I am looking to buy a digital camera to be used mostly for close up shots of gift basketsfor my business.It's important that the photos are clear, crisp, in-focus, and that the items inside the gift basketare visible and discernable (meaning, that large print on the items can be read). Any suggestions on what camera(s) I should take a look at? A friend suggested the Canon PowerShot series....any thoughts from you all would be greatly appreciated. I was thinking of possibly the Olympus C-5500. I'd like to spend somewhere around $300 or less if that's within a reasonable range to get what I need. Thanks again for your thoughts.....

More info on the photos that I take....I take the photos inside, using white foam core for background and Iuse 2 silver cone lamps with 200 watt bulbs in each.

Lastly, I realize that so many people post here with these sorts of questions and that's probably kind of frustrating to get so many posts from uninformed folks like me. So, my sincere thanks to anyone who answers my post! I appreciate it!!!

:?I see that people have looked at this post but alas, there have been no responses. Anybody? Bueller? Any thoughts from anyone?

The 5500 would be more than adequate imo. Are you posting the pictures on the web, or printing them? You will have to find a balance between final file fize (for web/email) and clarity.

If anything imo, get yourself a nice tripod. fwiw you might also want to check out how 'glossy' the white foam core turns out to be; flat white spray paint would help, and/or flat white on translucent plastic sheets (~2'x4' each) as used in overhead lighting.

Your requirements are very undemanding camerawise, dozens of caneras will do the job for you. More important is your lighting setup and an adequate tropod.

Many thanks for your post....this is really helpful. I just wanted to get some expert opinions before I purchased a camera. I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions as regarding the white board and lighting. Thanks!