will this work for me?

[rbig]

Old duffer here. I need a digi cam to take occasional shots of boat, auto, and tractor parts to use in online repair discussions in forums, etc. My shots will need to be closeups (1' or so). I'll only need a max of five at any given time.

Please take a look at this camera and see if you think it will be OK for what I'll be doing:

http://www.ohwuala.com/product/p1001266.html

[Photo-John]

I don't expect that camera to deliver very good image quality. Poor resolution, a poor sensor, and a poor lens add up to bad photos. Vivitar is not known for their digital cameras, either. And you get what you pay for - and $25 isn't very much. I think you would be better off buying a used digital camera by a well-respected camera manufacturer like Canon, Sony, Nikon, Casio, Kodak, etc. Digital camera technology has matured so quikcly that there are tons of "old" cameras for sale on eBay and our own camera classifieds. I think you should be able to get something for under $100. But $25 for a new camera by a questionable manufacturer isn't something that I can co-sign on

[rbig]

Thanks. Honest and objective answer. What I needed.

Do you have two or three specific old digi cam models in mind I can look for on Ebay that will give me closeup capability at a low price?

[Photo-John]

One foot isn't out of the range of most cameras. A close-up mode is pretty standard on compact digital cameras. So, for what you want, I'd just look for a camera with a macro mode and at least 3 megapixels of resolution. I think 3-megapixels is when digital cameras actually started to have reasonable and useful image quality. Maybe look for an Olympus 3030 or C3000, or a Canon G2. Those are pretty old so they shouldn't cost much if you can find one in good shape. I've used each of them and can't see any reason why they wouldn't do the job. Plus, they have full manual controls, if you want or need them. You can add a flash to the G2 and 3030, if you need that, too. They're very versatile cameras. Just be careful that they're in good condition, because those cameras are going to be at least 5 years old. I guarantee that if they're in good shape they'll walk all over that Vivitar.

[rbig]

Thanks again. I'm going to get busy searching to see what they're going for and what's out there.

[SmartWombat]

I have an old Minolta A1 that would be fine for that kind of work.
Again manual controls if you want them, anti-shake, external flash connector for studio flash and a hot shoe for a flashgun on the top, good macro mode and pretty simple to use.
Just too big for a pocket camera, but at 5 megapixels has more than enough resolution.
Should find one in pretty good shape fairly cheap.

[rbig]

Thanks. I'll check the Minolta A-1 out there, too.

[ohwuala]

Just a few camera for your consideration:

Olympus STYLUS600:
http://www.ohwuala.com/tho/tr/produc...D-1000714.html

MINOLTA DIMAGE Z2:
http://www.ohwuala.com/tho/tr/produc...A-1000599.html

OLYMPUS FE130:
http://www.ohwuala.com/tho/tr/produc...M-1000781.html