What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Camera Suggestions

Anyone have any suggestions on a good camera bundle? I have been looking on amazon for some nice Camera bundle (camera memory card battery carrying case etc). I've been looking at cannon powershots. Looking to spenf between 200-400. I'm looking for some suggestiond of models of cameras that would be very good at take high megapixel pictures of my plants. I'd love to take nice zoomed in detail of my drosera tentacles for example. Any information would be wonderful.
Thanks,
Phake Mike
 
If you're considering a DSLR,
You will have more money invested in lenses than the camera in short order

IMHO, look more at the lenses you want...
Camera bodies get replaced from time to time as they become old/obsolete, but lenses you keep/use for many years/decades.
I have some vintage lenses that are 50+ yrs old that can take some amazing pics.

For quite a few years now I've bought factory refurbished bodies and have been very pleased. Only had to send one back for exchange.

Canon/Nikon/Pentax/Sony et. al., all have their fanboys/fangirls....
Sort of Chevy vs. Ford, no one answer is right and no one camera is for everyone

I do recommend B&H as the vendor of choice

just my 2 cents
 
Last edited:
I used a canon powershot sd1000 that had decent macro capabilities, but the newer (though still oldish) canon powershot a3300 IS consistently had problems with autofocus in macro. That experience was sufficiently frustrating for me to never trust canon again. YMMV. I've always been well satisfied with nikons, I had an ancient nikon coolpix 4500 that was awesome, and I'm also very pleased with my nikon low end but still pretty great d3200 dslr. I got that body with 2 lenses, sd card, and bag in a black friday bundle from amazon for just under $500. That's higher than your budget and you'd likely have to wait for a deal, but you could sell one of the lenses to end up pretty close to 400.

One key question is whether you want to be able to hold your camera 2 inches away from the subject. If so finding the right point and shoot will let you do that. With the default lens that came with my dslr, I'm probably a foot away from the subject, but I'm still filling a 24 mp frame with a small plant. Either way you can get nice tentacle shots. Most photographers think of getting 2 inches away from the subject for macro a problem, not a feature anyway, because then it's harder to light. I'm a nikon fanboy, no doubt, I'd say just go to target or whatever store, put a dime on the counter, try taking macros of it with the different models, and see what you think. You can get a lot of camera for 200$, but my bad experience with that canon suggests it's worth trying before you buy.
 
Canon/Nikon/Pentax/Sony et. al., all have their fanboys/fangirls....
Sort of Chevy vs. Ford, no one answer is right and no one camera is for everyone
While obviously true, if you go the DSLR route & someday think you might want to take crazy macro close-up pics, you've got to go w/ Canon as the most extreme close-up lens made is only in this mount - MP-E 65mm

If you go this route (or just want very high quality macro images), do some research of focus-stacking. The pics that can be done are amazing.
 
If $400 is your ceiling, I doubt you will get a very versatile kit for what you're willing to invest. There isn't a worthwhile macro-capable lens alone that I'd pay that little for to get what I want. Just saying.
 
Ron the MP-E 65mm is a nice lens, but why settle for 5x when really crazy magnification is within reach? Before buying canon, consider the gigapixel Zeiss Merlin. Gold coating the subject is kind of a hassle, but you never have to worry about available light. Plus, for 72 dpi web work, there's a fair amount of leeway to crop:

http://www.zeiss.com/microscopy/en_...electron-microscopes/merlin-life-science.html

I wonder how much RAM would be needed to stack 60 1024 MP uncompressed images...
 
If you live neat a costco their packages are pretty awesome. And they have a 90 day return policy. Try to find that anywhere else.
Also read over their business model. They claim to never charge more than a 15% markup. Their prices are very competitve.
 
If you live neat a costco their packages are pretty awesome. And they have a 90 day return policy. Try to find that anywhere else.
Also read over their business model. They claim to never charge more than a 15% markup. Their prices are very competitve.

One caveat: Some of these Costco packages are not all they seem to be. Case in point, a few years ago I bought one of the Nikon DSLR packages that included one of the D-series bodies and two zoom lenses. The body was standard issue for the model, but both lenses were crap. Utter junk. Barrel distortion, vignetting, low contrast, poor sharpness -- you name it, any flaw possible to build into a lens was represented in both of those pieces of glass. I was grateful I already had an excellent lens I could use. The other two got donated to a local thrift shop.

Just something you should consider.
 
  • #10
There is plenty of manual focus macro lenses, bellows, adapters and tubes that you can pickup for decent prices. The optics on many of these are superb. The saying goes no major lens manufacturer ever made a bad prime macro lens.

I suggest looking at Ernie Cooper's work. ECooper is his TF name. He posts regularly on TerraForums. He is using mostly manual focus era optics and bellows. The results speak for themselves.

Ernie's blog:
http://macrocritters.wordpress.com/
 
  • #11
The saying goes no major lens manufacturer ever made a bad prime macro lens.

true, that. Its when you get into zoom territory that things can get dicey. FWIW, I have a Nikkor 28-105 zoom,macro lens and I paid close to $1000 for it nearly ten years ago. It is a superb lens. You get what you pay for.

To the OP: Have you considered used equipment?
 
  • #12
prime lens + stacking extension tubes. results are decent.
 
  • #13
Ahhh - but I think it only comes in a Cannon mount also ... :0o: ... :-O

well played Ron, well played :) His Pinguicula shot is very fine indeed. And incidentally it's unclear to me whether that zeiss SEM is really capturing a Gigapixel or whether the 32kp x 32kp "option" is fake pixel software hokum. In any case, for me shooting stereo pairs of utricularia traps on a SEM made it seem like I was getting my money's worth at university. I don't always shoot close ups, but when I do, I prefer dos imagenes SEM.

Phake, you say you are thinking canon point and shoot, I'm sure that you can get satisfactory results with that route. I have a canon point and shoot that has consistently sucked for macro, not in a nitpicky way but just fundamentally, it sucks, it will not focus properly. Maybe it's a faulty sample, maybe it's the model, a different canon point and shoot model was fine. I still think the best advice is go try to shoot some dimes at the store, it will be informative. [And choose a nikon :)]
 
  • #14
I've got a canon point and shoot that takes awesome macros (for what it is), I've got another (newer) model that is meh.... not so hot
Ditto on Nikon, I had and older one (got dropped LOL) that took excellent macros (again, for what it was) replaced with a newer model that sort of sucked.

Much good advice from some very intelligent people... as you see, it's a passionate subject.

Like stated above, I've got Macro and Zoom lenses that cost more than your entire budget... good glass isn't cheap.
However, you can do well with a good prime lens and extension tube or a nice cult lens... but you got to do your homework.

If you think you might like cult lenses, Canon does have an advantage, more lens formats can be adapted.

Recently "mirrorless" cameras have become the rage, but I like a viewfinder... many times the LED screen is unusable due to ambient conditions.

I'm primarily a Canon owner... in your budget I would probably go this route before I bought a point and click: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/827671-REF/Canon_5157B015AA_EOS_Rebel_T3_Digital.html

Its a versatile entry level refurbished DSLR.... its a start
Caveat, that is based on my bias toward canon glass and vintage lens use
 
Last edited:
  • #16
  • #17
I've been looking at cannon powershots. Looking to spenf between 200-400.

I've had a Canon power shot in the past and it was my favorite little camera!

I think it's hard for anyone to say which is the best on the market now though. Even if they did all the research last year, it can be a different market already. Plus, what's important to one person might be of little importance to another.

I would look at reviews online and pick your top 3 choices. Then I'd do an online search compairing each model to each other. There are many people online who buy all the latest models and do a comparison of them all. Some reviews show picture examples as well as charts. It may take a lot of time to do your research but in the end you'll be confident in what you purchase. Stats and examples are always better than opinions ;)

Good luck! :)

Here's a place to get you started .....
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras
 
Last edited:
  • #18
Beyond the kidding around, as you can see from some of the links, if you want to do macro - you should seriously consider a DSLR. If you just want quick pics, stick with an iPhone camera.

The creative options that open up with a DSLR are incredible - like the previously-mentioned focus-stacking as well as time-lapse (& others).

Yes, you can get decent pics with a point-&-shoot (all of the pics in JB's Epiphytic Utric Growing Guide were done with one) but as you progress, you'll be more & more limited (& frustrated) - no manual focus, no depth-of-field settings, no shutter speed control, & on & on. Also - the smaller the subject, the more frustrated you'll be (ime).

Here are some examples of results you can get with manual focus prime lenses and extension tubes. Both of the lenses used were in their time either the budget lens or the next step up from the budget models. The Pentax 50mm f1.7 has an excellent reputation when used for macro work.

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/177-macro-photography/263045-my-favorite-macro-shots-so-far.html
Gotta love those macro shots! I especially like the jumper with the huge eyes & faux-hawk.
 
Last edited:
  • #19
my biggest problem is my head is always thinking SLR vs DSLR. never considered things like just change ISO settings.... cant do that in SLR. need to break my habits of thinking SLR and film
 
Back
Top