, sharp images of objects 3-5 cm in size at short range. It's going to be used to take pictures of my Battletech miniatures. I don't need extreme quality, just as much as you can fit in some 150$.

Thanks.

ziggy53

Cosmitz wrote:

Hey people,
I need to find a macro camera, or camera/lens setup, to take detailed, sharp images of objects 3-5 cm in size at short range. It's going to be used to take pictures of my Battletech miniatures. I don't need extreme quality, just as much as you can fit in some 150$.

Thanks.

Cosmitz, welcome to the Digital Grin.

Since you put the dollar sign at the end of the budget number, I will assume that you are not of the United States. This would mean that your budget is probably equivalent to around $200-$250USD.

That's still below any dSLR plus macro lens combination, so we'll have to stay with P&S and Digicams.

I would suggest that an advanced used digicam is probably the best way to go. I still have a Minolta DiMAGE A2 that I truly love and it is capable of decent close focus even with the bare camera. Add a Minolta diopter and you can do (35mm equivalent) 1:1 macros of pretty amazing quality.

A used Minolta A2 plus CL49-200 will put you just at budget or maybe a little over. Results are quite nice, especially using an external flash:







(The last image is a 1:1 crop at 1:1 magnification.)

chrisjohnson

I guess for a specific project and almost no cash you could do worse than buy an analogue (film) SLR on ebay - great kit and lenses for next to nothing. Then you could spend most of your remaining money on dia film, processing and viewer, then scanning the ones you want to keep.

Good luck!

If you want a good digital camera instead, you could look for a used G9 or G7 from Canon. My G9 takes decent macro. Might be above your budget though - but not much.

hgernhardtjr

I was amazed to see just how good the now-US$230 Sony T-500 is with extreme close-ups and have used it for that purpose on occasion since it is my ever-present "pocket camera" nowadays. The quarter I shot below is not color corrected ... just a snapshot taken 5 minutes ago for this post on my teaching desk under fluorescent classroom lighting and at an angle since shadowing was a problem.

Cosmitz

ziggy53 wrote:

Cosmitz, welcome to the Digital Grin.

Since you put the dollar sign at the end of the budget number, I will assume that you are not of the United States. This would mean that your budget is probably equivalent to around $200-$250USD.

That's still below any dSLR plus macro lens combination, so we'll have to stay with P&S and Digicams.

I would suggest that an advanced used digicam is probably the best way to go. I still have a Minolta DiMAGE A2 that I truly love and it is capable of decent close focus even with the bare camera. Add a Minolta diopter and you can do (35mm equivalent) 1:1 macros of pretty amazing quality.

A used Minolta A2 plus CL49-200 will put you just at budget or maybe a little over. Results are quite nice, especially using an external flash:

I have converted my currency into USD so i have more or less of 450RON/150$ to use. As much like to stick to my "go big or go home" motto in regards to equipment i get, this time i think i'll stick to just the basic needs. Blame the economy crisis.

Also, after some searching, i've stumbled onto a Fuji S5700/S700 i can swipe for 350 RON/115$ or so. Might be a deal but reviews i've read say it has some problems with high-contrast edges. Still awaiting suggestions.

HeatherWB

If that Fuji that you've found is anything like the Fuji s602z that I used to have, then it'll work just fine for you. BTW, if you're still looking, I would most definitely recommend the s602z; you should be able to pick one up and still stay within your budget.

HTH,
Heather