Anybody knows of a good digital camera for close up shots

[crow01]

I am looking for a digital camera that can do nice close up shots.

I need to take pictures of some car components, and they have small marking, such as little plates with serial numbers.

I have a camera (bought in 2006). Close up pictures are really bad. It looks blurry, then either too bright or too dark. A Sony Cybershot, very slow to take pictures. paid like $300 back then.

Looking to spend less than $400 for another camera that can do the job. Portable, not one of those big Rebel cameras.

Any recommendations, thanks!

[bongomania]

I have a Canon Powershot S2IS that does fantastic super-closeups. I actually bought it specifically because the reviews said that was one of its strong points. Mine is kinda old, but surely there must be a current version of it.

[MonetBass]

Get one with a macro mode, and turn off auto-focus. That should do what you want.

[Boira]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38 and Canon PowerShot G11 are really good options.
I'm more of a Olympus fan, but my Oly is a Reflex...
The EP1 could be a good choice too, but I don't know the price range.

[m0nst3r]

Depending how many megapixels your camera is, you can always try to take a picture from a little farther away and just crop the part, which will blow it up. Essentially, you'd be using digital zoom.

[Stanley Design]

My Top Tips for taking better photographs with your pocket camera.

There's no reason your camera can't do what you want it to, you just need to know how.

[jmattbassplaya]

Depends on what you want and how much you want to get into it. I`d suggest Canon if you have any desire to possibly get into photography as a hobby. If you`re just looking for something pocket sized for quick "click n go" shots I`d suggest Nikon.

[taquitos43]

I have a Canon Powershot SX200IS. Great point and shoot. 12.1 MP and a great zoom. Has a macro that focuses very close. Retail is around $325 but you can get it off ebay for around $250ish.

[LSquared]

how close up are you looking?? I recently bought a Nikon Coolpix S640, it was under $250, including taxes and all that stuff...
And fits in my shirt pocket.
Here's some shots just messing around w/ it:









All of these are from my blog, there's a buch of photos from it there.

[jive1]

Having used a point and shoot, and an SLR. It's hard to beat a good SLR with a good macro lens. In the end, it's all about the glass.

But, if you don't want to go that route, have you tried using a tripod while using the camera's timer function? Just doing those two things can improve your closeup shots immensely by reducing the two major causes of camera shake.

Another option if you don't have a tripod is to just use a burst shooting mode, and fire off a bunch of shots in a row. Good chance that one will be nice and clear. But, again, a fast lens is needed for that.

[Nedmundo]

My old Fuji S7000 has an excellent macro mode. It's similar to this one: http://www.jr.com/fuji-film/pe/FUJ_FPIXS2550BK/