artists_logo.gif Artist's Marketplacee
  Your interactive artists' community
Saturday, September 06, 2008 Register | Login
     
 
Artists Network
Forums > Join the Discussion > Tech Talk
Subject: Digital Cameras

You are not authorized to post a reply.   
Author Messages
gailgilbert
Posts:1
12/06/2007 6:36 PM Alert 
Any suggestions as to type of  digital camera to purchase  for photographing subject matter for references for watercolor painting?
Rick Givens
Posts:28
12/08/2007 11:44 AM Alert 
Hi, Gail.

This is a huge subject and there's no one right answer, but I'll share a few thoughts with you. First, the type of digital camera you'll want depends upon how you intend to use it and how much you want to spend. Digital cameras, as you've probably already discovered, come in a multitude of varieties these days. If you're wanting something that's just going to be used to snap some reference shots when you're out and about, then go for one of the flat compact models that fit easily in a pocket, purse, or pack so that you can have it with you at all times. It's pretty frustrating to come on that scene with the perfect lighting and subject matter only to realize that the camera's back at home. Casio makes several models of these thin, easily portable cameras. Look for one with 6+ megapixels and image stabilization. You can get cameras of this type for around $200-$250.

Zoom and macro features may be important to you so think about those things before you go shopping. Most of the smaller cameras will be limited to 3X or 4X optical zoom. Ignore "digital zoom" as it's just in-camera interpolation of data rather than true optical zoom. If you want something with a longer zoom range, you'll probably have to step up to one of the somewhat larger digital models. You can't go wrong with Nikon or Canon, but if you really like to zoom in, check out Panasonic's Lumix models which have an incredible 18X zoom range. Cameras of this type go in the $350-$500 range. Macro settings are available on most models, so if you like to paint detailed close-ups of flowers or other such subjects, check out how well these features work. On most of these cameras, you'll see a button or dial that has a flower on it that enables the macro lens setting. This lets you focus very close, but you usually have to have the lens in its wide range of its zoom for it to work right. This means you have to get your camera very close to the subject.

Digital SLR cameras offer the best image quality and the advantage of quality interchangeable lenses, but you have major cost and portability issues. Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus and other manufacturers offer great cameras these days. Probably this type of camera is beyond what you're looking for unless you really want to get into photography as a hobby or are interested in taking quality photographs of your art for prints or other purposes. The lenses available for these cameras have much less optical distortion than what you'll find in the all-in-one digital camera models.

A good source of information on digital cameras is: www.dpreview.com. You can compare features on most of the major brands. Once you get your camera, you'll have to decide whether to invest the time and money it takes to do your own editing and printing. Software like Photoshop Elements is great for letting you play with varying croppings, color settings, filter effects, etc. that can open up new ideas for your paintings. I'd definitely recommend taking a class or two to help you discover the full potential of your camera and software.

Good luck.

Rick
kneuv
Posts:1
01/31/2008 11:35 AM Alert 
I own two cameras.  The first is the Digital Rebel by Canon - it is a digital SLR, so I can get several lenses for it.  This is an awesome camera that takes super pics.   It is big though - and with all of the lenses, the carry bag is also quite large.  (And it wasn't cheap). The second camera I have is the cybershot by Sony - this little camera isn't as functional as the Rebel, but it is small enough to put in my purse.  I take this camera everywhere - because you never know where you will be when you see a subject that you'd like to paint.   Hope this helps.
FrankLeeding
Posts:11
03/21/2008 7:08 AM Alert 

How do we give kudos on this site (me: a newbie here)

Mr. Rick's answer is superbly spot on.

Me? I have my trusty pocket camera (it's an Olympus
and only about 5 mega-pixes). I upgraded the memory
to 1 Gig and have it where-ever i go: You never know
when somehting (esp a compostion of lines will
strike you.

As regards taking pictures of your art work - esp
for portfoilio or gallery/show work. You can spend
a fortune on the lighting and such. A printmaker
friend of mine takes them out to the back yard on
a sunny day and tapes them up on a south-facing
wall of the wooden fence and takes a picture of
it.

If you do that sort of thing a tri-pod is a must
and then use the timer. This removes the vibration
when you actually click the button.

Also, the more mega pixels the better - the price
to mega pixels level keeps droping. As far as it
goes - i simply don't have $300+ for a really
decent camera so, i talk one of my photog friends
into shooting my stuff when i need it. (If you
look on my web site, you'll find fine examples of
my own very poor lighting and camera techniques.
Just study what i'm doing camera-wise and do
the exact opposite .

btw, nice to find a bunch of "art nuts" like me
out here in cyber space. But then as Moholy Nagy
sed, "Art is the most human of activities".

hope this helps (or at least is interesting),

Frank.   http://art-squeek.angelfire.com
lyyang

Posts:4
04/02/2008 8:22 PM Alert 
I'll add my two cents -- I used to scan my images to get the best quality -- this worked for a while, until I started doing larger pieces. I know there are a few artists who still use a scanner (I believe I read somewhere that Audrey Kawasaki scans her work piecemeal and stitches it together in Photoshop), but I haven't had any luck finding a scanner without a "lip" to facilitate that.

I've since invested in a Canon Rebel XTI -- it's a digital SLR, and I've had very good results with it. Depending on your medium the flash can create a pretty crappy glare on your work, so it's better to read up on different lighting techniques.

Like Rick said though, it's a bit of a monster -- I don't really carry it around except to shoot my artwork =P.

Hope this helps! I'm a newbie in this realm as well, so it's great to read what other people think =)

Lawrence

http://www.suckatlife.com
http://blowatlife.blogspot.com
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Forums > Join the Discussion > Tech Talk > Digital Cameras


ActiveForums 3.6