Food photography camera
April 12, 2004 2:05 PM Subscribe
Looking for a new digital camera for food photography.
I recently lost my Pentax Optio S... I left it at a restaurant, and when I got back a half hour later it was already gone. I suspect a waiter or busboy probably just kept it, but that's another story... I'm now looking for a replacement. The majority of my photos are food pictures for my site. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for good food cameras, if such a thing exists... Looking for something that works well in low lighting, and has very good macro focus. Portability is of course a plus. If I don't find anything, I guess I may just end up getting another Optio S (or maybe the new one?).
I recently lost my Pentax Optio S... I left it at a restaurant, and when I got back a half hour later it was already gone. I suspect a waiter or busboy probably just kept it, but that's another story... I'm now looking for a replacement. The majority of my photos are food pictures for my site. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for good food cameras, if such a thing exists... Looking for something that works well in low lighting, and has very good macro focus. Portability is of course a plus. If I don't find anything, I guess I may just end up getting another Optio S (or maybe the new one?).
Response by poster: I'd like to keep it under 300 or 400.
posted by swank6 at 5:54 PM on April 12, 2004
posted by swank6 at 5:54 PM on April 12, 2004
So you want good low-light performance, good macro focus, and I'll assume you'd like something small like your old Optio S.
For the first two, one thing you should really look for is an autofocus assist lamp. It shines a light on the scene to help it focus (the camera can't tell if things look sharp if it can't see too well).
Two cameras I would recommend are the Canon Powershot S410 and the Powershot SD110. The latter is smaller, 3 megapixel instead of 4, and uses SD instead of CF cards. The S410 isn't too much larger, though, and it will take higher quality photos. They both have an autofocus assist lamp.
The S410 is a slightly updated S400, and same for the SD110 vs the SD100; in case you want to look around for reviews, almost everything in a review will apply to both models of a pair.
S400 review, SD100 review, both with macro test images and comments on low-light performance.
If you want to go a bit further with your photos, you could get a small tabletop tripod (if you don't have one already). The S410 lets you adjust the shutter speed up to (down to?) 15 seconds, which would really let you take some nice low-light shots.
Oh, and the S410 can be had for $350, while the SD110 is $270.
posted by whatnotever at 7:52 PM on April 12, 2004
For the first two, one thing you should really look for is an autofocus assist lamp. It shines a light on the scene to help it focus (the camera can't tell if things look sharp if it can't see too well).
Two cameras I would recommend are the Canon Powershot S410 and the Powershot SD110. The latter is smaller, 3 megapixel instead of 4, and uses SD instead of CF cards. The S410 isn't too much larger, though, and it will take higher quality photos. They both have an autofocus assist lamp.
The S410 is a slightly updated S400, and same for the SD110 vs the SD100; in case you want to look around for reviews, almost everything in a review will apply to both models of a pair.
S400 review, SD100 review, both with macro test images and comments on low-light performance.
If you want to go a bit further with your photos, you could get a small tabletop tripod (if you don't have one already). The S410 lets you adjust the shutter speed up to (down to?) 15 seconds, which would really let you take some nice low-light shots.
Oh, and the S410 can be had for $350, while the SD110 is $270.
posted by whatnotever at 7:52 PM on April 12, 2004
Response by poster: Thanks for the help. It appears that the autofocus assist lamp is a feature I need that was missing from my Pentax... I do remember several times where it was too dark to focus on a picture. The S410 looks nice, but I don't see why they use CF over SD... (I only care really because my laptop has a built-in SD reader, but not a CF one).
posted by swank6 at 8:14 PM on April 12, 2004
posted by swank6 at 8:14 PM on April 12, 2004
The newest Nikons use SD, and some (Coolpix 3700, 4200) have autofocus assist lamps. The Coolpix 3700 is pretty small (though still bigger than the S410 and the rest), nice construction, $300ish. I'd choose the S410, but in the end, the convenience of SD might be worth more to you than a slight gain in image quality and control.
One more thing to think about is white-balance control, because you'll be shooting under all sorts of different lighting. The Canons and Nikons all have manual white balance (as does the Optio, apparently).
posted by whatnotever at 10:06 PM on April 12, 2004
One more thing to think about is white-balance control, because you'll be shooting under all sorts of different lighting. The Canons and Nikons all have manual white balance (as does the Optio, apparently).
posted by whatnotever at 10:06 PM on April 12, 2004
While on topic, my food photos come out horribly. Can anyone give me tips on taking digital photos that will make food photos appear yummy?
posted by madman at 2:50 AM on April 13, 2004
posted by madman at 2:50 AM on April 13, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mcwetboy at 2:12 PM on April 12, 2004