Dedicated Camera for Copying
January 4, 2006 10:29 AM Subscribe
What is a good digital camera for doing close focus (not real macro) photos? I used to use a Sony Mavica that was outstanding at doing close focus photographs and also unintentionally created an image file file that was optimized for a laser B&W printer. These laser prints were gorgeous. The Mavica has gone the way of all Mavicas and has been tossed because of floppy drive failure. This is to be used in a home brew document copier and does not need to be one of the new high megapixle units. Color reproduction is not a major concern. It needs to be able to save a file as a TIFF for OCR conversion and have filter threads on the lens for mounting on the copier. The camera would also be much easier to use with a remote cable. Direct USB connection to a computer would be very useful. I use a Minolta A2 whose macro capabilities are dismal. (Have I been spoiled by the Mavica?) Any recommendations and suggestions?
Response by poster: I am copying old and fragile bound documents that cannot be opened wide enough to use a regular flatbed.
posted by Raybun at 10:40 AM on January 4, 2006
posted by Raybun at 10:40 AM on January 4, 2006
Are you looking for something like a document camera?
posted by designbot at 10:40 AM on January 4, 2006
posted by designbot at 10:40 AM on January 4, 2006
Response by poster: A document camera would damage the bound documents. I am building a copier that will allow the bound documents to be only partially opened when being photographed.
posted by Raybun at 10:46 AM on January 4, 2006
posted by Raybun at 10:46 AM on January 4, 2006
Get a Nikon Coolpix 990 or 995. Their macro capabilities are truly sobering. The lens is threaded (23mm, I think) and I'm sure I've seen a remote release for it.
posted by bshort at 10:53 AM on January 4, 2006
posted by bshort at 10:53 AM on January 4, 2006
I see. So you're looking specifically for a digital SLR. I think any of the current models would probably do pretty well; a lot depends on your budget. You might be able to get more specific recommendations from some of the people doing document photography in the comments here or here.
posted by designbot at 10:54 AM on January 4, 2006
posted by designbot at 10:54 AM on January 4, 2006
the features that you want are on my Canon S400 deck-of-cards-sized ultracompact camera.
I believe that the Canon S500 (5Mpx) is still in production, as is the Canon S410 (4 Mpx). Better check DP Review for more details
I've taken photos of maps, of pages out of books - and was able to post-process these without difficulty.
posted by seawallrunner at 10:54 AM on January 4, 2006
I believe that the Canon S500 (5Mpx) is still in production, as is the Canon S410 (4 Mpx). Better check DP Review for more details
I've taken photos of maps, of pages out of books - and was able to post-process these without difficulty.
posted by seawallrunner at 10:54 AM on January 4, 2006
I have a S400 (very similar to the S410 seawallrunner mentions). It does a good job photographing documents, however it doesn't have a threaded lens and it doesn't do TIFF output.
I think though that you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a suitable camera. Most can focus much closer than you'd need for shooting an entire document. Most will have higher resolution than the Macvia. Many will be controllable via USB using vendor provided software and I've come across opensource image acquistion packages that work with a variety of cameras. Fewer will support TIFF output these days, since TIFF support is being superceded by RAW (which can be post-processed to TIFF) and many point and shoots (like my S400) only do JPEG.
You might also have a good chance of finding a used camera in good condition that meets all your specs.
I second the suggestion of using DPreview as a resource. I think most or not all of the info you need to make a selection is available in their summary grids, though unfortunately the only one of your criteria you can filter on is the presence of an uncompressed file format.
posted by Good Brain at 11:14 AM on January 4, 2006
I think though that you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a suitable camera. Most can focus much closer than you'd need for shooting an entire document. Most will have higher resolution than the Macvia. Many will be controllable via USB using vendor provided software and I've come across opensource image acquistion packages that work with a variety of cameras. Fewer will support TIFF output these days, since TIFF support is being superceded by RAW (which can be post-processed to TIFF) and many point and shoots (like my S400) only do JPEG.
You might also have a good chance of finding a used camera in good condition that meets all your specs.
I second the suggestion of using DPreview as a resource. I think most or not all of the info you need to make a selection is available in their summary grids, though unfortunately the only one of your criteria you can filter on is the presence of an uncompressed file format.
posted by Good Brain at 11:14 AM on January 4, 2006
Look for a used Sony DSC-S75 or S-85. Threaded lens, saves TIFFs, exceptional image quality (really fast too - F/2 fixed across the zoom range), great near-macro performance. I love mine, even though it is almost 4 (5?) years old.
That said, there are probably lots of cameras out there that meet these criteria, like good brain says.
posted by misterbrandt at 12:00 PM on January 4, 2006
That said, there are probably lots of cameras out there that meet these criteria, like good brain says.
posted by misterbrandt at 12:00 PM on January 4, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by designbot at 10:37 AM on January 4, 2006