Need a camera to take shots of miniatures

[captchris]

Hey, I own a game store and we specialize in miniature games. I'm looking for a camera to take shots of small things- little tanks and soldiers. Typically these models are between half and inch and 3 inches tall. Here are the specs I'm working with:
Budget
I'd like to stay under 500 bucks if possible

Size

Like to be able to take this camera on vacation too. Something I can carry in my pocket would be nice. But the primary use would be shooting small things.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?

I'm not sure about this one. I'm a novice here but by zoom I'm thinking you have the 'large things look closer' kinda zoom and the 'small things up close look big' kinda zoom. I need the small things zoom.

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
I'd like the image to be good but doesn't need to be museum grade or anything. I plan on putting these shots on the internet so I think the resolution can't be too incredible or they will b

Do you care for manual controls? I'd prefer automatic controls.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? Small things to post on the internet. Also, pictures of books and games to sell on ebay. In addition, photos of games in progress (imagine a model train set up... I'd like to shoot tanks and such rolling over the hill... say a 2'x2' area of a table with terrain)

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? No.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? Yes. Mostly indoors.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? No.

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? No brand preference.

Are there particular models you already have in mind? Not a clue.

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) Don't think so. Don't know what hotshoe and Rotating LCD is. Doesn't sound like it pertains to my goals tho.


Thanks a bunch for any help!!!
I have a website now for my shop with a couple of pictures on it that I took with a scanner. I put the mini in a little box and laid it on my flatbed scanner. This worked pretty well but it's kinda a pain in the rear to do, I can't take pics of larger items or games in progress this way. I'll put the address up if the webmaster says it's ok so folks can see what I'm talking about. Note that I'm not trying to solicite sales here... and don't actually sell anything on my webpage anyway...it's only an infomation page about my 'brick and mortar' store.
Chris Ewick
The Game Matrix
Washington State, USA

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[jbcm]

I would check this camera out the Olympus C-7070 it may be a little more than you wanted to spend but I think it would be a great choice. Here is another great place to take a look at it.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/c7070.html

[captchris]

Thanks! That was a quick reply! And quite a camera. Might just be worth the extra bucks. So, and this might be a silly question, that camera will take good close ups then? (the camera tech talk is lost on me)
Also, I thought maybe a tripod would be useful. Does it support that?
Chris

[PhilR.]

The type of photgraphy you want is called "macro" pictures.

Since your needs can be met with as little as 2 megapixels, it wouldn't make sense to buy an expensive 7mp camera. The Nikon line seems to get high marks for macro pictures. You can get a Nikon 3200 for under $200, and have plenty of money left over for any accessories that you will need. Take a look at the review for this camera at the Steve's Digicams site.

Macro photography is actually much more dependant on the lighting, rather than the camera itself (partly because just about any digicam can do macro). Spend some time researching this subject, and once you have a camera, make a homemade lighting setup and see what you can do. Here is a link you can look at to see what I mean...
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/19002.html

PhilR.

[jbcm]

That is a valid point but would be very sad to purchase a camera and find out that you would like to do alot more with it than macro's Just thought it would be nice to get your money's worth and not be tied down to the bare minimum. Also a tripod would be a very good idea.

[captchris]

Great advice. I like both the Nikon 3200 for the economy and the Olympus C-7070 for the features. I also scuba dive and saw there is a water proof housing for the C7070 available. How cool is that.
The light tent idea is very cool too. Very helpful. I'll have to construct one for my shots.
Any other suggestions for cameras?

[jbcm]

I think that if you got the C-7070 you will love it. I was not trying to get you to overspend it is just that many people who buy a real basic camera find that they wish that they would of spent the extra money on another one. Also they find that they will use it for alot more than they thought. So just trying to suggest one that has alot of potential