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Looking for a new Camera

Any suggestions on what new camera I should buy. Mine doesn't seem to take good close ups of my knives. I have a Canon Powershot A720IS - 8 MP and 6x zoom. Its been a good camera for the past 4 years but its getting slow taking the shot, even with new batteries. It also does not take good pics - like ball games or graduations - they turn out dark. We are not to up on cameras and wonder if anyone has a good suggestion on an upgrade that will take care of the above problems??

Thanks.

Tags: 18, A720IS, Canon, Cool, DMC-FZ, Lumix, Nikon, Panasonic, Pix, Powershot

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on July 1, 2013 at 18:45

Ken,

We just bought a Nikon Cool Pics. Great Camera but what takes the best knife shots is my Samsung Galaxy Tablet

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Permalink Reply by Steve Scheuerman (Manx) on July 1, 2013 at 18:53

I've always liked Nikon...I have the D80, and the wife and son both have the D40's. Semi-pro, but great cameras. Had them for years. Great shots and lots of versatility.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on July 1, 2013 at 19:55

I bought the Nikon Cool Pix as well and if you look at just my last few pictures like the Colt and the Queen, maybe even the Colonial Quick Flip I think when you see the difference with the older pics you will be amazed . I have to retake a lot of pictures!

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Permalink Reply by Jess Cobb on July 1, 2013 at 21:28

Hey Ken,

I would suggest any of the name brand cameras (personally I use Canon). I would go to walmart online and get one in your price range with the features you want. Or go to the store and pick them up and see what feels best to you.

If you want to take close up shots you need a "Macro" setting, which on most cameras is indicated with a flower. Also the biggest key to close up shots is light. If you can position the knife in front of a window to get natural light.

You can always google Macro Photography and study up a little bit.

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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by M. Carpenter on July 2, 2013 at 1:51

If you are looking at precision photographs in a light tent in the UK you can buy a light tent with three colour balanced lamps with stands for under say 150 dollars. That's a start then I use a Pentax Optio which will take photographs right down to almost microscope level. It does not have the protruding lenses. The final thing might be a camera tripod with an arm which extends over the knife - they are very cheap. You can see some of the pictures on http://www.sheffield-gb.com

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FeaturedPermalink Reply by Craig Henry on July 2, 2013 at 16:55

I use a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ 18 with Leica lens. I love it. Easy to use. Very intuitive. 18X Zoom, 28mm wide angle. Good Macro. And it has tons of SLR type controls IF you want to use them. I mostly don't. LOL!

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on July 2, 2013 at 18:32

I will address point & shoot cameras .. as they are more affordable.

Jess Cobb correctly identified the macro function as providing the close-up feature you describe. Some go as close as 1 cm. Some issues to be aware of relative to macro & super macro features .. the ability/inability to focus on the desired surface or object .. distortion around the edges .. fish-eye effect.

The low light issue could be addressed by going for the fastest lens you can afford. The lower the f-stop .. the wider the aperture. i.e. more light gets through the lens to the sensor .. therefore, one can take a better pic in lower light conditions.

Most point & shoot cameras sport lenses w/ F3.5 & above. This is not so great. Some of the newer cameras designed to go underwater (10~12 m) have lenses w/ lower F-stops in support of the low light conditions experienced under water. The lower the F-stop .. the less light required to obtain a given picture. Buy the lowest F-stop you can afford.

I have owned two different Nikon Coolpix cameras and was quite satisfied w/ both. I purchased a third for my daughter.

I currently own the Olympus TG-1.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on July 2, 2013 at 19:21

I sure appreciate the suggestions, I would say nobody knows better than you who have a good one. I will take notes before we go Camera hunting.

Thanks again.

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FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on July 4, 2013 at 7:29

I just ordered a Nikon D3000. It is a SLR type camera. It comes with two lenses and is 14 megapixel. The main feature I wanted in a new camera is the ability to snap repeated pictures without waiting for the camera to focus (to get better pictures of my grandson. Hard to get him to hold still.) It can take 3 frames per second. But I should be able to get better pictures of my knives too.