what point and shoot camera is best for Macro shots?
Hello all,
I have a Canon DSLR with a Macro lens for when I want super high-quality images but I want something simplistic and an upgrade from my everday camera (Canon PowerShot SX610)
I photograph small things all day using natural light in front of a window, i.e. coins, military medals, pins, etc. and never use a zoom function on the lens, just a Macro setting. At night I'll go down and use my photo-booth but essentially the product base is identical.
I like the IS image stabilization feature that Canon provides and the overall quality of my SX610 is fine.
With all of that being said, I recently purchased a Canon G 7 X Mark II as an upgrade and absolutely hated it. The focus quality on what I was really trying to capture was fine, but then everything else around the focal point was completely blurry, and that's not something my customer's are going to want to see; the sale is in the details.
So my question is, what is the best camera that would be an upgrade over my SX610 for my application and daily use? I don't want to have to lug out the giant DSLR and am looking for something more compact that will do what I need it to. Any ideas? Here's a quick pic I have on file of the type of details I'm looking to capture. This is a US visor cap insignia from the Second World War and measures roughly 2-1/2" wide and this is typical of the type of material I am trying to photograph.
William Kramer
I have a Canon DSLR with a Macro lens for when I want super high-quality images but I want something simplistic and an upgrade from my everday camera (Canon PowerShot SX610)
I photograph small things all day using natural light in front of a window, i.e. coins, military medals, pins, etc. and never use a zoom function on the lens, just a Macro setting. At night I'll go down and use my photo-booth but essentially the product base is identical.
I like the IS image stabilization feature that Canon provides and the overall quality of my SX610 is fine.
With all of that being said, I recently purchased a Canon G 7 X Mark II as an upgrade and absolutely hated it. The focus quality on what I was really trying to capture was fine, but then everything else around the focal point was completely blurry, and that's not something my customer's are going to want to see; the sale is in the details.
So my question is, what is the best camera that would be an upgrade over my SX610 for my application and daily use? I don't want to have to lug out the giant DSLR and am looking for something more compact that will do what I need it to. Any ideas? Here's a quick pic I have on file of the type of details I'm looking to capture. This is a US visor cap insignia from the Second World War and measures roughly 2-1/2" wide and this is typical of the type of material I am trying to photograph.
William Kramer
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This is not acceptable so I returned that camera and am on the hunt for something better.
William Kramer
William Kramer
I think you need to understand what you are complaining about in this photo. What you consider "blurry" is actually just out of focus behind your focal plane. Macro photos in most P&S cameras will have a very narrow depth of field. You have focused beautifully on the WF marking. I actually think this is a nice photo. Unless you keep everything on the same focal plane, there will be parts of your item that are out of focus.
You like the insignia in the first photo because it is a small, relatively flat item that is perpendicular to your focal plane. Everything there is in focus.
There is no easy way to do this with a linear item like a knife unless you understand that you need to keep the entire item on the focal plane. There are tricks like focus stacking, but I'm not sure you want to get into that if you are just trying to sell these items.
Don't blame the tool. Try to understand what is going on here.
http://clearwaterphotography.smugmug.com/
If you could have defeated the ND filter and forced the aperture to f11 I suspect you you could have had a much more acceptable result for your needs than using the f4 setting you used for the above image. This likely means using the camera in all manual mode and with proper settings for the desired results. (Thanks for including an image with the full EXIF information intact. That made it possible to determine your exposure for the image.)
Perhaps you could try the G7 X Mark II again with this information in mind. Any other P&S with the same settings as you used would yield the same, or similar, results, so the solution at least partly includes proper use of the camera and appropriate exposure settings for the intended macro use. As the G7 X Mark II has both an Aperture Priority mode and a Manual Mode for exposure, it still seems like a good candidate.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
So basically you guys could tell me how to manually get my G7 X to perform more like my regular point and shoot? That would be excellent as the lens was obviously of a higher quality and if I could figure out how to work the thing it would be stellar. Is that what you advise me to do? Interesting to see you are in an Illinois Cornfield Ziggy, as I live in Macomb, IL of all places!
at any rate THANK YOU BOTH for taking time out of your day to help me. I would sincerely appreciate if you guys continued to help so I didn't feel so lost and without option. I know I said "blurry" when I should have stated out of focus, I just want a higher quality image than what my point and shoot can take, but all around in focus like my point and shoot takes....if that makes sense.
William Kramer
The User Guide in PDF for the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II is available at (Canon USA):
http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0300022708/01/psg7x-mk2-cu-en.pdf
In Windows, Right-Mouse-Click on the above link and SaveAs to a location on your computer.
A modern Mac mouse may also have a second mouse button to use for this function, or Ctrl-Mouse-Click on the link to save the file to your computer.
The above document has touchable tabs so also save the document to any modern phone-tablet device you might carry with you, so you have this reference with you in the field too.
In the User Guide, locate the "Tv, Av, Manual and C Mode" tab and open that chapter of the guide.
Scroll to page 101 to find the "Av" (Aperture Priority) and "M" (Manual) mode instructions.
"Av" simply means a semi-automated mode where you select the aperture and the camera tries to set an appropriate value for the duration of the exposure. In your case you need to select a small physical aperture, which means a larger aperture number. In the specific case of the G7 X Mk2 this means selecting a value of up to f11. (By all means do also try f5.6 and f8 as well as they may provide sufficient DOF (Depth Of Field) for many circumstances.*)
Many times this small aperture may mean that ambient/available light is insufficient, so you may need to add additional light, either from the built-in flash, an external flash or from additional light sources (like a table lamp or sunlight, for instance). The built-in flash is generally the worst looking of light sources, so I recommend an external flash with an appropriate flash modifier.
"M" mode means that "you" (the photographer) provide the settings for aperture (Av, Aperture Value), duration (Tv, Time Value) and sensitivity/ISO. Again, you should select a small aperture for greater/greatest DOF. I suggest setting the shutter speed to 1/125th, or close to that, to help control camera shake. Adjust ISO to whatever is appropriate for the situation and yields a satisfactory exposure and image. (Again, refer to page 101 of the User Guide for how to adjust the camera settings.)
*[Ideally, you should select the "correct" aperture which is generally the aperture which provides sufficient DOF for your needs, which is not necessarily the smallest aperture available. The problem is that overall sharpness/resolution and contrast may suffer at very small apertures (beyond the diffraction limit of the system).]
I also recommend that you make sure that the ND Filter (Neutral Density Filter) is turned off. I believe that this is the default case when the camera is in most of the creative modes, including Av and M modes, but it just takes a second to confirm it.
From page 81 of the user manual it shows how to check the ND Filter function.
Use the "Q/Set" button on the camera back and select the "ND Auto" function. Just make sure that "On" is Not selected.
In summary, I do think that the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II is capable of sufficient DOF for your needs indicated in the first post of this thread. Just use either Av or M mode on the camera, select a small aperture, (in M mode you will also set shutter speed and ISO, in Av mode you may need to set ISO as well), add an external flash and appropriate flash modifier, and you should be on your way to improved close-focus/macro photography.
With regards to an external flash, I don't have a similar camera to test so cannot provide a direct recommendation. I do have a Yongnuo YN568EX-II and it has the capability to be used as both a simple slave and a "digital" slave flash, so one of those modes may work in conjunction with the G7X Mk2 flash as the trigger flash. I do recommend setting the in-camera flash to -2 FEC (Flash Exposure Compensation). Page 96 of the User Guide describes adjusting FEC.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to explain this all to me. Thank you for everything thus far. I have pre-ordered the newer model and I am very excited to see what this thing can do. Hopefully you won't mind if I come back with a few questions when it arrives at the end of the month.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/canon-powershot-g7-x-mark-ii-20-1-megapixel-digital-camera/5015000.p?id=bb5015000&skuId=5015000
As of right now, let's say I have my "mode" for closeup trinkets set, is there a way to make another default mode that would be better suited for photographing uniform jackets? The tunics I take photos of differ in the sense that they are put in front of a backdrop with adequate lighting always and are large in size. So what would you recommend things be set to on the camera for objects like this? If I could have a setting that I use on the camera for different objects, that I could just switch to that would be really great and is that possible is what I'm asking - a way for the camera to save my preferences in different areas?
William Kramer
(maybe I could revert back to a previous setting that I use for extreme closeups and macro shots but without losing or having to change the overall settings used when photographing the larger objects like the tunic itself)
Is that possible?
Thank you once again for everything, really. This has been a tremendous amount of help and I am so glad I joined here.
William Kramer
If I understand you correctly you are using some sort of continuous lighting for the tunics and similar articles. If so, you may consider that as a type of "ambient" or "available" light. In that case (of continuous lighting) you might use Av mode and forego the flash.
Closeup and macro photography are closely related and, in general terms, can use very similar lighting strategies. Whatever mode and lighting works for other closeup and macro images should also work with the insignia because it's just a closeup image. Again, both Manual mode and Aperture Priority mode (Av mode, also known as Aperture value mode) allow you to choose the aperture opening which directly relates to DOF. The smaller the aperture opening (which is a larger aperture number), the greater the DOF.
Do experiment with the relative position of lights when you work with detail images. Shiny subject matter may be very much improved by the position of lights with respect to both the subject matter and the camera/lens.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums