Need a camera recommendation for Hardware Review Pics

[wolf2009]

I am going to be shooting some hardware pics for reviews.

So please suggest me a camera. I don't need a high MP camera, since the pics to be published will be cropped anyway to a low size.

But what I would need is some way to customize the flash intensity and direction through a accessory or something.

Budget is pretty tight, like anything less than $150. Even $150 is stretching it.

I'm currently looking at http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8696155&type=product&id=1198888712074

Sony dsc-s750 for $90, and maybe I can add a flash accessory to it

 

[AVAdirect_Joe]

Anything with atleast a 2.0 MP rating will do just fine. It will also capture images at a pretty decent scale, so you will have room to crop what you need.

 

[Kuja]

You should hit up your local craigslist for a dslr. I got an Olympus e500 with two lenses for about $150. You could do worse.

 

[Woofer00]

Some people will kill me for this, but if it's just for the web and not printing, go find a cheap (like $75) point and shoot camera, since you're taking still images that aren't immensely detail-oriented. It should be easy to find.
Spend the rest on a decent white flood (yellow incandescent is piss poor) lamp, a roll of white paper for a clean background, and a tripod to keep yourself steady. If no tripod, hit up instructables for DIY tripod alternatives that are really simple, like a bolt on a 2x4, or steadied by a washer and string, etc

 

[Derrict]

If you're doing product shots, most current P&S cameras are capable but where the quality will come from is lighting. You'll want to build a soft box to diffuse your light. Some will use work stand lights. To diffuse the lights, you can use tissue paper, white paper, cloth sheets, etc.

 

[dwilson041781]

If you're doing product shots, most current P&S cameras are capable but where the quality will come from is lighting. You'll want to build a soft box to diffuse your light. Some will use work stand lights. To diffuse the lights, you can use tissue paper, white paper, cloth sheets, etc.

Interesting, I did not know, thx.

 

[mutti_wilson]

Check out the first 3 pics in the link below. Simple lightbox I came up with. Make sure the bulbs you use (i used CFL's) have a bright output and 4000k-5000k temperature. Preset the White Balance on the paper, use a tripod and things will turn out.

http://mwcreative.net/uploads/

 

[The_Engineer]

You should hit up your local craigslist for a dslr. I got an Olympus e500 with two lenses for about $150. You could do worse.

thats a great option... probably the best one especially if one of the lenses is a macro lens.

What the other folks are saying about lighting is absolutley true. A good macro lens on a DSLR can make some impressive shots though.

The other thing I just saw today (in the P&S line) was a canon A590IS on amazon for 110.00 Way more camera than is needed but at the right price

 

[guney]

If you're doing product shots, most current P&S cameras are capable but where the quality will come from is lighting. You'll want to build a soft box to diffuse your light. Some will use work stand lights. To diffuse the lights, you can use tissue paper, white paper, cloth sheets, etc.

I agree with this advice wholeheartedly!And I, too, would claim that, since you seem to be implying that you'll need images of only a few thousand pixels in size, any camera produced in the last decade that provides decent color and contrast would do. (In other words, don't even look at megapixel counts.)

One minor thing I'd point out, though: You mentioned "cropping" the images to a smaller size. If that's really what you intend to do, then the "per-pixel" image quality is still an issue for you, and a lot of current point-and-shoot cameras are a bit noisy at the pixel level. However, I hope what you really meant is "scale" to a smaller size, in which case any such slight imperfections will be completely hidden, and even the cheapest digicam would produce excellent results.