Simple High Quality Picture Camera (Food blog)

robert77

robert77

Member
Hey ns,

I have a friend who is looking for a simple all in one picture camera that will allow her to take good quality pictures of food. She runs a food blog, and wants a camera thats better than her iphone. Budget is max 550. She's not necessarily looking for a dslr, so something compact and simple would be best!

Here is a link to the website: http://honeybutterbakes.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/lemon-blueberry-muffins/]http://http://honeybutterbakes.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/lemon-blueberry-muffins/[/url]

Any insight is appreciated and as always +k.

Cheers!
 
Compacts suck, its a fact, the sensors are just too small. For the same price as a 'high-end' compact you can get a dslr which will give you infinitely better results.
 
If she is using the camera for web based photos in controlled light situations (Ie. window light, exactly what she's using) then she does NOT need a DSLR, and solely using a DSLR will NOT give 'infinitely better results' over a compact camera.

The only benefit that a DSLR would have over a decent compact camera on image quality in her situation would be a reduced depth of field, which would have a limited-to-negligible impact on overall image quality. Even then, using a large aperture compact camera appropriately could yield matching DOF capabilities.

Knowing how to use light and composition will have a much greater impact on her photos. If she/you pokes around photo blogs and sites for a while, you would have no trouble finding a straightforward guide to using natural light correctly to light food/still life. The camera is a tiny part of the image quality equation in this particular situation. Check out fstoppers.com, or even ehow.com or something along that line.

I would recommend she gets one of the upper level compact cameras, which would remain small and simple, while still having very usable large apertures and dynamic range. The Canon s90 is a very very good camera considering it's size and price, and can be found for under $200 used according to amazon. She could also check into buying a refurbished one from BH photo, which probably comes with a warranty/guarantee.

The specific camera model isn't particularly important, more so look for cameras that are recommended for solid technical functions over chintzy features. Any of the upper level Nikon/Canon lines will have something suitable, and I'm sure other brands probably do too.
 
yah I was gonna suggest an s100 also. amazing light performance in a compact. you dont need zoom and this has a bright lens so its perfect. raw is also a plus. and manual focus ring.
 
These are good point and shoots, but I don't think an amateur would notice the difference between those and an S100. They are more designed for pro's who care about pixel peeping.

Also, I personally would go X100 or G1X over both of those, bigger sensor.
 
I agree with ZBPhoto. The only thing that's important for food photography is lighting.

Get her a 30D and a 18-55, two strobes and something to trigger those with. Should run her 400 max. Camera quality means nothing when shooting food. Lighting is what it's about. And having manual settings.
 
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