camera for a sculptor?

[Thomas Matsuda]

I am a sculptor trying to decide between the Nikon Coolpix 5400, Olympus C-5060, and Olympus C-8080. I prefer a camera with 28mm wide zoom to document my work. I like the Coolpix 5400 but am worried about manual focus being difficult without an onscreen distance gauge and a magnified center view. Also no autofocus assist lamp, and screw-mount filters. The C-5060 and C-8080 both have these features. But I am worried about chromatic aberration in high contrast areas with the C-5060. The C-8080 is much more expensive, much larger, and I don't really need 8mpxls resolution. Are the features that the 5400 does not have important? Does the slide copy adapter really work on the 5400? How long movies can you actually take on the C-506 and C-8080? thank you from a new user

[normc]

Are you going to be photographing in a studio or out doors?

A sony 717 with the Sony W/A adapter would be an excellent choice. They have two W.A adapters the most expensive one will zoom and allow you to frame just about anything. The focusing ability in low light on this camera is outstanding and would allow you to achieve some really dramatic shots....good luck