Need advice on how to take a photo of very small object

[Discusman]

Hi guys,

I'm a new member of this forum. Currently I want to take some very clear detailed photos of some very tiny objects such as rings or a tiny rain drop from a flower. I want to show all the patterns or letters that on the back of a watch. The photo quality has to be very clear and vivid.

Imagine a photo of a honey bird and you can see its eyes, the fur and the claws of the bird.

I've tried to use my Olympus C3000 3.3MegaPixel which I bought is several years old. It has a 3x optical zoom and 2.5x digital zoom. Unfortunately no matter what I do, it wouldn't give me the photos that I need.

So I'm looking to buy a new digital camera. but which one?
Can you guys help? I saw the new Olympus c740 with 10x optical zoom. Would that one do the job?

How about a video camcorder? I saw one it has 20x optical zoom. Can I use a camcorder to do this job?

Thanks in advance.

[TampaDan]

With a consumer model point-and-shoot camera, zoom really doesn't matter when it comes to Macro photography. Most digicams today come with a "macro mode," and they generally do a very good job of shooting extreme close-ups.

Of course, you have to get very close to the subject.

My first digicam was a 2mp Fuji FinePix that took amazing macro shots.

Now, for a professional macro, the truly extreme closeup, you will need special (and expensive) lenses that fit a dSLR camera. For more on that subject I suggest DPReview. They detail the features of virtually every digital camera on the market. They can even show you which point-and-shoot models have a good macro feature.
The C-740 even has a "Super" Macro mode:
Normal mode: 24"(60 cm)’‚’‚…‚’‚‚‚¦‚“ infinity
Macro mode: 2.8"’‚’‚…‚’‚‚‚¦‚“24" (7 cm ’‚’‚…‚’‚‚‚¦‚“ 60 cm)
Super Macro mode: 1.2"’‚’‚…‚’‚‚‚¦‚“2.8" (3 cm ’‚’‚…‚’‚‚‚¦‚“ 7 cm)

[Discusman]

finally I got a reply.

I've just found the Macro Mode on my C-3000 and it works better for taking close shot of a small subject. However, I was trying to take some macro shots on a ring. The outcome isn't so impressive.

I didn't see it mentioned about super macro mode for c-740 specs. are you sure about that?

I've heard Nikon is the best camera out there for macro photography, is it true?

[Matt_C]

I know the C750 has a super macro mode which can produce superb results so I'm guessing the C740 will have one too. The Olympus C5050 also has a super macro mode which is again very good. These are both older cameras now but I'm guessing that Olympus would have continued this function on it's newer models. Best check though.

Matt

[LoveLife]

Originally posted by Discusman
Hi guys,

I'm a new member of this forum. Currently I want to take some very clear detailed photos of some very tiny objects such as rings or a tiny rain drop from a flower. I want to show all the patterns or letters that on the back of a watch. The photo quality has to be very clear and vivid.

Imagine a photo of a honey bird and you can see its eyes, the fur and the claws of the bird.

I've tried to use my Olympus C3000 3.3MegaPixel which I bought is several years old. It has a 3x optical zoom and 2.5x digital zoom. Unfortunately no matter what I do, it wouldn't give me the photos that I need.

So I'm looking to buy a new digital camera. but which one?
Can you guys help? I saw the new Olympus c740 with 10x optical zoom. Would that one do the job?

How about a video camcorder? I saw one it has 20x optical zoom. Can I use a camcorder to do this job?

Thanks in advance.

A few things
1- No standard camera digital or otherwise with a macro feature is going to get you that close.
2- You will need a Nikon 6T and a camera with a good zoom and decent mega pixels to do the job.
3- If you can afford to spend $340 FZ20 CRing adapter $33 and Nikon 6T $50.00. You can get results like this actual size ’…’‚‚½ inch.