 BigRedBat  | 31 Mar 2015 3:16 a.m. PST |
My trusty Nikon Coolpix 8700 has bitten the dust, and I am looking for a modern replacement. Having some familiarity with Nikon, I'm minded to stay with them. Can anyone suggest an appropriate, more recent model? It doesn't have to be the very latest model. I mainly photograph minis in light tents, and wargames for my blog and magazines. Thanks, Simon |
| John Treadaway | 31 Mar 2015 4:48 a.m. PST |
I mostly use my three year old Nikon Coolpix 510. An excellent, all round camera: a bridge not a DSLR but does 95% of what's needed. When I do need to have lens flexibility I reply on a now rather ancient DSLR a Canon EOS – but not a recent one so the sensor of the Nikon is (at 16mp) almost twice the 'size'. For carrying at shows where I need something even smaller that handles low light really well, I'm currently using a beautiful little Sony RX100 M3. Excellent camera with great light grasping potential and over 20mp but light on lens options. Oh, and way too expensive. A second hand 510 (they don't seem to make them any more) would by my choice (£140 on ebay for a good one was a recent quick look). John T |
| BigRedBat | 31 Mar 2015 5:19 a.m. PST |
Thanks John, that sounds very much like the sort of thing I need, and affordable. Out of curiosity presumably the Coolpix 520 is similar, just with a slightly higher definition image? Best, Simon |
| Captain Cook | 31 Mar 2015 5:37 a.m. PST |
I have the 520 Simon and find it more than adequate for little men pics. Image size goes up to 4896x3672 Manual aperture priority goes from f3 to f8 For none little men pics it has a splendid zoom lens. |
Random Die Roll  | 31 Mar 2015 6:42 a.m. PST |
I like the Canon PowerShot SX210
14.1meg pixels |
| BigRedBat | 31 Mar 2015 7:30 a.m. PST |
Thanks all- I'll go with the Coolpix for the sake of familiarity, either the 510 or the 520. |
| John Treadaway | 31 Mar 2015 2:21 p.m. PST |
I do like the Nikon – I was just using it today for some magazine shots so I went back and checked the image size: 4608 by 3456. I hope it works out for you BRB John T |
| BigRedBat | 31 Mar 2015 4:07 p.m. PST |
Cheers John! I better have one by Salute…. |
| jwebster | 05 Apr 2015 4:02 p.m. PST |
Honestly I am not sure that I would recommend a compact camera at all Smartphone photography has improved dramatically over the last few years, so take a serious look. I am sure people will let you try out – see how much you like the pictures that come out Personally I have a DSLR that I use for miniature photography (amongst other things) with extension tubes, flash etc. Quick pictures taken at the workbench with a cellphone (if there is enough light for me to paint with, there is enough for photography) are great for quick sharing etc. I do have a compact but it is high/medium end Canon S110. That takes nice close ups too John |
| uglyfatbloke | 06 Jul 2015 8:48 a.m. PST |
Nikon D90 DSLR (you can get a second-hand one for not-very-much)and a Nikkor 35mm, F1.8 lens – you'll maybe struggle to find a second-hand one, but they're not terribly expensive and they're great. Get two flashes with 'remote' function that are compatible with Nikon's 'CLS' function and you're made for pretty much anything, but use them to bounce the light off walls and ceiling rather than pointing straight at the table.
Alternatively, a few table/standard lamps and a sheet of daylight correction filter. The latter comes in sheets from lighting companies for sweetie money…perhaps 10 bucks to give you more than enough forever. Taking stuff outdoors on a bright but cloudy day is a good thing so long as it does n't rain. |
worries about not losing his rules stuff.