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Comment by James Shackelford on June 18, 2011 at 14:05

Just for clarification, you can shoot handheld at no less than 1/60th of a second. With a tripod, you can shoot as slow as you want to. What would work great for you would be 1/100th of a second at f-11 with an ISO of 200 using the light box.

 

"Cut it into 3 equal squares being sure that once you put the three sides together leaving the front (where the 4th side would be if you were making a perfect box), open "being sure that it will be large enough on the inside to hold your stand and projects"

 

Comment by James Shackelford on June 18, 2011 at 13:57

Since you have shared your budget with us, I will tell you how to build a light box. It is so easy. Get some white high quality art board from a place such as any fine hobby store. Cut it into 3 equal squares being sure that once you put the three sides together leaving the front (where the 4th side would be if you were making a perfect box), open. Take any swing arm light and use a clear high powered bulb to shine inside the box. BE SURE THAT THE CARDBOARD IS WHITE ON THE INSIDE OF THE BOX !!!! This reflects the light evenly in the box. You can assemble your box with a sturdy duct tape. Play with your camera and your light using a variety of projects to find what distance from which color and what angle works best for you using the stand of your choice inside the box to hold your project. The key is getting the right exposure, using NO FLASH, just the light from the box. If you tell the camera shop what you are trying to do, he will show you how to use the P setting on your camera. Almost all the cameras have that nowdays. That will allow you to set the preferences you need (Hence, "P" Setting), to take great pictures with the right exposure every time. Use a tripod and shooting still life with a tri pod, you do not need to shoot above 1/100th of a second. Hand held, 1/60th, and always remember a human is not capable of being still for more than half a second. If many of you find this info valuable, yes I am considering starting a begining photography class. Give me some feedback. But it would not be this year, I have too much going as it is.

Comment by KENT GABLE on June 18, 2011 at 1:05

A "Big Thanks" to James, Andy, Carl & others for your suggestions on an inexpensive camera for doing some close up photography. I'll heed your advice & get an inexpensive camera in the 6-7 megapixel range. Years back, I used to do some halfway decent photography with a Nikon EM & a telephoto lens but those were for long distance outdoors & wild life shots. I'm trying to keep up with all this new hi-tech jazz but it's not easy for me.

Right now, I'm gonna have to wait a bit. After buying that new Randall Model 5 and being retired, just scraping up the bread for that Randall and all the other knives I've recently purchased has left me a little low on funds but some decent photos will come soon.

I can't tell y'all how much I appreciate your input. I never realized there were so many folks are out there who appreciate the craftsmanship & effort that goes into making a good knife? So many people just don't seem to understand why a person would collect knives in the first place, but then I could never understand why some people collect butterflies or other items? At least I use my Buck Stockman every day as a handy working tool and also necessary just to gain access into much of today's packaging.                        

I suppose a love of the outdoors, travel, fishing and/or hunting, taking photos of what we enjoy all come together along with something as basic a having a decent knife to use and rely on & also something that we all admire and that's "craftsmanship". For me, especially when it's American made craftsmanship which is unfortunately  becoming so rare these days. Not that I hold any prejudice against quality foreign made knives or other products but I have to admit that I like seeing that "Made in the USA" label on things I purchase and that too is becoming hard to find.

Once again, a big "thank you" to all of you and others that responded to my question on what I need to get in order to take decent close up photos.           

Comment by James Shackelford on June 17, 2011 at 17:47

As far as a camera goes for taking pictures of products you do not need an expensive camera. Actually for the pictures you want to take, you could get by with a disposable camera. Also, there is no such thing as a 1000 megapixel camera even for industrial use. Perhaps the government has one, perhaps they have something even stronger like a satelite camera that sees into your home... uh, as a matter of fact they do. But back to the point. What you pay for in a camera is speed. You can take a museum quality picture of a still life object using a wooden box with a slit in one end for the film, a hole in the other end for the subject, and a flap on the top to expose the film to light. As a matter of fact there is a man who travels the world showcasing his pictures and has even presented them at many colleges. He has shot with the same camera, (the wooden box), for more than fifty years. What pixels do is allow you to seperate them out more without distorting the image. In other words, you could shoot a picture of a bird far away, crop the bird out, and still be able to print a nice 8x10 close up of the bird with detail and no distortion. I imagine the furthest away you will be is 4 ft. Just fill the frame with the subject and use a light box so that you can easily see the object in detail without shadows. Happy shooting and be sure to look at my pictures. I am a photographer and have shot for a major international studio for two years. Finally got tired of being gone all the time. Guess it kind of reminded me of my days as a trucker hauling new cars on a transport truck. Take care and I hope this helped. Oh, I would like to add, you get what you pay for. A disposable or low, as in really cheap, camera probably will have no durability. If you would like it to be decent plan on spending a bill. If you spend 200, well you could get decent shots of almost anything you would like to capture. Best Buy has an awesome protection plan if you are like me and like to kayak with the camera on board. I would recomend 7 megapixels. You can even get professional shots with 7 megapixels. I shoot with Cannon, one is a 10 and the other is a 12 megapixel. But I also shoot at up to 100 yards away.... not feet. You do not need anymore than 3 for what you are wanting to do. But 7 allows you to do a lot more and you will be happy you invested the little extra it would cost.

Comment by Andy Voelkle "AxeMan" on June 16, 2011 at 1:05

My "old" camera now is a classic Sony CD Mavica which writes to a built in 2" CDR. It has all the close up, etc you might want. The real reason is "dark frame" shooting which takes an image with the lens closed a split second before the real exposure, and subtracts the dark frame from the photo. That way any error in the system is taken out. Techy and a bit old, it has its virtues. Also you can buy a stack of CDR's for 1% the cost of equivalent memory cards. Abroad a lot, I often mailed the CDs home.

 

My latest is a little Nikon Coolpix (less than $100 with a chip big enough for a vacation's photos), and it allows all the manmual techy stuff AND has automatic modes which are very effective. It's small, runs on 2xAA batteries good for a hundred flash photos.

Comment by Carl Newton on June 16, 2011 at 0:12

Hi Kent, I would recommend at least 6MP and one that will focus within several inches of subject. The more Meg pixels you have the more the picture can be enlarged and still look  good, not grainy. Many out there for under $100 should also have 4x plus digital zoom. and optical zoom, for viewing and enlarging,they all have other features but these are necessary.

Comment by KENT GABLE on June 1, 2011 at 19:58

Thank's Jan, I'm going to begin to do some research with this group. I'm amazed at all the info I'm learning from this website. I have a few antiques that I'm thinking of selling on eBay? Not sure I would want to part with any of my "precious knives" but who knows?

I'll keep you posted if I learn something that may be of interest to you. -Kent

Comment by Jan Carter on June 1, 2011 at 18:54

Kent,

I think 1000 sounds reasonable.  It is what mine has and if I can avoid the flashback they come out really good.  If you look at the group here called knife photography you may get a better idea.  I am going to try the box tecnique to avoid the flashback, if you have any suggestions when you get started let me know