Camera Recommendations

[SasperryDesigns]

My camera's lense stopped extending about a month ago and after much mourning and tinkering, I have come to realize that it is time for it to RIP. It was a Fujifilm point and shoot, about 5 years old, 8 megapixels and 5x zoom. I loved it, It did what I wanted. No issues.

Anyway, so I bought a new Fujifilm. 12 megapixels, 8x zoom. You think it would be better, but I hate the thing! After playing with every possible setting and flipping through the manuel, it still won't pick up the colors in my work properly. It is getting returned and I am looking for a camera around the 100.00 dollar mark, as that is what my current budget allows.

Any one have any good recommendations?

[EleanorsVintage]

Sorry, I don't, am just bumping this back up.
Good luck, Sarah!

[Former_Member]

I have a Canon SX120IS - they run a little over a $100 at Sam's, I think - and the current model is a 150, if I remember right. Canon's have great lenses - I adore my camera. I've been using it for three years now with no problems at all. I had a Fuji before that, and I liked it a lot, but not as much as I like my Canon. It's worth the extra bit of money to go with it.

[Former_Member]

Honestly, my iPhone 5's camera is about as good as my point and shoot. Although, it is $250 with an upgrade. So I guess if you don't already have one, it's out of the budget.

My point and shoot is a Canon Powershot, but I don't use it unless I have to. And I think even that camera was $200 new. I use a Nikon D3000 for most of my product photos. It's my mom's but she never uses it! So for now, I borrow that. I know you can get decent used DSLRs for around $300-$400. It's worth the money.

[Former_Member]

Ugh. I feel your pain. I had a FujiFilm several years ago that I loved, and I thought I would be happy with another one, so I bought a FinePIx S2940 (14mp/18x) It takes great pictures but the colors are not true, especially oranges and reds, and it's so important for product photography to have accurate color representation.
I can't make any specific suggestions but I will say this about Nikons in your price range - they aren't worth it in my opinion. Every Nikon I've bought has has some sort of mechanical problem with the motor that drives the lens, and while their customer service/repair centers are fast and friendly, I'd rather buy a product that doesn't need to sent in for repairs every three months.
Good luck in your search!

[Former_Member]

This thread might be helpful:
http://www.etsy.com/teams/7435/diy-product-photography-how-to-hacks/discuss/10359391/page/1

I have a Canon DSLR and Lumix point and shoot. I have had a Nikon CoolPix and a Canon Elph in the past. I have liked all four. I do think it worth paying to get a camera with a good lens.

I found that for me what really made a difference was actually reading my owner’s manual and some tutorials to learn to use the white balance settings (for shooting in the light box) and the lens settings.

[Squintphotography]

Sarah, do you own any photo editing software? It sounds like it's a matter of a white balance setting.

Will your camera let you adjust that? If so, and you're shooting under a lamp lgiht, try setting to incandescent. If you're using a flash, that affects the color too. Try using natural light, if possible and then make some color correction in the computer. It's pretty easy. Especially if you use a white background. With most programs you can "pick" the white background to make sure it renders true white and all the other colors will pop into place.

Hope that makes sense...or is something you already know! :)
Just trying to help ya!

[Former_Member]

did read whole thing... sorry dont mind me

[Former_Member]

I am not sure how much you want to spend but I love my Cannon rebel T3i. I have a small cannon powershot too that was 90 bucks. It takes pretty decent photos.

[LLFarm]

Me too...I have a Canon Power Shot A620 and it works pretty good for the price of it, I think it was around $100. It sure does take a beating and works fine.

[Former_Member]

The best point and shoot camera I've ever had is my Canon s90. Its an older model now, they are onto the s100 so you can find the s90 used for under 150 (originally 400)

This camera is amazing. Clear shots, lots of different options for controlling the settings while you take the picture. Captures color beautifully and you can set it for different light sources. I can't say enough good things about this camera. The only downside is that it's a bit larger than most point and shoot cameras.

[SasperryDesigns]

Thank you so much everyone :) This is all really helpful

[Former_Member]

I have a nikon now. I do miss my simple ole pink panasonic camera that i had a while ago.

[Former_Member]

I use a Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi, and I love it. No complaints. But it's pretty far out of your price range. I would go for a Canon though. Despite their popularity, I've heard bad things about Nikons, so I wouldn't go for that. Canon has some pretty good non-point and shoot cameras for like $250 that are pretty good, check those out. Really, it's worth it to pay the extra bucks for a good camera; it makes life so much easier.