Recommendations for a digital camera?
 

Does anyone out there use a digital camera to photograph their models?

I'd like to buy one that would let me use its output as the sole reference for my paintings. Therefore it would have to have enough resolution to be very crisp when output at about 8x10 inches on my printer.

I'd also like a digital camera that has a good size flip out screen so I could see details in each shot to determine if the lighting/expression etc were useable for a painting. I don't like waiting a day or so for film to be processed, only to find out that the subjects eyes are squinty from the lighting or that the shadows are too dark, for example. I'd like to see what I shot while I'm still on site, so I can make addjustments rather than schedule a second photo session. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

I use the Olympus 2000Z and I love it. It has a 2.5 megapixel and high resolution. However, the Olympus has improved since that came out, and their newer ones are worth considering. The Olympus C-3040 Zoom Digital Camera has 3.34 megapixel and a maximum resolution of 2048x1536. These figures are higher then my camera and right now I am getting 8x10 photos that look great. Plus the digital cameras take great photos in existing light. (The Olympus C-3040 Zoom Digital Camera has lots of other excellent features that I won't go into)

www.cnet.com is great for getting camera info and reviews and they recommend sites to go to for buying.

www.computers4sure.com is an excellent website for getting info and purchasing at a good price. I've purchased through them a few times and had no problems.

www.ofoto.com is the best place I've found for getting top quality prints of your photos. They are a division of amazon.com

Mary Reilly

Digital Camera
 

The Sony Mavica 1000 is an excellent camera. I used it for the first time for a commissioned portrait. It was nice to take the photos at different angles and lighting, have the sitter decide which pose she liked best in conjunction with what I liked. We then took more photos of that chosen pose and lighting.
The camera was hooked up to a 13"TV while taking the photos. She then sat for me for 2 hours in that pose, and I am finishing the portrait with those digital images. It was easy and fast.


Daniel Arredondo

PS It has the capacity to take 2.1megapixel images but I use the lowest resolution, that is all that is needed unless using the photos for a portfolio.

Digital camera and Adobe Photoshop
 

Michelle,

I am currently using the HP200c digital camera. I can shoot a photo of my painting in my studio and have it up on my website in three minutes. I use adobe 2.0 to edit my photos (trim and resize) and adobe 5.5 LE to try out new compositions and colors when creating a new painting. I intend to upgrade eventually to a better camera ( thanks Mary and Daniel for your suggestions) but all my photos on my website were shot with the HP200c: http://www.LongIslandFineArt.com

E-Bay is currently selling this camera for around $150, the best price I have seen. It originally retailed for $300. Btw, I recently saw photos printed off the computer using the
HP1000 colorsmart printer (possibly my next purchase) although the HP1280 is supposed to be even better. Looked just like prints! Hope this helps.

Renee

Digital cameras
 

I switched to a digital camera because I had an expereince where I shot three rolls of film, and the client was not happy with any of them. I use a sony DSC-s70 cyber-shot.

It has a resolution of 3.3megapixels. Along with some fantastic inbuilt editing and manipulation devises such as rotating, zoom and edit, shooting in black and white, it also gives you amazing control over things like depth of field and aperture enabling you to take the right shots you want.

The major benefit for me is that you can view what you have shot then and there and if the client isn't happy you can delete the lot and start again.

This camera can also be hooked up to the television which enables you to see the images on a bigger screen and both you and the client can view and decide on a photo reference on the spot.
Once I have selected an appropriate reference I burn the image onto a CD and take it to my local photo lab and have it printed to 18x12.5 inches.
At this sixe I lose no photo quality.

I specialise in childrens portraiture, so I find my digital camera an invaluable resource - I love it!!!!!!!!!

I like the Nikon Coolpix 950 or 990. It has manual and automatic exposures. The great thing about it is that the screen on it swivals so you don't have to bend all the way down to take low shots. One tip is to use Photoshop and select grid on the photo image, create the same grid on your canvas and draw away.

Steve

Olympus C-700 Ultra Zoom
 

Michelle, Saturday I spent an hour with the owner of a large camera store who specializes in studio lighting. I bought the 40" photographic umbrella, 250 watt tungsten bulbs, 160T portrait film and the umbrella has an attachment to place a fill light in on my light stands.

While I was there he showed me the Olympus c-700 digital camera. It retails at $600. It has a 27x digital zoom and 10x optical zoom!! He said it's , in his opinion, the best digital on the market. So, I thought well, okay I'll save up for it.

Last night while browsing the digital cameras on E-Bay, who do you think was in the final 4 minutes of auctioning off the same camera? The store's competitor ( two blocks away from each other). I know how reputable the store doing the auction is and so I placed a bid with 2 minutes to go and won the camera! I got it for $100. less than retail plus I can even pick it up- no shipping. I know the store will always back up the sale, since I have had great dealings with them in the past. One camera down and a new printer to go. It's going to be the epson 1280.

Renee

A terrific painter friend of mine, Morgan Weistling

http://www.morganweistling.com

talked me into getting a Nikon Coolpix 995. It was the best thing I've ever done. The images are much better than any film I've ever seen. Colors are true and you can see details in the darks.

Nikon is coming out with an improved version, the Nikon Coolpix 5000. Check this wonderful digital camera site to read all about it and others.

http://www.dpreview.com

Bill

Tripod with digital camera
 

Dear Bill Whitaker:

I just attached the 950 Nikon digital camera to my tripod (Velbon 9000 from Wal-Mart - about $40.00). Marvelous! Thanks so much. I did not know I could do this.

You're going to get some very crisp images of your paintings now.

Bill

I have an Olympus C-3040Zoom. It is a 3.34 Mega Pixel camera with a Zeis Optical Lens. Great camera, wonderful camera! Got it online for about $560. With a 128mb memory card I can take 168 shots at regular compression, 55 at low compression, and 8 non-compressed Tiff pics.

Highly Recommended...

The following comments were posted as part of the scanning thread but apply here as well.

My paintings are all on slides that look pretty good but prints from those slides and scans from those prints are less then satisfactory. Based on some of William Whitaker's comment's I am going to try shooting new work with my digital camera and print from those files.

Previously I had access to a Nikon 950 and agree with him on the quality of Nikons. I just purchased, however, a Minolta DiMage 5/ 3.3 megapixel with all the features of a single lens reflex and super controls. ($499.00 at www.thecamerazone.com when I bought it three weeks ago) Prints are outstanding and I really love to be able to leave the "photo shoot" knowing that I have what I need and avoid the pain caused days later to find that what I shot was mostly useless.

Those considering a digital camera should be aware that storage media and batteries usually supplied with new cameras are not adequate and should budget for long life rechargable batteries (digitals eat batteries) and no less than 32 MB of storage media.

Dear Jim,
I just read your post regarding digital cameras. You have had experience with a Nikon 950 as have I. Do you think the Minolta that you purchased produces as good as or better quality pictures than the Nikon? Is the Minolta "user friendly"? I was particularly impressed with the Nikon in that I could take images of my paintings indoors without a flash.
I still love my old 35-mm for taking reference photos, but the slides are the biggest pain in the world and as you say do not always make good prints.

Andrea.

I have nothing to use as a direct comparison of the Nikon with the Minolta and have not seen examples of the Nikon 995 which gets fine reviews. Shots with available light look good but the advice to use a tripod hold true for existing or low light condidtions.
The Minolta DiMage 5 lacks only a few of the features of the DiMage 7/ 5.4MP and from what I understand the sacrifice is only evident if you wish to see/print larger sizes. 2056x1544, for example, is 5 times what you can post on this web site.
The camera has setting options very much like,or more than, conventional cameras but allows us nongifted photophiles the option to use auto settings. Film camera terms are still used for digital cameras with settings for film speed (ISO) and the like. It was also dramatic for me to switch from auto set to any one of the options: daylight,tungsten, flourescent, cloudy or custom and find the best color results. Often, in the past, I have had the wrong film and speed for the occassion and could not go from indoor to outdoor or flash with conventional film and have good results. In other words you can change the "film" to fit the situation.

I also recommend the web site provided earlier by a forum participant at: http://www.dpreview.com Also recommend the magazine Digital Photography
< http://www.paragon.co.uk > a UK publication that wrote good reviews for the Fujifilm FinePix 4800, 6900z, and Olympus C-4040. I nearly bought the Fuji (FA Porche design) until I discovered that they are not Mac compatable.

Also be aware that some companys like Fuji may use different methods to arrive a MegaPixel counts. The Olmpus is doing the same and therefore their 7.68 mp is based on interpolation and is really 4.13