doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cameras for gun photos

Need suggestions for good digital camera that is easy to use for taking good quality firearms photos for posting and internet sales.

Budget?

I think a tripod is more important for close-ups.
Any good digital camera will work.

I use a tripod. There are so mnay out there, its hard to know. I have had several Olympus digital cameras. 3.2 and then 5.0 MP. For whatever reason they dont take the photos I want and every one who uses a Nikon or Canon seems to have better color and imagaes.
i guess under 500.00 as a budget.

I suggest you look at a camera with vibration reduction. I am told, and I have read, that it makes a tripod obsolete.

Not talking from experience. All my photos are with an old Fuji set on a tripod, using natural light as much as possible.

Curl

A few makers of digital cameras incorporate an "anti shake" device or something called similar. Panasonic is one. I find that this device "helps" get clear photos in macro, as well as telephoto mode without using a tripod. A tripod may improve them some, but my camera with this feature seems superior to others I have had.

I think most of the newer digitals will do the job. The anti-shake technology may improve the picture but I put my faith always in a tripod. My "old" Olympus c-720 3.2 meets quality standards for all my purposes, snaps and publications. I was told by a Japanese software engineer in Paris last year Olympus has the biggest share of the medical optical field.

Hello,

I use a Nikon 5700, and I am very happy with it.

Brian, To give yourself the most flexibility, try and move to the SLR style digital. These are the type that usually have replaceable lens capability, manual and autofocus, and a hotshoe for a seperate flash unit. An entry level Canon Digital Rebel would meet these requirements. These are some important aspects of firearm photos that should be addressed: Note: If you are making any attempt at decent photos, a tripod is a must. A SLR camera gives you the ability to view and compose through the viewfinder and to postview on the digital screen. The viewfinder is capable of more precise focus especially with closeup compositions. A small zoom lens ie: 25-105mm range will cover most of your needs. A closeup lens[that being a screw on style like a filter] will be helpful in tight closeups of sideplate engraving etc. The hotshoe attachment is important as you need the ability to mount a seperate flash unit and direct it to bounce your flash and diffuse the light. Brian, there are lots of online purchase possibilities for stretching your dollar. Get the best gear you can as I think a photo that is well lit, properly composed, will outsell the opposite. I will e-mail a couple gun photos that shows the concept I'm trying to describe. Randy

While I certainly value my 3 tripods, I don't use them very often on quick gun pics I post here. I've had excellent results with a couple point n shoot digitals. One is a few year old Konica Minolta Z2 and the other is a Pentax WP pocket sized waterproof camera. The Z2 is probably the better of the two in terms of quality and ease of use. I also have a Nikon D50 with a selection of lenses including a 60mm MicroNikkor.

No matter the camera you choose, and there are many good ones for your task, lighting will play the biggest factor in your pics. You can choose to use studio type lighting (whether makeshift or pro stuff) or use a TTL remote capable flash using bounce and other 'tricks'.