Cameras

[jb2009]

........So many of you have posted such excellant pictures here....Just curious as to what cameras or gadgets or trickery you are using to get such good results.......Thanx.....John....

[Fred Sanford]

I have a Nikon CoolPix 4100 regular point and shoot camera. I think that I kind of have a knack for good angles and lighting. The best way to take good pictures is to do it outside when you have good natural light during the day. If I'm inside I have a 200W incandecent bulb that I have in a lamp. The lamp is only rated for 100 watts so I only turn on the 200W bulb for less than 5 minutes at a time so I can take the pictures and then I turn off the lamp and unplug it.

Just find the little "flower" symbol on your camera. That means "Macro" or up close. This will help with close detailed pictures.

:)

[A.P.F.]

I think that David is an excellent photographer. Remember, JB, it is not the brush that creates the art, it is the artist, or as Edward Steichen once said, "No photographer is as good as the simplest camera".

[Peter1960]

Canon PowerShot G7 ... but don't bank on the camera, from my experience >80 % makes the guy behind the lens

[The Deacon]

Most of mine are taken with a 5 megapixel Kodak Z740, on macro. I use to do almost all my shooting outdoors using natural light, but lately have been shooting indoors using a neat portable lightbox setup from ThinkGeek that my buddy Daywalker gave me for Christmas.

IMHO, aside from a camera with good macro capability, the single best investment you can make is a tripod. When combined with the built in timer almost every camera has, you've eliminated just about any chance of blur due to camera movement. You don't need to spend a fortune, the one I use cost under $30 at Walmart.

[ozspyder]

I alternate between my Nikon D70/ D80, and a small P&S pin Canon :p

No trickery as I tend not to adjust anything in my shots, can't be bothered with Photoshop nor any lighting adjustments etc. WYSIWIG :D

I agree that to get the best shots you need:

1) Tripod
2) Decent lighting
3) Creative eye
4) Time

I am lazy and very rarely use a tripod !
I don't like artificial lighting and so I usually will shoot next to a window or outdoors. Overcast days are best for even lighting and great for people who find shooting shiny things a chore.
Creativity is very subjective. Shoot what you think looks good. Try to balance your framed shot. Most of the time you want the knife to be the main 'subject' of the shot... sometimes you want more 'scenery' involved and the knife is part of that.
Time is great if you have it. That way you can compose, recompose, sort out lighting/ angles etc. If you lack time such as myself, try to compose in your head first then quickly snap a few shots off, download later and be very critical of your shots. Cull them if they don't grab your attention.

This is just some short notes on what I do. I really have to setup an indoor lighting studio/ lightbox like some guys here have got. It'd really help a lot with taking pics.

[boxer93]

The new ones I posted are from a canon P&S 1100S. On these I used the digital macro vs the 'flower' macro. I also use a picture size of 640x480. I guess I don't really need the 8MP :D I also used a tripod for the closeups.
Chris

[mrappraisit]

I have a Nikon D70 and still manage to mess it up.

[OuchThatsSharp]

I have used various Canon Powershot cameras, i.e., A4, A5, A95 and currently took a step backwards to a Powershot S3 IS because of the additional features. I try to use a tripod whenever possible and use additional lighting.

[4cweber]

I use a Nikon D200 on a tripod. I still need to work on some better indoor light setup.

[WhiteWillie]

My camera is a $1.98 Olympus Stylus. The best thing I ever did to improve results was to buy a $1.79 tripod. Made all the difference in the world.

[BuffaloBill]

I use a Sony W100 8mp point and shoot for any photos i take. my photos arent that great but its a good camera

[WhyNot]

About a year ago I switched from point & shoot Olympus to DSLR Nikon D40x. I can assure that you can take excellent pictures using any type of camera. Just follow advises from the posts in this thread and practice a lot.
Shooting indoors I use this setup replacing lights on both sides with 60w compact fluorescent bulbs. The top light has 75w bulb of the same type.



I shoot almost exclusively from tripod using timer.
Using basic photo editing software is a must in my opinion.

Good luck,
WhyNot

[jzmtl]

An ancient Nikon coolpix 4500, cost me a grand with accessories and tax when I bought it, now a $50 camera has better resolution.

[jb2009]

....Thanks for all the replies, I have picked up some good info! I dont personally own a camera, but have been using my daughters Canon SD200, Its a point and shoot that i bought her back a few years ago.....As you can probably see by some of my recent photo posts, I have been experimenting heavily with it...I especially like macro and black and white......Some of the results have even scared me......Thanks again, John

[OuchThatsSharp]

+1 on WhyNot's comment: Photo editing software is a requirement to improve the pics.

[brandonreed2008]

I have a Nikon D70 and still manage to mess it up.

lol..


I have an 8 megapixel Canon Powershot SD850IS with a 6 inch cheap bipod and a hand to hold a piece of paper under the light sometimes :p , looking to buy a Nikon D60

[The Deacon]

The absolute best feature of digital photography is that once you have your equipment, aside from batteries, the cost per picture is ZERO and, if you select a camera which can use rechargeable lithium batteries, you're almost down to just the electricity to recharge them. :D Makes experimentation a lot more affordable than it ever was with film.

[vito72]

I have only few knives so i posted just some pics, i use a DSLR canon 20D with some canon L series lenses, but in my opinion the best results for knives pictures indoor its shoot knives in a lightbox or a cubelite, i have seen here some nice pics outside with a mirror very good idea..

Some years ago i made this exactly project and it worked..Maybe any knifebrothers want be happy to spend few minutes for built such cheap box and of course use one of their spyderco for cut cardboard!

http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/2006/0 ... tudio.html

in all digital pictures postproduction its very important part and also try to shoot in raw is not a bad idea for adjust the white balance after shoot.
The sad thing its the new compact cameras are without raw feature only the DLSR or the expansive compact camera have and this is bad.

Have a nice shoots!

[Mr Blonde]

I use a Sony DSC-W50, it's a regular point and shoot digicam. Over the past three years or so, I did manage to find a use for almost all of the settings. I prefer a high mp setting with macro on, overcast skies with daylight, but I can work with a homemade lightbox if I have to. I don't use tripods, I prefer to find and adjust the best angle by hand. A little touch up in Photoshop helps to make the pics look better.

Wouter