Greenhouser,

The feature you are referencing is called a 'macro' setting. I have to agree with the Canon Powershot if you are just looking for a small point and shoot camera. From all the cameras I've used the Canon Powershot is my favorite point and shoot.

Most all newer cameras come with macro capabilities. In addition, if you are looking at the cameras the macro option is generally identifed by a flower (tulip). Good luck in your quest for a camera.

Tj

You can get generic macro lenses on ebay to fit most cameras. Just make sure the screw mount is the same diameter.

You can also put a magnifying glass right in front of your camera and get closeup pictures.

dcarch

A suggestion,

Try http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/photo/ That forum is much more active than this one is.

Now do not get the wrong idea, I am not suggesting that you are posting topics on the wrong forum.

What I am doing is pointing you to a better place to ask your question.

Come back on here and post a link to their advice.

At this time of year there are many threads started that have absolutly nothing to do with Greenhouses & Garden Structures, no problem. This forum needs to be kept alive during the quiet times.

Here is a link that might be useful: Photography

ladylotus

But I didn't see one camera with a "macro" setting, just zoom capability. No one knew what I was talking about. Can you suggest a store that carries them?

chris_in_iowa

I'll check over there. Thanks. :)

I'm with ladylotus, I thought most all newer cameras had a macro setting. I wonder if the salespeople you were talking to were confused since you said "micro" instead of "macro"? That seems very silly, but then again, I've met some very silly salespeople too (especially at Christmas when they hire a lot of extra help.)

As ladylotus said, most will have a tiny little icon of a flower to signify the macro setting. I did some scanning of articles on the internet, and they all talked about macro settings as if most cameras have them. Even my very, very old digital camera has a macro setting. Here's one article:
DIY Macro Photography

I really don't think this should not be a hard thing for you to find at all. My only guess is you were getting very poor help from salespeople? Maybe you need to go back and tell them to "show you the little flower icon setting" and they'd be a bit more competant!
Sheri

"I really don't think this should not be a hard thing for you to find at all." Sheesh, what a bad sentence! It should not be hard for you to find this, LOL. Need more coffee.
Sheri

When I explained I wanted to take close-ups they would have understood the mistake. All the digital cameras we looked at had zoom settings but nothing about macro (or micro) settings. One older lady spent some time trying to help me. She knew about non digital camera's and lenses for closeups but not digital closeup cameras. I looked in the newspapers also, all the cameras advertised zoom and not one mentioned macro settings.

Thanks. I'm so frustrated I could scream. I looked at my HP which is about 6 yrs old. No flower icon. This was not a cheap camera. I looked at and held several cameras I saw in the stores but don't recall any flower icons on them. Being a plant nut I would have spotted and remembered a flower icon. They would show me how the cameras zoomed,.... no one seemed to know a damn thing about closeups. And we can't find the manual for our HP camera. We tried to get one from the HP website and the link didn't work. The black mold is spreading in the Rion like wildfire and a friend's daughter was found murdered in her home yesterday afternoon........ this isn't my week.

This is the reply I got from the photo group. Not every digital camera is equipped to to take close-ups. :(

* Posted by minrose (My Page) on
Mon, Dec 17, 07 at 20:22

I have 3 digital cameras and the only one that does not need a special macro lens or adaptor to take photos like you want is my Olympus 3000, it has a macro setting on it. It takes great macros, my other two digitals are Canon EOS Digital Rebel and Canon Powershot S3-IS, and they both need a macro lens and/or adaptor to take close-up shots.

I'm sorry this is so hard!! I just read the post on the photo forum too. Her first camera was actually introduced in 2003, and the second one came out in early 2006. I stand by my guns, you do not always need a special lens to take macro photos...you just have to do a bit of research to be sure you buy one of the new popular ones with a macro mode. Hopefully you'll get more answers to your post from other folks who DO have macro modes on their cameras without using special lenses.

Okey dokey, here is why I am so confident! :-)

I just did a quick Google search for "top ten digital cameras." I chose this list on epinions.com, for their ten best rated digital cameras:
Top Ten Digital Cameras on epinions.com

Then, I took the name of each one of these ten cameras, and I did a google search for a review for that camera. When I found a review, I looked for a list of specifications. Every single one of these ten cameras mentioned a "macro" or "close up" mode somewhere in the specs. Sometimes you have to look under "focus distance" or "shooting programs" in the specifications to find a mention of macro or close up, but every single one of them mentioned it. So, that's encouraging, don't you think?

Frankly I think many folks don't use macro as much as us gardening nuts. If you want to take pics of your kids playing soccer, you'd never use it. I am still baffled why these people helping you are acting like they've never heard of close-up or macro mode(!) but apparently they're just not aware it's there. It's almost always there in most models, in my opinion. I think the newspaper ads usually don't mention it since not everyone cares about it.

Now, some cameras have better macro abilities than others. Just because they mention "macro" in the specs doesn't mean it's the best choice for you. Personally, I always like to research things like digital cameras online instead of relying on folks behind the counter. (Nothing against salespeople, I've been one myself!) For example, I find the reviews on this site pretty helpful: Digital Photography Reviews
And, they also have this little blurb about Macro settings:
macro

If no one else answers your post in the photo forum, you could even try another post there, but title it something like, "best digital camera with built-in macro mode?" and see if you get some better help.

I think it would be best if you could arm yourself with knowledge before you go to the store, so you aren't at the mercy of folks behind the counter. You hang in there! Spending money shouldn't be this hard, should it? I hope this helps a bit. :-)

Sheri

I want what konrad___far_north used for this.

:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Great photo of an ant!

My close-up pics

Tomato blossom
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Tomato seeds
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Tomato bud
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dcarch

Greenhouser,

Sheri gave you some great information. I have the following camera...

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_reviews/sd750.html

It is a canon powershot and it takes great macro shots. If you check out that link you will see pictures of the camera. There is one photo of the front of the camera and the next photo you'll see is of the back with the LCD display. In the round button to the right of the LCD screen you see on the top of that button it says ISO then to the left you see the flower. That is what you use to initiate the macro setting.

Since you do not have a physical button on your HP your macro feature has to be in your menu options. If you go through all your menus you will see one that has that flower icon. That will be your macro setting. Perhaps if you post the name and specifics of your HP I can help you find your macro setting.

If you are still interested in purchasing a good little camera check out your Walmart store. I happened to be picking up some groceries today and thought of you, so I wandered over to the camera section. They had the same Canon Powershot that I have. When looking at these cameras...1st look for the icon that has the flower which signifies macro. If you don't see that then power it up and scan through the menu options, you will find the macro feature in the menu.

If you get to a Walmart ask to see any of their Canon Powershot cameras. They will have the flower icon (macro feature) on the outside in the form of a button.

Tj

dcarch,

Yeah that was really funny!

(now I am going to nightmares for weeks about giant hairy tomato buds attacking my cats!)

What equipment did you use?

(building a veggie oil flame thrower just in case, green, but deadly!!!)

Dcarch...that's one hairy mater. he he. Great shots! I was surprised to see how hairy/furry looking tomato seeds are. Thanks for sharing.

Nikon Coolpix 8400.

Great close-ups (as you can see)
Also the widest angle, as far as I know.

dcarch

WOW those are some fabulous photos, dcarch! Amazing detail. Thanks for showing us the quality you can achieve with that camera...I've read good things about it too.

Greenhouser, the website that Ladylotus has listed above is a great site. I used it for info back in the Middle Ages when I bought my old Sony Mavica digital.

Chris is right...those hairy tomato buds DO look like they're poised to attack...

"Chris is right...those hairy tomato buds DO look like they're poised to attack..."

Little Shop Of Horror ? LOL!

If you put a real tomato seed next to the picture, then you will get a better sense of the amazing magnification. I might have gotten even better definition if I had used a tripod and flash.

dcarch

mudhouse

Thanks for the sites. I will definitely read them all before venturing forth to look at cameras again. I had no idea how uninformed the people are that they hire. And as you said, not everyone cares about close-ups. I just assumed the salespeople would be familiar enough with cameras and would know. Silly me!

chris_in_iowa

I'm checking out some recommended sites but they don't mention which cameras come with macro settings and which don't. Do these sites expect us to just "know?" Even the people selling these cameras don't know. It appears you have to go to the store and try to get the manuals for all the cameras in your price range and be prepared to read them there for this Macro setting feature. I'm sure the more expensive cameras come with it these days.

ladylotus Z3/4

Thank you for the reply. I have the HP315 PhotoSmart. It has a menu button on the back but with 4 points, no icons and another odd shaped button next to it with no icon. I don't mess with the menu button because every time I did I couldn't find the setting to take pics again. My husband would have to "fix" it so he told me to leave it alone. I am not "electronically inclined." I am "electronically disabled." LOL!! :-D Hey, I still can't program the microwave or use the VCR, or is that a VHF?

dcarch

In looking up your Nikon CoolPix 8400 I see it's over $800. Not many of us retired people can afford a camera that expensive. It does take excellent pics. :)

Greenhouser,

It is amazing, your camera does not have a specific macro setting. Here is an online manual for your camera.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/bpy60034.pdf

You mention price concerns for a camera. I'm not sure which camera you are going to select. However, you can get the Canon Powershot for $150 - $200. If I have some time I will take a few macro shots and post them.

By the way...I certainly can understand the challenge with technology. I built a website and can't figure out how to upload it. ha ha. Need to work on that after the Holidays.

Tj

"Posted by greenhouser
dcarch
In looking up your Nikon CoolPix 8400 I see it's over $800. Not many of us retired people can afford a camera that expensive. It does take excellent pics. :)"

Ha Ha Ha -----. First, it didn't cost me a penny. It was a gift!
When it first come out, I think it was around $450.00 on sale. Then my friend bought it second hand on eBay for $210.00

I have a 8 GB memory chip I bought myself (don't remember how much) I can take (supposely) 20,000 pictures.

I got good friends! :-)
dcarch

ladylotus Z3/4

Thanks so much. I just downloaded the manual for my camera. My husband wants to read it. He's the techno-nut here. If there's a hidden macro setting he'll find it.

I built a website using Netscape composer in the past and uploaded it without a problem. But I had Bellsouth then and they gave free webspace with the account. It was drag and drop the files - every easy. Not all ISPs supply you with space. My first one was 17 pages with loads of pics. It took ages to make. I'm not even sure if my new ISP gives us space. If so I may make another website one of these days.

You sure do have good friends. :) That camera today is over $800. I heard too many horror stories about buying things on EBay. I'll stick to buying locally.

I've used various brands of point & shoot digicams for macro shots and was never happy. Then a couple of years ago I broke down and purchased a DSLR a couple of lens. Now I'm very happy with my macro photos, but it not cheap. Camera and a good macro lens will set you back around $1500-2000.

Here's a few examples;
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ladylotus Z3/4

There is no macro-setting for the HP315. It says it has a range from 11+ inches to infinity. At 11" it's all blurry so that makes no sense. From what I've read so far this camera is not useful for decent close-ups. Trying to remember what all the buttons are for and how long to hold each one to do something and then which way to push the 5 way button etc... it's mind boggling. :*(

caudex1

If I were doing it professionally and making even a small income on photography I would spend that much. But just to take some pics of my flowers - it wouldn't be a wise investment.

Since this is an old thread, I hope someone will pick up on my question. I just bought an loder type Nikon EM camera on ebay that came with a 50mm lens. There is a listing on ebay for Macro+Close Up Lens This is four lens (they look a lot like filters) that you can screw onto your 50mm lens to turn camera for macro photos. I need a macro feature to take pictures of my roses in bloom. Is this what I need?

That depends on a number of factors. Are they the same brand as your lens? Check the paperwork that came with your lens, they generally list accessories that work with them. Be careful you don't end up with a lemon.

1eyeedJack and the Dawg

summer_fashion,

Is that 50mm the focal length of the lens, or the diameter of its filter screw threads? You need to know the diameter of the front-side screw threads in order to obtain a usable closeup lens. For quality pictures, the closeup lens should be an achromatic design, involving at least two lens elements.

MM

Very few third party close-up lenses are achromatic. They are not coated either.

However, they can provide acceptable pictures. Cameras which do not have close-up capabilities generally do not take high quality pictures to begin with.

The close up lenses you are looking into can be stacked up to get different combinations of focal length.

In a pinch, you can use any hand-held magnifying glass in front of your camera to take close-up shots.

dcarch