Please point me in the right direction!

[tab10us]

I really need some help picking out the right camera for me. I'm a big eBay seller selling only clothing/apparel. I was told to go for a camera with a good CCD over the amount of megapixels it has. I was told to go for a camera with around 4 megapixels for the things I'm going to be doing. I'm really not going to be taking many pictures outside of the ones im taking for my business. I want a camera with around 4-5x optical zoom. I need my pictures to be crystal clear for my customers to see when they are purchasing my products.

Someone please help me out on this issue. Size isn't an issue, and I was going for a camera in the price range of under $250 USED. Looking for a retail of at or under $400 NEW. Thanks.

Taylor

[Frog]

Just about any 4 or 5 megapixel camera will do for ebay pics. Remember they are quite compressed and viewed on monitors. Pay attention to composition and lighting and you should be fine. What are you using now and do you consider your pics inadequate?

[tab10us]

Right now I'm using an 8mp Minolta. Its one of those really flat pocket sized camera, and it really doesn't seem to take that good of pictures.

[Frog]

Have you seen the nikon p5000. Has vibration reduction and 3.5 zoom with 10 megapixels.
I see some on ebay a little above what you want to spend and a new open box one for less.

[Frog]

Here's a review.. http://www.imaging-resource.com/PROD...00/CP5000A.HTM

Can you give us an example of a pic of something you are trying to sell. No offense, but it might be the photographer instead of the camera. Maybe I or we can help you with technique so that you don't go out and buy a camera to find out that the pics still don't meet your expectations.
I've done a little selling on ebay and know that a good pic really helps.

[Canuck935]

Yes give us some examples and we can point you in the right direction...

[tab10us]

Here's a link to an item that I sold recently... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170119765056

Keep in mind that I bought a mannequin so the pictures won't look like this anymore... i have a white sheet that i'm going to hang up and i'm in a room that has "white" light unlike the yellow like in the pictures that you're seeing.

[Canuck935]

Here's a link to an item that I sold recently... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170119765056

Keep in mind that I bought a mannequin so the pictures won't look like this anymore... i have a white sheet that i'm going to hang up and i'm in a room that has "white" light unlike the yellow like in the pictures that you're seeing.

Sounds like a plan. I think the biggest issue with those pictures is white balance. You'll need to use the preset white balance that your camera has for the type of lighting you are using (i.e. incandescent or florescent). Better yet, if your camera allows it, make a custom white balance.

Also I'd make sure all of the lights you are using are of the same type. Mixing different kinds of lighting (including flash and natural light) can cause color issues.

I'd suggest shooting without flash using only the room lights. Due to the color cast issues this could cause as well as harsh lighting that's often associated with direct flash. The brighter the lights are the better it would be for this. Also if you can easily reposition them to light your items better that would really help.

Edit:
Also pay attention to the exposure. You'll want to have good exposures. If your camera has manual exposure mode, I would use that. A gray card would be very helpful to determine the exposure. Then, set it and forget it.

If it doesn't have a manual exposure mode, I would use the camera's auto exposure lock feature. That may mean you have to lock focus on something and not let go of the button until you take the picture. In this case I'd zoom in on a gray card, lock the exposure, and zoom out to take the picture.

[Frog]

Canuck is right.
Since you now have a mannequin, I would also move it a few feet away from background if possible to avoid shadows. Try to shoot straight on so your image plane is parallel to the item...looking at the jeans, it appears some areas are in sharper focus than others which is probably due to large aperture. Use as small an aperture as possible for depth of field but still avoiding camera shake unless you are using a tripod.
When I take pics for ebay, I have an 18% gray background material..helps keep item colors true without contrast or blending. Your background seems to give an orangish aura but that can also be the white balance.
I usually take my stuff outside in a lightly shaded area for ebay pics. If you're selling volumes that may be too difficult.
Give canuks and my suggestions a try and post your results...we'll see if you're going right.