Camera info for pics???

S

sixgun

Joined
Mar 8, 2001
Messages
46
Don't know if this is the right place for this question, but seemed like a good place to start.
Can you guys tell a newbie what is a good camera for taking and posting knife pictures? I have a good 35mm camera but no digital. Is one better than the other? Can one use a 35mm? Does one need special software? How about extra memory in your computer? Do scanners work well? I know I have allot of questions, however I would like to post pics both to share them with fellow knife folks as well as maybe sell/trade and I know most people like to see pics. Any help would be appreciated, I did some search, but to no avail.
Thanks Jim
 
I use a 30-year old Pentax Spotmatic 35mm, fully manual. From a camera standpoint, knife photography isn't especially demanding. In fact, it's so simple that today's intelligent automatics with all of their features often screw it up.

The hard part is getting from 35mm film to digital. Many developing places will do that for you giving you a CD ROM for only a minor extra fee.

I have a Minolta Dimage Scan Dual film scanner that actually scans the 35mm negative at 3500 dpi. It's really nice.

If you're going to buy a new camera, look for :

  • Macro Focusing capability. Most knives are fairly small and they have details like tang stamps and lock mechanisms that are very small.
  • Manual control of exposure. Knives usually don't move very quickly, so shutter speed (and digital cameras still have a shutter) isn't important. But, depth of focus is. So, if you increase your f-stop to get better depth of focus, you need to lower your shutter speed. Manual control of those settings is important.
  • A tripod mount. Some of the newer digitals lack this. Slow exposures require it.
  • Either a self-timer or a cable-release socket. Slow exposures require that you not be handling the camera when the shutter is released.
  • SLR contruction where you view through the same lense used to take the picture. For close-up work, a separate view finder doesn't work. Digitals with an LCD display are great.
  • For digitals, the more resolution, the better. You can always make the file smaller.
    [/list=a]



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    Chuck
    Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
    http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
The biggest advantage for a digital camera is that you can see the results immediately & there is no film to process. If the shot is bad, you can just delete it. You can readily download the image to the computer.

I finally broke down & will be getting my Nikon 880 digital camera tomorrow. After comparing printouts from cameras made by several manufacturers, I was blown away with the sharpnest of the printout from the Nikon 880. The camera was more than what I wanted to pay but the sharpnest of the images made my decision. The Nikon 880 has a 3.3 Megapixel resolution.

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Ed Woo
 
Thanks Chuck and Ed for your info. Ed I'll check out your knife pics wiyh your new camera. By the way Ed, what special software will you need for your new camera?
Thanks again Jim
 
Your 35mm should do fine for photographing your knives assuming it is able to focus well enough on the little details like the logo and such. All you would need then is a fairly inexpensive scanner to scan your pics on the computer. You can also get a fairly inexpensive digital camera, just make sure it has the macro ability. Most scanners and digi-cams come with adobe photodeluxe or something similar. That is a fairly easy to use software pakage that you can use for various effects and enhancements for your pics. More important than your equipment is your method. Proper lighting and set-up, and lots of practice. The most expensive camera in the world wont do you any good if your method is all wrong and you dont practice. So be prepared to put in a little time and you will be posting some really nice pics soon.



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Richard Todd - Digital knife photography
icq 61363141
My WebSite
Do your site a favor, get quality digital images!!!
New photos added!!!
 
If you have a good 35mm camera with some Close-up filters, some slide film and a very good scanner you're all set. Plus if you ever want to get prints done the 35mm slide will be far better than any digicam.

But, if you have a good scanner you may just want to skip the whole camera business. Until I get a better scanner that's what I've been doing and the results seems to be pretty good.

View

Umax scanner and Adobe PhotoDeluxe image editing software.

There's more than one way to skin a cat.
wink.gif


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"Will work 4 Knives!"
My PhotoPoint Site
 
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