Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

If this is a real business, you can deduct the cost of advertisement, equipment, software, and anything that will help make a profit. So, the suggestion of the 70D, which is a wonderful full service camera is your best bet. Shooting with a great lens will help, as long as the lens is know for capturing color, the Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM will be the best lens for your use. It gives a wide array of telephoto, and is well known quality of the Canon "L" lenses. I'd also spring for a X-rite Color Checker Passport, and a copy of Lightroom 5. In any light source the Color Checker Passport will adjust the colors of your product shots to true color, through presets in Lightroom. Of course you will have to shoot your quilts in RAW, import to lightroom, and make adjustments to the color by using the presets.

B

rob s Loc: La Mesa, CA

Your lighting will probably be more important than your choice of camera, as will the backgrounds. Plain white or light grey walls or even a sheet hung up work. The further behind your quilt the less the texture and wrinkles show. The lower the f number the less the texture and wrinkles show. More or less light on the background will control the brightness of it.

If it is available to you window lighting, evened out with a reflector or two, can work very well. For reflectors use white cardboard or Styrofoam sheet from Home Depot.

I would recommend looking on YouTube for some help with lighting set ups.

Choosing a camera make is always contentious since many photographers seem to feel personally about their chosen brand. The different makes do have a 'feel' to them and if you've been comfortable with Canon in the past another one will also feel right.

frozenhermitphoto

Wow, I just read this whole thread and I'm sure that not much of it has helped you.

Most cameras produce nice color rendition with adequate light, so my advice would be to set a budget, pick out a few cameras in that budget, then research each one a little. The features I feel would be important in a camera to fit your needs would be:

1. Sixteen megapixels or more. This is twice what your old camera has, so it should give you twice the detail.
2. Macro setting for a point and shoot, or a macro lens for a digital SLR camera. While not usually capable of true macro shooting, these settings/lenses will be able to take photographs of minute details that accompany full size shots. Most DSLR cameras come with a "macro" 18-55mm kit lens that will probably be all you ever need for this purpose.
3. RAW capability, simply because for fine detail you shouldn't rely on the jpg engine built into the camera. You could experience up to 80% loss of data with your camera spitting out jpg photos. Most cameras come with software to convert your RAW files manually, which will not only enable you to save at a higher quality, but RAW files are easier to "fine tune" colors than jpg images.
4. Vivid color setting built in. Most cameras have this anyway, but using it could make a huge difference in how you like the picture.
5. Manual settings. If you know your way around a camera, you will probably find occasions where you want more control than the auto settings will provide. It is better to have it and not need it. . .
6. Custom white balance capability. This is crucial to accurate color rendition. Auto white balance can easily throw off the colors, especially when shooting indoors. Unless all your lights are on the same color spectrum, you will want to check your white balance every time you do a shoot.
7. Wifi capable. If you want to see how a quilt will look on a computer, why not send the image to your computer when you take it? It can save a lot of time, trouble and headaches.

Remember, brand loyalty is great but it should not come between you and your goal of great pictures. I personally don't shoot quilts, but I do shoot crafts and jewelry. You may want to give some thought to lighting; you won't get good photos without good light.

Peace!

Sprocket Loc: Upstate New York

Many brands will work for you. My advice would be to stick with Canon because you have some familiarity with them.

First, if these pictures are for on-line use only, high pixels are not much of a concern to you. You will probably want to be downloading in jpg.

Secondly, lighting is very important for your needs. Do a little homework and google lighting for photography. Invest in some lighting. You will not regret it.

Learn a little about white balance and what a gray card is for. You want to make sure that if you sell things on line that you represent their true colors in your pictures.

rob s Loc: La Mesa, CA

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

dickwilber Loc: Indiana (currently)

Ron S hit the mark when he discussed the importance of lighting! Any up to date camera will give you great results if the set up is good. Questions about where you will be taking your photos abound. Indoors or out; how much room; quilts folded, hanging or laid out on the floor? Getting even lighting of all the same quality (color temperature) is paramount. Figure the where out and then you can work on the rest.

Camera? Pick one you like. If you are shooting in cramped quarters, you will need to look at wide angle lenses. Good luck with your business.

Sprocket Loc: Upstate New York

Darn it.... I should have read your thread before writing mine. You worded it better. At least we are on the same page.
:lol: :thumbup:

rob s Loc: La Mesa, CA

I learned when I was teaching that repeating something in a different way contributes to understanding the topic. So you helped ;-)

anrflaud

thanks to everyone for all your info, wow , that is so awesome.. I think my choice will be a Canon 60 or 70, and then the next thing is the lighting to get it just right , so I appreciate those that have made some helpful comments already and you all may be hearing from me again, in the meantime enjoy all your photo shoots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TimS Loc: GA

I think you need to look at the Canon 1Dx. That should do the best job for you! 😄

Seriously, ANY digital camera will work.

TimS Loc: GA

Get the 70D!!!!

(Or for the same price, you can get a used 1D mark III...). Just sayin.

rob s Loc: La Mesa, CA

If you can run to it, and there are some deals around, I would get the 70D. Good luck with your photography and if you need help you know where to find it. You can also feel free to PM me if you wish.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

I'm not sure what you mean by "not big enough." You only need a $150 pocket point&shoot by Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, or any other major name brand manufacturer to make great photos for the Internet that can be huge. Most all of them are 14MP or 16MP or even 20MP these days. The Internet only requires 1280X800 pixels at 96ppi to completely fill a screen so any of those can give you abundant excess resolution. Any camera on the market can do that including most all good smart phones and tablets that have a camera above 5MP.

You're going to need to find the "vivid" setting in the menu of any camera you use to boost the colors or you'll have to get into post editing the photos to boost the colors yourself.

Spending $400+ on a new physically-bigger camera isn't going to do much for quilts unless the new one has a very crisp lens that creates better image quality but it doesn't have to necessarily larger or a longer focal length than what you have.

My brother runs a very successful eBay business and takes photos of his thousands of products with a nice little Pentax Point&Shoot with a 4X zoom lens that I think he paid $200 for. He also took it to France and Russia on vacations and the output was phenomenal for 8X10 prints.

lukan Loc: Chicago, IL

For your purpose, ANY decent point and shoot will work beautifully. Just get one you like that costs around $200, and go sell a lot of quilts. Save your money! ;)

digit-up Loc: Flushing, Michigan

This guy seems to "ALWAYS-HIT-THE-MARK" with right-on advice, Very good points for this lady. KUDOS!! RJM