:?I am looking for a camera that will take good product shots that can be used in our printed catalog for my company. Right now we have a Minolta 3.3mp that is biting the dust. I have looked at the Kodak P880, Olympus SP350, Canon S3 IS, or the Sony DSC h5. Does anyone have any thoughts on those cameras? Any suggestions. Remember the camera has to be able to take good shots that can be printed in our catalog at least 300DPI. We do use a professional photographer for most of our shots, but there are times that we need to take a quick shot for a flyer, brochure or our catalog and we want a camera that takes quality shots.

Some of the things we are looking for is a 6 to 8 megapixel, adjustable focus, timer, possibly be able to add a lens or filter to the lens, fast shutter speed and optical zoom at least 3 to 5x.

Thanks to all.

chitownbabs-

You made no mention of a need for close-up or Macro photos, I would like to be certain that is not required. Also towo of the camera you mentioned were ultra zoom cameras, is there a telephoto requirement, that I am not aware of in your quest?

Dollar-wise the Olympus SP-350 can be purchased for about $250 to $270 and there is currently a $50 reabte being offered on sales of that camera in the next several months. The Kodak P-880 is cheapest at www.costco.com where it has been $399.99 plus shipping.

So if you can provide a bit more info regarding the exact kind of photos you are posting about, perhaps we can narrow your search even further.

MT

Yes we would like to take close-up images of our products. We want the zoom for when we take shots of areas, places etc. Then we drop our products into the photo for use instead of having the product shipped to the location or our office. Many of our products are quite large and need to freighted.

Most of our shots are taken on photo shoots by a professional photographer, but there are times when we need a shot of a product right away for a flyer, announcement etc and it will be a couple of weeks before we can get his services or we save up our shots so that a couple of new products can be shot at one time. Sometimes we have the products sent to our office and we shoot in here. You can see what kind of products we manufacture by looking at www.justritemfg.com.

We have been given about a $500 budget for the camera. I believe we can go over that amount but not by a large margin. I myself like the Kodak P880 because you can add filters (especially for flourscent lighting) and lenses.

Any help you can provide will be appreciated.

Thanks

all of your proposed cameras have a close-up or macro capability. However, their zoom capability varies from 3X to 12X optical zoom. So I think that the next step is to determine how much zoom you really do need.

Your link did not work. I did google the name but I cannot be totally sure that I got exactly the correct company. My next question is: Is there enough of your staff who are really photographically qualified to provide the type andquality of photos required for 4 color printing?

MT

the link is www.justritemfg.com and it didn't work because of the period after com.

I myself can take the photos and so can my two other associates. So that is not an issue. We are just looking for a good camera that will take good pictures that we could possibly use for printing purposes. I did read a review today on the Canon G6 and many people think it is a great camera.

Your thoughts?

The Canon G-6 is a great camera, I own one, but it, like the Olympus SP-350, only has limited zoom, in the G-6's case it is just 4X optical zoom. But please keep in mind that the G-6 uses the older Digic focusing chip rather than the new, much improved,Digic II chip, found on the Canon A-620, which I believe should be on your list as well.

So, what is the decision? Is 3 to 4X optical zoom enough for your purposes?

MT

4x should be good for us. Yes I looked at the Canon A620. I am still partial to the Kodak P880 but I can be swayed to a Canon. I myself have a Nikon 7600 and I really dislike it. I am even in the market for myself.


thanks

Why not go for the S2.. The S3 won't be avail for some time still, and you're likely to get a better deal on the S2.. you can spend more on memory and accessories too

Chitownbabs-

I use a Kodak P-880 and a Nikon 8400 professionally doing real estate home shots and they work out very well. The wide angle of 24mm on both cameras is ideal for home interiors, and a lot of zoom is not required for those kind of photos.

The P-880 has been on sale at www.costco.com for about a month for $399.99+shipping and there is even a free 256mb SD chip shipped with the P-880. The best place to find Nikon 8400's in on E-Bay.

Here is another idea that may in the long run give you more flexibility and much higher image quality. Olympus Auctions is closing out a lot of the E-300 dSLR bodies on E-Bay. They are selling for about $300 to $330 + shipping. You could buy an E-300 body for say $315 and then add the Sigma 18-125mm, on the E-300 that would give you the equivalent of a 36 to 250mm lens, once you added the multiplier.That Sigma lens would cost about $240 and you would have a really great package. I am consideringgetting a E-300 bodymyself and then adding a wide angle lens.

So there are some options for you.

MT

Thanks for your replies. We will be having a meeting on this sometime this week and then we will make a decision.