Camera for up close coil pics...

[mujuru]

kit lens with extension tube, 25% cropped.



8mp is adequate for poster size... i do grand format at my print shop and that resolution works just fine.

Right on! I figured there was something going on if not a macro lens. I think i need to play with extension tubes one of these days.

and good to know on the 8mp from someone who knows... what do you think about the minimum res that Flickr uses: 2800x1700? what is that? less than 5mp-ish... pretty crappy at that res?

 

[dfranks04]

I'll add another picture of a non-macro lens that can be cropped and still look great. Not as much detail as if using my macro lens but also I don't desire to get 1" away from a bee. 8^) This was taken with my Canon EF 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM.

 

[Nate Rager]

Could I get the poster quality results using this camera? What other equipment would I need?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0007QKN22

 

[mujuru]

Could I get the poster quality results using this camera? What other equipment would I need?
Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black):Amazon:Camera & Photo

Oh man... how to answer this?... here's a stab: From a strictly Megapixel standpoint, base on SneakerPimps comments, 8mp is sufficient for your poster size prints. However, this will mean you need to get framing right in-camera and you will not have the option to crop... since you need the resolution. Notwithstanding, I certainly would NOT buy that camera for the listed price... you can get a LOT more camera than that for that $799 price tag.

All other things being equal, this would PROBABLY be a better choice for the money as far as the body... and given that its 18mp, you have some freedom to crop if needed..
Canon EOS Rebel T5i DSLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm 8595B003 B&H

With that said, if someone you know has an XT and you can play with it... DEFINITELY give it a go!

With all that said, some of the guys are doing interesting things in this thread: i.e. using extension tubes, magnifying glass, etc... to get the framing they want, etc. I think those are DEFINITELY worth investigating and looking into... I mean why spend $500-$1000 on a lens when you can get away with spending what? $20 on a large magnifying glass? (i have no idea their cost..lol..)... yes, the true macro lens will likely look best, pixel peeping or otherwise... BUT some of these methods might be "good enough" for what you want.. and only YOU can answer that. So my thought would be to play with these methods before spending the loot... you can always spend the loot later if you want/need. Unless of course, you just want to spend it... then by all means.. lol.

 

[mujuru]

And of course.. once your equipment/technique is sorted, you'll have to figure out a way to actually capture the photo you want to blow up. DripDaze touched on it: good lighting, sharp focus, etc. But that's all your personal preferences. After all, its going up in YOUR house, etc.. lol.

Hope it helps a little.. I know this thread got ME thinking of a few tricks to try out.

 

[Nate Rager]

Not sure which pricing you were looking at. I was looking at used from $209

 

[mujuru]

Not sure which pricing you were looking at. I was looking at used from $209

sorry... i looked at the New prices. Well... if you're going to go the used route, take the time to find a good deal (not that that isn't... i just dont know that it is). I know i picked up a brand new 40D back right when after the 50D came out... maybe around 2009ish... got that for $350 back then, which was a steal of a price.

 

[Hiding]

I'd probably lean towards something like this if starting out. It's got many of the extras you will need.
Tripod. Remote.

Canon EOS 1100D Red SLR Camera Body 7 Lens Kit 18 55 Is 32GB Flash More 013803136340 | eBay

 

[Nate Rager]

I'd probably lean towards something like this if starting out. It's got many of the extras you will need.
Tripod. Remote.

Canon EOS 1100D Red SLR Camera Body 7 Lens Kit 18 55 Is 32GB Flash More 013803136340 | eBay

With that camera would I still need another lense in order to achieve high resolution macro shots?

 

[Hiding]

imho, I think that with the lens's included and the macro filters you will get the image quality you are looking for.
Could you get better by buying a dedicated macro lens, absolutely.

But it's a great base, it's got enough extras to make it useful for a variety of purposes, not just taking pictures of your coils.
The tripod and remote are going to be a must for Macro shots.

I haven't dabbled in macro shooting since I was using a 5mp kodiak z740. So take my advice with grain of salt.

 

[rurwin]

You can always get that reversing ring, try that out, get used to it. Then once you find what it can't do, get the macro lens.

Just like recoiling an atty.

There's a chap on YouTube, he was on the sidebar of one of the links I posted, who takes stunning pictures of snowflakes 0.4mm across.
For that he uses a Canon macro zoom that starts at 1:1 and goes up to 1:5, and then he uses extension tubes as well. Then he takes 200 photos and stacks the dozen or so that have all the various bits in focus. Stunning pictures.

I haven't used a true SLR since before D but I've used macro tubes with that. It's fascinating, and a lot easier now you don't have to wait to get the pictures back from the pharmacy.

 

[coalyard]

Guess I'll push back 2 or 3 mods and get a decent camera if need be.

Depends on how far you want to go with it. Be warned, photography is $$$! I have a Canon t3i as a backup camera, and my main unit is a Canon 5D Mk2. I am selling that in June to get the newest Canon 5D MK3, about 3k for the camera body only, no lens. That will buy quite a few mods!

If you need something DSLR but less spendy, a Canon T3 could probably be had for 500<, and that comes with a 18-55mm kit lens, which is a good piece of glass not only for macro pics of coils, but for general picture taking as well.

Amazon.com: Canon EOS Rebel T3 12.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm IS II Lens and EOS HD Movie Mode (Black): Rosewill: Camera & Photo

Good luck!

 

[Choc_Addic]

$199 - factory refurbs + Free 2 Day shipping + tax.
90 day warranty

These have a killer sensor and lightning fast autofocus.

Silver
E-PM2 Silver 14-42mm 2R Silver (Reconditioned) - Reconditioned Cameras - Outlet | Olympus

White
E-PM2 White 14-42mm 2R Silver (Reconditioned) - Reconditioned Cameras - Outlet | Olympus

Red
E-PM2 Red 14-42mm 2R Silver (Reconditioned) - Reconditioned Cameras - Outlet | Olympus

Black
E-PM2 Black 14-42mm 2R Black (Reconditioned) - Reconditioned Cameras - Outlet | Olympus

Now you just need a good micro lens and good tripod for it.


Amazon: Amazon.com: Olympus E-PM2 Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Silver): OLYMPUS: Camera & Photo[/QUOTE]

 

[rurwin]

Regarding 4/3 cameras, I found this review rather telling: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RB0S...detail-glance&nodeID=560798&store=electronics

Auto-focus is a very big disadvantage for macro work. You would need to be able to disable it.

 

[Completely Average]

If you need something DSLR but less spendy, a Canon T3 could probably be had for 500<, and that comes with a 18-55mm kit lens, which is a good piece of glass not only for macro pics of coils, but for general picture taking as well.

Amazon.com: Canon EOS Rebel T3 12.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm IS II Lens and EOS HD Movie Mode (Black): Rosewill: Camera & Photo

Good luck!

That's a great starter camera that I can easily recommend. It's not going to give you the absolute most fantastic National Geographic quality pictures of the high dollar cameras, but it will give you results that you can be proud of.

These are a couple of examples of uncropped, unretouched, scaled jpg exports of some photos I took using my Canon T3 Rebel. Keep in mind that NOTHING has been done to clean these images up or crop them for better results, and a lot of the quality has been lost in the scaling and conversion to jpeg.

These were all taken with either the 18-55mm lens that came with the camera ($419 for camera kit on Amazon), or the Canon EF75-300mm telephoto lens (about $150).

 

[sneakerpimp]

... what do you think about the minimum res that Flickr uses: 2800x1700? what is that? less than 5mp-ish... pretty crappy at that res?

you can get away with 100dpi for hanging (ie viewing at 5’ away). most blown up work is at 150-200dpi. calculate your pixel dimensions based on those.

 

[rurwin]

I've always been tempted to get back into SLR, but digital cameras have always been just too expensive to justify. But I had a bad experience on holiday recently when my SX3400 ran out of battery (it uses primary cells) and I couldn't get any replacements that worked until the last day. It does take good pictures, (although looking at the pictures I've taken, I can see the jpeg artifacts,) its x34 optical zoom beats a DSLR into a cocked hat, and I know for a fact that I won't carry a DSLR around on the off-chance of a picture; it's just too big and heavy, especially with extra lenses. So I'll still use the SX3400.

This thread has pointed out that I can get back into macro for a price that I can just afford, and made me realise how much I miss it. So I think I will finally give in to temptation and in a couple of weeks I'll get a Canon 600D with a 100mm macro lens. I might as well throw in a set of extension tubes as well, just to be silly about it.

Canon 600D: £390
Canon 100mm macro: £419
Extension tubes: £30
Remote shutter release: £10

Total: £849

Now do I dare spend another £300 on a ring-flash...