Shooting paintings...best camera?

[ruemonge]

Can anyone offer suggestions for a camera intended primarily for taking pix of paintings/artwork?

[PhilR.]

All cameras can take pictures of paintings.

If you want to narrow the suggestions down, then you should let the forum know how many megapixels you need. If you don't know, then let us know what would be the largest print that you would make, if you even want to make them at all. Do you need good close-up capability to capture fine detail? Will you be using flash (usually prohibited in a museum), or ambient light? Will you have to illuminate a very large painting? Do you want something small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, or would you prefer a large camera, or does size even matter? Do you have a budget in mind? It wouldn't make sense for us to suggest a camera if you can't afford it, and right now we don't know anything except what you want to photograph.

PhilR.

[ruemonge]

Thanks Phil for your time. Here's some more focus:

- don't know how many megapixels I need, but I'm assuming it is in the higher range? do my storage options become more difficult with larger?
- largest print to make 8x10"
- in regards to detail, paintings range from 8x10 inches to 8x10 feet.
- don't use flash (paintings are too shiny);
- size doesn't matter
- price range $500-1000 (but I'm willing to consider higher)

thanks again.

[PhilR.]

- don't know how many megapixels I need, but I'm assuming it is in the higher range?

Not necessarily. It depends on how big a print you need to make. More mp's does not mean better quality.

do my storage options become more difficult with larger?

Not more difficult, but more mp's means larger files, which in turn means higher capacity memory cards, longer processing times, more room taken up on the computer. However, many not be a big deal to the casual user.

- largest print to make 8x10"

Three to four mp's will make 8x10's without problems.

- in regards to detail, paintings range from 8x10 inches to 8x10 feet.

So macro will be a secondary concern.

- don't use flash (paintings are too shiny);

If you are shooting in your own studio, then it won't matter how fast the lens is. If you are shooting in a museum, then you would want a camera with a fast lens, unless you are willing to take along a tripod.

- size doesn't matter

My brother hears that a lot....

- price range $500-1000 (but I'm willing to consider higher)

Because your requirements are not out of the ordinary at all, there are many much less expensive cameras that will do. A Canon A95 would most likely be all the camera you would need. It has both automatic and manual modes, plus aperture and shutter priority modes. It's size splits the difference between big and bulky and small and fidgety. It's lense however isn't the fastest you could get. For more money would be the Canon G6, which although has more mp's than what you would need (but might come in handy later on), does have a fast f2.0-3.0 lens. The Panasonic FZ series of cameras have high-zoom lenses that are almost as fast - F2.8 across the entire zoom range (which at 12x is pretty incredible).

One thing you need to look out for is something called "barrel distortion", which is the slight bending of straight lines in the picture. For the majority of picture taking situations it is not a concern, but any time where there is an abundance of straight lines, such as architectural photography or framed paintings, it could be a cause for concern. Since I don't do that type of photography, I've not ever had to read the reviews concerning barrel distortion, and therefore don't know which ones are better or worse. Once you have made the short list of candidates, you might check the reviews for this. Also, try not to shoot at the widest settings, but instead try to shoot at longer focal lengths if possible.


hth,
PhilR.

[judge9847]

Can anyone offer suggestions for a camera intended primarily for taking pix of paintings/artwork?
I don't want to spoil anyone's party but just a word of advice: whatever the camera is you finally use be careful that you photograph only images where you have the copyright owner's permission to do so.

As an example, most historic houses and buildings that I've ever visited strictly prohibit the use of photography of any sort. The reasons are varied but often they'll make money selling their own publicity material which will feature a lot of the "assets" they have. They don't want anyone ruining that stream of income. And there is an acceptance that flash photography has a adverse effect on paintings and other stuff that people like to take pictures of. I don't know if it's true but I'd guess it could be.

Most of the notices say that if caught, the equipment will be confiscated!!

[D70FAN]

I don't want to spoil anyone's party but just a word of advice: whatever the camera is you finally use be careful that you photograph only images where you have the copyright owner's permission to do so.

As an example, most historic houses and buildings that I've ever visited strictly prohibit the use of photography of any sort. The reasons are varied but often they'll make money selling their own publicity material which will feature a lot of the "assets" they have. They don't want anyone ruining that stream of income. And there is an acceptance that flash photography has a adverse effect on paintings and other stuff that people like to take pictures of. I don't know if it's true but I'd guess it could be.

Most of the notices say that if caught, the equipment will be confiscated!!

I think most historical buildings request no "flash" photography. I always ask first, but have only been told a few times not to take interior pictures. Even the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. allows photos of their art (with flash).

As final note: I would think you would want a low noise High ISO camera for the "traveling" shots, like museums and gallaries, so dSLR's would have my vote. Canon DReb or Nikon D70, both more-or-less within the price range. And, believe it or not, I have had more positive response to allowing the D70 for art shots than my CP990. :)