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What are the best "easy peasy" cameras for close up photos?

Joined
Apr 20, 2006
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The $32 camera came today. It was listed as Fair condition now I would like to see one in good or great condition. This camera does not have a scratch or blemish on it. Every function works and the pictures are great. I've had it on for close to 3 hours and the battery is still showing full. I did not expect it to be this nice and it will be a good addition to the photo room, Wow!:) Canon 300D
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
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I really need to get a better setup. Something I can predict results.
These two pictures were taken on the same background (my pool table - lol) with no change in lighting. The difference in color balance is astonishing to me.
The "camera" is an iPhone 6.
 

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Joined
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I really need to get a better setup. Something I can predict results.
These two pictures were taken on the same background (my pool table - lol) with no change in lighting. The difference in color balance is astonishing to me.
The "camera" is an iPhone 6.
The red (left) picture is partally back lit (note the shaddow), and it has the subject upright so the camera angle is oblique to the table top. The lighting on the pool table surface is way different in the maroon photo where the table top is shot from above. The photographer may be casting shadow, as well.
 
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You are correct on the orientation.
Lighting was incandescent globe from the above pool table light and a northern light from a large window behind me. I was careful to avoid casting a shadow from either source. May not have been successful.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2021
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Barrie, ON
Bill & Michael seem to have this topic covered, with Michael obviously having some professional experience, even if he hasn't been a professional photographer, I don't know?. There are a lot of misconceptions about what makes a "good" photograph and some of them are born from the "good" being so subjective anyway. Some people like the specular highlights from a point light source. Some like the super soft shadowless effect which comes from an overcast day or light boxes. So no one is right or wrong - just different. And those who are just not happy with their photographs, are here to learn. I am just starting out with wood turning and haven't even put a blade to a piece of wood yet! So I'm here to learn too - we all have our skills and sharing is cool. I'm still refurbishing and upgrading an old General 160 that I bought for $300CDN. Just need to wire up a VFD and controls to get going. But I digress. I was a professional photographer for a number of years in England and understand the principles involved in achieving a desired effect. What would be nice is for our friends on here, to upload a few of their pictures. If they're good, we can admire them (I love looking at other peoples photographs, good or bad) - if they're bad, then perhaps the more photographically inclined amongst us can help out, which is the whole point of this thread. If you're not good at taking photographs, then don't just upload your imperfect attempts, also upload a stolen (borrowed) sample of a photograph showing what you would like to achieve. The pioneers of photography had no forums or books - they learned from experimentation and feedback, taking note of what looked "right" and what sold AND constructive critique. So post those pics!!
 
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Oct 2, 2021
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Barrie, ON
If you want to describe depth of focus as sharpness then go ahead but f22 will be sharper from the point of focus back towards infinity than f8 or f12. When you focus on the front lip of a bowl you want the back of the bowl to be in the same focus. Best described as "Depth of field is the amount of the picture that is actually in focus. It is the amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in sharp focus in a photograph. A shallow (narrow) depth of field is created by using a larger aperture (smaller F-stop).".
Hi Bill, you obviously know what you are talking about. Your definition of Depth of field is correct. Sharpness is not the same as focus. A picture can be in focus across the field of view and still unsharp due to either poor lens quality, camera shake or low resolution. What people don't often realise is that depth of field doesn't start at the front edge of the subject - e.g. the front edge of a bowl. It starts approximately one third into the shot. So if you're struggling to get the whole bowl in focus, even at minimum aperture, try focussing a little further into the scene a third of the way into the bowl. Your last sentence is correct but highlights a common confusion when talking about apertures. A small aperture is a large f-number and vice versa. It helps some people to think in terms of "larger f-number = larger depth of focus" to clarify, f16 gives a deeper depth of focus than say f4
 

john lucas

AAW Forum Expert
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Depth of field is usually about 1/3 in front of and 2/3rd behind the focus point. There is more to.it than that but generally that is it. So you set your focus point 1/3 into the bowl. Then adjust your F stop until it's in focus. This is from the plane of focus meaning perpendicular to the film plane. If you shoot a bowl from low down you need the most DOF. If you raise the camera up you change the plane of focus of the object and you would need less DOF to get the front of the bowl and the back of the bowl in focus.
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
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Quad Cities, IL
I've always shot in Aperture Preferred mode when doing anything other than snapshots. But I find myself relying on my iPhone 6 more and more with no option to control DoF.
I've got an iPhone13Pro coming next week. I just read that DoF can be set after the fact in editing. I don't know any details yet.
 

Dave Landers

Beta Tester
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Dec 1, 2014
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Estes Park, CO
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dlwoodturning.com
The difference in color balance is astonishing to me.
Off-topic probably, but you reminded me that a couple weeks ago, I was looking thru snapshots I took in 2020. Found one from when we evacuated due to a wildfire.This was snapped with my phone, from the windshield of my truck as we left the house.

IMG_6560.JPG

The real color of the sky was actually like this photo (from the local newspaper):
DCC-L-FIRE_MJ16450.jpg

I guess the phone did a white-balance "auto correction" on my photo.
 
Joined
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Brandon, MS
Off-topic probably, but you reminded me that a couple weeks ago, I was looking thru snapshots I took in 2020. Found one from when we evacuated due to a wildfire.This was snapped with my phone, from the windshield of my truck as we left the house.

The real color of the sky was actually like this photo (from the local newspaper):


I guess the phone did a white-balance "auto correction" on my photo.
In iPhone you can do edits that include color correction but it may not always give you a true color like a regular editing program would.
 
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