I've got an old digital camera that someone gave to me for painting his Grey Knights several years ago. He himself won it in a contest so it wasn't purchased for anything particular in mind. It's an okay camera for everyday use but it's at this point outdated and the autofocus feature is both terrible and impossible to turn off. In combination with the bad autofocus, its macro function is persnickety--even after setting it to macro (the little flower), often pictures of minis I take turn out fuzzy, even when trying to follow all the wisdom for setting up a picture properly. If I take 10 pictures, maybe 3 will turn out okay.
I probably won't be able to get a new camera till Christmas time or so, but it wouldn't hurt to start researching now what would be good to get. I of course will be doing requisite googling and reading of pro reviews, but I wanted to know if any of you had any personal experiences of what works well for you.
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I've used several different digital cameras for photos of my miniatures. I am currently using a Kodak Z990 Superzoom. I like the Kodak because the extended range of the optical zoom allows me to frame photos how I like, plus it's an awesome everyday camera which is the closest thing I've found yet to a "do everything I want" camera. "Superzooms" were the big news in cameras last year when I bought this. I'm not sure what the current rage is, but I love my Kodak.
Having said that, I have had pretty good results with Sony and Olympus digital cameras too. The main thing I learned for miniature photography is to build a light box for the best results. Just about any camera is suitable for taking good quality photos, but if you don't have good lightning, you'll get great photos of poorly lit miniatures. My photos improved dramatically once I built the light box.
This is the tutorial I started from. I modified mine somewhat using aluminum foil reflectors to get light from all sides, but the concept is solid.
My old camera was a Sony Cyber-shot 1.4 megapixels (yeah, pretty old). It's what I used for most of my minis shots on my website and Facebook.
I replaced it two years ago with a newer Sony Cyber-shot, this one with 12.1 megapixels. It's an inexpensive camera, takes good stills and video, has many settings, and I can even output directly to a TV screen with standard AV jacks.
Also, get a tripod. You'll need to have the camera steady. If you're able to set shutter speed for your camera, set it for a long exposure time. That way, especially when using macro, your miniature will be completely sharp in the picture, not just some part of it.
Thanks guys. I'll check those out -- and any other recs are welcome as well.
If I splurge on a new camera or get one as a Christmas gift I may also splurge on this which includes a tripod and photo lights. I had a homemade photobox (it fell apart, but easy enough to build another) which worked okay, but this looks shiny.
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This thread caught my attention since I often photograph minis for my campaign journal. I'm currently using an Olympus Tough TG-610. It's got a good Super Macro function for getting in really close and it's just a great all-around camera for traveling or as a backup when I don't have my SLR.
Here are a few specs:
5.0x Wide Optical Zoom
14 Megapixel
Waterproof to 16ft.
Shock proof to 5ft.
3D photo capability
720p HD video
When it comes to the camera specs, Megapixel is less important (although, of course, you can get better shots with more) - a good macro mode and timer is more important.
I've also made a lightbox similar to the one Adamantine Dragon links to above. Here's a link to how I made mine and further down the page you can see some pics taken with a rather crappy 3,2 MP camera in said light box.
One thing that's also important when taking pictures is white balance. This can either be adjusted on the camera itself or you might have to adjust the pictures in Photoshop/the Gimp or one of several free picture viewing programs out there. White balance determines what is "true" white and if not adjusted properly, most pictures taken under normal lights will turn out yellow. Daylight bulbs can help with this, but might not be a 100% fix.
Here's another thread from the miniatures archive, showing the difference between before and after white balance is adjusted.
A tripod is also a good investment and if you don't have a huge camera, that is if you have an "ordinary" flat camera, you can get a smallish tripod for less than $1 on eBay with free shipping... (so if you're worried about them breaking, you can just buy a couple of them ;-) ).
GentleGiant, sweet lightbox! I've used a professional one, and the biggest difference must be the price tag, not the result =).
Remember that adjusting white balance with a program like Photoshop doesnt' give very good results, unless you're a semi-pro and have a lot of time. UNLESS you have a camera that can shoot RAW pictures. RAW picture's white balance is possible to change in Photoshop, Lightroom or similar with a simple slider.
Where the heck you'd get those lamps for so cheap? One of my biggest problems photographing minis besides the camera itself is not having good lighting.
I don't do eBay so that's not an option.
DQ, you might try Craigslist for a local seller. I just use normal light bulbs and then color balance in Gimp. Works well enough for me, but then I am not a pro.
GentleGiant, sweet lightbox! I've used a professional one, and the biggest difference must be the price tag, not the result =).
Thanks. It really is that easy to build - if you use a white box, like the one used in the example Adamantine Dragon linked to, I guess it's easy to skip the white paper lining step. I've considered buying a "professional" one on eBay, well, one of the cheap (probably knock-off) ones, since they seem to be collapsible which this one isn't. So it takes up a lot of room on top of one of my cabinets.
Remember that adjusting white balance with a program like Photoshop doesnt' give very good results, unless you're a semi-pro and have a lot of time. UNLESS you have a camera that can shoot RAW pictures. RAW picture's white balance is possible to change in Photoshop, Lightroom or similar with a simple slider.
I actually used to do it in an older version of ACDSee (a picture viewing program) and, as evidenced from the pictures in the lightbox thread I linked to, got very good results. Just by hitting auto-white balance.
Where the heck you'd get those lamps for so cheap? One of my biggest problems photographing minis besides the camera itself is not having good lighting.
I don't do eBay so that's not an option.
Was this directed at me? If so, the lights I bought were just cheap halogen work lights on sale from a discount hard ware/home improvement store (Home Depot or Lowe's in the US I guess - although Lowe's might not be your first choice, given some of its policies).
As for eBay, I've seen these tripods available elsewhere, but they are usually much more expensive than this particular price. Like this one, which seems to pretty much be the same tripod, at $6.31 at Best Buy
Thanks. It really is that easy to build - if you use a white box, like the one used in the example Adamantine Dragon linked to, I guess it's easy to skip the white paper lining step. I've considered buying a "professional" one on eBay, well, one of the cheap (probably knock-off) ones, since they seem to be collapsible which this one isn't. So it takes up a lot of room on top of one of my cabinets.
I've used this one. It's foldable, so it doesn't take any room. Sadly I don't own one, and propably won't be able to convince myself buying one after spending all that money on Reaper Kickstart =).