sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

The SX50 would be a fantastic over-all camera if you do not need a pocket camera. It will do macro (life-size close-ups), extreme telephoto, and video. You do not need 20MP to create photos for use on the web.

For a great example of what talent + SX50 can accomplish, see:

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-369853-1.html

aellman Loc: Boston MA

I have an (obviously old) 8 megapixel camera, and I get great results that can be enlarged up to 20x24. Just a little perspective on the mp obsession.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

What kinds of items are you planning to sell? It could affect what you need.

marki3rd Loc: Columbus, Indiana

For your stated use you certainly do not need anything near 20-21 Mp. I think the suggestion above for a Canon SX50 would be an excellent choice. It's close focus/macro capability might be very handy.

FL Streetrodder

I have to agree with others that you certainly don't need 20+ megapixel resolution to do what you want to accomplish with a camera. Most any point and shoot camera has a setting for macro (close-up) photography and will have a built-in flash with the capability to turn the flash on or off depending on lighting conditions. While the Canon SX50 camera is capable of producing excellent results, I feel all the features available in that model may prove to be a bit daunting to someone new to photography and the extreme zooming capability would not be needed for your intended use. My advice would be to go to a store that has a number of brand name point and shoot cameras that you can handle and discuss the features with a knowledgeable salesperson and see what model feels most understandable and easy to use for yourself. Keep it simple if you can and you should be able to purchase a camera to meet your needs for less than $100!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Typical newbie misunderstanding.

Picture quality is MOST dependent upon YOU. Your knowledge, experience, sense of composition, sense of moment, sense of what to do with light, your taste in subject matter, and many other factors are usually much more important than the gear.

You can make great photos with average gear. You can make them EASIER, and enhance their "technical" quality, with better gear.

Start with something reasonably inexpensive. Use it and learn from it. Make about 10,000 exposures with it, and learn its limits. THEN research the expensive stuff. You'll know what you want by then.

You can make a GREAT lighting setup using white bed sheets or diffusion material, clamp lamps, and Photo grade CFL lamps from ALZO digital:

http://www.alzodigital.com/online_store/light_bulbs_compact_fluorescent-daylight.htm

Using these lamps ensures you get as close to DAYLIGHT quality as possible. Don't buy the Walmart specials! They are not full-spectrum lamps.

Search "Lighting tent for product photography" on YouTube. There are plenty of them. Here's a start:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyxzC5kqbyw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35WpdrzNUXI

Whatever camera you buy, learn how to do a custom white balance and set manual exposure. When making multiple photos of the same item for eBay, you want them all to MATCH in color and brightness. So read your camera manual.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

Stop, Halt, finne, before you proceed any further please consider. (joke) Enjoy the journey but your expenses have just begun.
I consider photography to be the study of light, mood, composition, whim, luck, scouting, going back, etc. It is so much and so involved. It encompasses the whole world in all of its aspects. It is a great joy, journey, puzzlement, disappointment and delight. But most of all an ever learning process.
I know that did not exactly answer your question but it is my way of saying welcome aboard.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Why not use an Iphone for pics if you have one?

Anandnra Loc: Tennessee

Why not just use your smartphone if the pictures are just for posting on ebay ....

Anandnra Loc: Tennessee

Oops sorry ... just saw it was already suggested.

WALL

Pay no attention to pixel count. It is a number the market uses to fool the fools. The same is true for long lenses on point and shoot cameras.
I have an SX 50 and leave it in my car. I enjoy using it it. I would enjoy it more if Canon toned down the specs and focal focal length.

babsie2300

Hi, Thanks for your responses I can't seem to get an SX 50 unless I pay twice the amount because Canon had them on sale for 149.99. It does sound like a complicated camera. Maybe I should look at something else under 100.00. Only to do online pictures.

MW

A radical suggestion: Go to Amazon and buy a copy of "The a Photographers EyE" by Michael Freeman. Read it twice - slowly. Use what you learn with whatever camera you have now or even your cell phone. A well compared image from a cell phone beats a blah boring technically correct image from the worlds best DSLR. Good composition is the hardest part of photography to learn but once you start to get the hang of it you will be able to judge for yourself what you need from a camera

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

What sort of items will you be photographing for online use? Almost any camera will be good enough, but you may need to think about lighting equipment.