# Knife-Friendly Cameras



## mhlee (May 31, 2012)

Since I've been harped on for not providing good pictures of the knives, equipment, etc. that I have, what cameras (body and basic lens) up to $500 do you recommend? I don't particularly want something too bulky, but would definitely consider a micro 4:3 camera. 

Thanks. 

P.S. - Yes, I'm talking about you, TK. :tease:


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## JBroida (May 31, 2012)

come hang out and talk cameras one day  I love that stuff


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## JohnnyChance (May 31, 2012)

Canon S90/S95/S100.

I have an S95 that I enjoy, but the camera on my HTC One X is nearly as good in a lot of cases (shocking but true), so I may get rid of it and get a DSLR since my phone can now be pocketable camera option.

Don't take what TK says too seriously...he needs a new camera and a lesson from Jon on how to use it too.


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## steeley (May 31, 2012)

:wink:When your camera has to be Knife specific you know your in deep.


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## HHH Knives (May 31, 2012)

X2 on Canon.

I am shooting with a Rebel T3i and love it! Not sure if you can get into a new one with lens for under 500.00?? But if you look on Ebay you may get lucky. Image Stabilizing lens is also recommended and has made a huge improvement in my photos.


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## Namaxy (May 31, 2012)

I had a Canon Rebel...don't remember the model number...but it was circa the Andre Agassi ads....IE long ago and not high end. At my wife's urging I replaced it with a Canon 7D, together with a good lens. Camera guys always tell me that it was a good choice, but I swear I have better photos from the old camera.


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## JBroida (May 31, 2012)

what lens were you shooting with before and what was the new lens?


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## apicius9 (May 31, 2012)

I went through a few micro 4/3 cameras and really like them. Using a GH2 and a GF2 right now - if the pics don't come out right it's almost certainly user error. They are a bit pricy for what they are but I like that they are a touch smaller and easy to carry with a few lenses. Image quality of any of them will be between the compacts (like S95) and a DSLR, but much closer to the DSLR side. If you want to shoot sports or black-cladded ninjas at night, you will need a DSLR, for everything else, the m4/3 and the better compacts (Canon S100 / Panasonic LX5 / Olympus ZX1) will do just fine. More flexibility with exchangeable lenses, of course. 

Stefan


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## tk59 (May 31, 2012)

mhlee said:


> ...P.S. - Yes, I'm talking about you, TK. :tease:


:sofa:


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## Namaxy (May 31, 2012)

JBroida said:


> what lens were you shooting with before and what was the new lens?



I'm not able to check right now....but if memory serves it's a 24 - 205 - ish...USM lens. Was a separate purchase and more than half the cost of the camera. The Rebel was a complete package deal so I assume the lens was absolutely nothing special. To further clarify on the quality - it's the color I feel is lacking. The new camera is clearly faster - which is why we got it in the first place - my wife was ticked at missing our girls sports photos. The camera will click away all day and twice on Sunday. But when I take a composed still shot, I feel the end result doesn't measure up, especially now that our photos are in CR2 format. It's probably just the simple non-photograher in me, but I like the 8 MB or less, e-mailable, good looking photos from that crappy Rebel.
s


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## JBroida (May 31, 2012)

haha... makes sense now. Yeah... the more money you spend, the more that is required of you skill wise, experience wise, and technique wise to get the most out of the photos... more expensive cameras actually take more work to get good photos (for the most part)... actually, knives are kind the the same in that sense


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## mhlee (May 31, 2012)

JBroida said:


> come hang out and talk cameras one day  I love that stuff



I have heard you talk about cameras. :confusedsign: <= Me listening to you talk about cameras. 

I see your camera stuff and I get scared. More scared than when I held your Tsukasa knives!!!


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## SpikeC (May 31, 2012)

Ya, the wife's EOS 1D Mk 4 sits there and mocks me.


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## ajhuff (May 31, 2012)

I just bought a new P&S though not knife specific. I have a 6 year old Canon Rebel DSLR. The XT I think. Could not live without it, does everything I want it to so I have no good reason to replace it. I think I paid 600 back then. The newest version T3 I think? was on sale last week here at Walmart for $500. In my non-expertise but 30+ years of photography experience, the Canon Rebel series is the best bang for the buck for the novice to intermediate user wanting to shoot a DSLR. 

I need a pocket sized camera to complement the Rebel though. For a P&S, I had many people recommend Canon S- series and Panasonic. My requirement was it had to fit in my pocket. After a lot of research I went with the Canon SX260 and could not be happier. $299 from Amazon I think. I can fill you in on all my findings if you'd like or post the link from another forum where I had posed my questions seeking advise.

-AJ


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## mhlee (May 31, 2012)

AJ:

Thanks for the info. I'd really appreciate it if you could post the link. I noticed that the Canon SX260 got really good reviews.

I definitely don't think I need a DSLR. I think a micro 4/3rds would be the most I would EVER need. I hate lugging around a lot of things so I'd like to find a camera that is smaller, but takes great pictures.


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## add (May 31, 2012)

A decent light box set up will vastly improve results... regardless of camera.


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## Namaxy (May 31, 2012)

JBroida said:


> haha... makes sense now. Yeah... the more money you spend, the more that is required of you skill wise, experience wise, and technique wise to get the most out of the photos... more expensive cameras actually take more work to get good photos (for the most part)... actually, knives are kind the the same in that sense



Well I'm not that inexperienced. For my stills I alternate between 2 reflectors and a white box for the subject food, or a soft box set up. The histograms come out spot on, or close to it. I've had pros come and shoot with the same set up and not change much.....yet at the end of the day all agree the photos don't excite....


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## SpikeC (May 31, 2012)

It's not the arrow, it's the Indian


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## JBroida (May 31, 2012)

Namaxy said:


> Well I'm not that inexperienced. For my stills I alternate between 2 reflectors and a white box for the subject food, or a soft box set up. The histograms come out spot on, or close to it. I've had pros come and shoot with the same set up and not change much.....yet at the end of the day all agree the photos don't excite....



maybe you need to get into some zeiss glass


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## sw2geeks (Jun 1, 2012)

I have a nice camera setup, but I have been really surprised how good my iPhone takes pictures if things are lit properly.

On the other extreme, I had my knives shot in the photo studio recently for a magazine article I wrote. Ross, the studio photographer, was shooting with a 5D mark III on top a tall ladder to keep his reflection out of the knives. It comes out next week. I'll post some pictures of Ross on the ladder and the resulting pics when when it prints.


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## GlassEye (Jun 1, 2012)

JBroida said:


> maybe you need to get into some zeiss glass



Agreed, good glass will make a huge difference. The kit lens is generally quite lacking in all the good areas.


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## stereo.pete (Jun 1, 2012)

My Canon T3i does amazing things, which is apparent from my pictures and I have no idea how to use the thing. I just put it into auto mode and start snapping away and I rarely if ever am disappointed. One of these days I will spend some time learning how to use it, and see what I can do in terms of tricked out pics.


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## echerub (Jun 1, 2012)

As long as your camera lets you control (a) where it focuses, (b) the aperture on your shots and (c) you've got an appropriate tripod going, the rest of it I think really comes down to lighting and controlling what's in your environment.


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## mhlee (Jun 1, 2012)

The Canon S100 was recommended by a friend of mine who is a tech geek. 

Does anyone have a Canon S100? Any thoughts?


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