Policeman needs help with mug shot cam

[bretty19]

I know this is an odd question... I'm from a mid sized police department in Ct, and we need to replace our current digital mug shot setup with another type of image capture. The current system we use employs a Logitech web cam hooked up to our Records management system computer. Bad guy comes in, we snap some pictures, away he goes to jail.

We like the ease of use of the webcam, as you can move it all around (easy for taking tattoo pictures), its essentially cop proof (some of us can be techno challenged) and if a prisoner smashes it - which has happened, well, we're out like 50 bucks.

The problem is the picture quality - which is horrible. We've put up with it for a year, and its just not cutting it.

Any suggestions on a simple, moveable, cheap solution for us? This will be for taking still pictures only, no video, no sound. We're looking for as high quality an image that we can get.

Thanks for any help.

[jorgemonkey]

You could probably get a nice point & shoot camera that would do the job. Its small & easy to use, and since the officer will be hanging onto it less chance of it getting into the bad guys hands. Since I've never had a mug shot done, I'm not sure of how it all works

A friend of mine has an older Canon point & shoot, and frankly I'm surprised its still ticking. He has dropped it numerous times on cement, fell on it while MTBing, and I think actually got it soaked on accident.

[mjs1973]

I'm with Scott. I think a small P&S camera that you can tether to your computer would be the way to go. The image quality would be a huge improvement over what you have now, and you can make them as simple (full auto) or as complicated (full manual) as you want, depending on the model. The wife just got a Canon A550, and I love it. Image quality is good, has full auto, or full manual modes and uses AA batteries.

[Medley]

Here's a sample shot from my Canon powershot A520. It's a 4mp camera that produces images that are 2272x1704 pixels:



The quality of the shot could be better, but that's not the camera's fault- this image was taken by my three year old nephew. The A520 currently retails at Target for $119.99.

Questions?

- Joe U.