recommendation for new camera?

I would recommend a cheap DSLR.  In macro photography the real key issue is focus.  On compact cameras you are looking at an LCD screen to check focus.  Few of these screens are even a megapixel in resolution, whereas the cameras may well be 10 mp or more.  So the final shot may exhibit fuzzy focus even if it looked okay on LCD screen.  With a DSLR you are looking at the object through the main lens and your own eye is the limit for resolution.

Also, you need a camera with manual focus.  Focusing in macro photography is harder than what a little cheap computer inside the camera will handle.  In macro photography a common rule of thumb is that you should focus about 1/3 of the way back from the front of the object to the rear.  The autofocus computer can't figure that out.

I recommend the cheaper Nikon DSLRs.  The reason is the kit lens that comes with the package of camera body plus lens.  It is macro at ALL focal lengths, not just the telephoto.  The reason this is important is that wide angle exaggerates depth, while telephoto compresses depth. You want as much illusion of depth as possible in model photography, so you want to shoot at normal to wide angle.

Also, the Nikon kit lens (18-55mm) stops down to f/32.  Many lenses do not stop down this far.  For good depth of field you want to set the camera to aperture priority and stop down to a high f/number.

I would agree with Don. I took pictures of flowers in High School and you really want a good DSLR in your hands for quality work. You could always tell my prints apart from my classmates. I have a Sony Alpha 200 (10.2 MPX) I just unearthed from my PCS boxes and ordered battery chargers and a lens (the standard kit  18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM DT Standard Zoom Lens).

Whatever you decide be safe and turn geocache-ing off as it is a security issue!

How about A NIKON 3200?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/d3200-dslr-camera-with-18-55mm-vr-lens/4826999.p?id=1218542603974&skuId=4826999&st=pcmcat186400050004_categoryid$abcat0401005&cp=1&lp=2

 wife upgrade her phone this evening . I was looking at that camera . took great photo;s

Just playing around with it . We may go back in pick this one up

Which card ?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VNKNF0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1E58OGYBYYRIU&coliid=I1IPHQTNKPHA4J

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007M54E1M/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1E58OGYBYYRIU&coliid=I1VLKTWMG5SSM6

thank you

That camera is overkill! 24MP!

Please turn off the GeoCache features off for your own safety.

Nikon makes a great camera at almost all price ranges and their line of lenses are outmatched except by Cannon and possibly Sony.

As for card size think about the size of the pictures and if you will take video with the camera. If it is worth almost twice the price for a faster write speed then get that one.

I am envious because my Sony A200 only uses the old CompactFlash cards, you know the lego brick ones, and you'll be enjoying the SD which is used with almost everything. Another thing you can do is when you get home you can transfer the images to your computer and (if you have one) tablet using the WLAN feature and the same function can be done by turning the WLAN Hotspot function on your wife's new phone and transferring it to any devices that you have with you, even your wife's phone.

The included lenses are fabulous and cover a very large range. The 18-55 will probably become your go to model lens. The only add-on I can think of is getting a Macro Lens for the knitty gritty detail. The difference between the two is easy to explain with flowers. Your standard lens takes a great picture of the flower, the colors are nice and soft. The Macro lens takes a great picture of the flower, the colors are superb and you can see the veins in the petals.  

I hope this helps.

However, I have seen the 3200 on sale at VERY good prices. I bought my wife a 3100 about a year ago. I bought the 3100, a lower resolution model.  However, the sale price on the 3200 now is what we paid for the 3200!  You can always select medium quality or lower resolution in the shooting options if you do not want to use a large card.  However, enormous size flash cards are now pretty cheap.  The extra resolution allows you to do a LOT of cropping without getting bad pixelation.

BTW, the kit lens 18-55 mm IS a macro lens in the Nikon kits.

What is GeoCache, and why is it a security issue?  

Don the 18-55 mm is classified as a zoom lens as its maximum reproduction ratio is .31x. That is not saying that it wont do as good a job as an actual macro lens like the 40mm f/2.8G which can capture a subject at life-size or at a 1.0x reproduction ratio. The subject will look smaller with the zoom lens. You are exactly right with the card sizes, the camera does have multiple setting but I would argue that with the price of memory these days there is no reason to shoot anything at anything lower that highest quality, especially in your own home. I've always preferred having a large photo I need to crop than a smaller photo where everything barely fits.

Cadet Chuck, GeoCache-ing is when the GPS coordinates of your current location are saved into the picture's metadata. It is a nice feature when you are out and about taking pictures and cant remember where you were when you took a given picture. However, these GPS coordinates go with the picture when you upload it to photobucket. This is a problem when a potential burglar sees something he likes at your house downloads the image and automatically knows exactly where the item is. As I am in the Army, the DoD includes GeoCache-ing in our anual Cyber training. I just finished this training and it was the first thing I noticed when viewing the specs of the 3200.

Don Stauffer

However, I have seen the 3200 on sale at VERY good prices. I bought my wife a 3100 about a year ago. I bought the 3100, a lower resolution model.  However, the sale price on the 3200 now is what we paid for the 3200!  You can always select medium quality or lower resolution in the shooting options if you do not want to use a large card.  However, enormous size flash cards are now pretty cheap.  The extra resolution allows you to do a LOT of cropping without getting bad pixelation.

BTW, the kit lens 18-55 mm IS a macro lens in the Nikon kits.

thank you

Haseren4,  thank you for the info.  I had no idea of this.

haseren4

Don the 18-55 mm is classified as a zoom lens as its maximum reproduction ratio is .31x. That is not saying that it wont do as good a job as an actual macro lens like the 40mm f/2.8G which can capture a subject at life-size or at a 1.0x reproduction ratio. The subject will look smaller with the zoom lens. You are exactly right with the card sizes, the camera does have multiple setting but I would argue that with the price of memory these days there is no reason to shoot anything at anything lower that highest quality, especially in your own home. I've always preferred having a large photo I need to crop than a smaller photo where everything barely fits.

Hmmm.  I bought my camera about eight years ago, and we bought another Nikon with the same lens about four or five years ago.  Neither was image stabilized. It may be they removed the macro feature when they went to IMC.

While I have a super variable power closeup/supplemental lens that attaches, like normal supplemental (plus) lenses, I seldom use it unless I am shooting super small detail on the model.  The lens is marked as 0.92 foot (minimum focus distance) at 55mm, it seems to be cinsiderably closer at shorter focal lengths.  Since I normally shoot at f/32 or thereabouts, parts of the model can be closer.

Don, I never said it wouldn't do a good job and that attachable lens does help. As long as it takes darn good pictures that you are proud to display it really doesnt matter what camera/lens combo you use.

Don,

This is idle curiosity on my part but, is your 18-55 lens a Nikon lens and labelled as MACRO? The reason I ask is that I've always thought Nikon labelled their macro lenses as MICRO Nikkors. I have the very old 50 mm MICRO Nikkor which is macro lens. I don't have the 18-55 mm. Not a criticism of the lens BTW; indeed, Ken Rockwell rates it very highly. My Tamron 28-75 mm is labelled MACRO but really only goes to 1:3 life size (macro should do 1:1 or more). Just curious.

here is the camera we are going to get from best buy .

www.bestbuy.com/.../3643029.p$abcat0401005&cp=1&lp=3

I think it's a fine camera --- enjoy and post build pics that you take with it. The 50-200 is a nice addition to the kit. Personally, I use my Nikon much more for photography other than models and use telephoto more than macro.

pick up a d3200 nikon .Love it

I have a Pentax K-10D, which is a fine camera. Probably more camera than I need, in fact. A few years ago I bought my wife a Canon "bridge camera" - a brilliantly designed little thing with 10 megapixels and a permanently-mounted 50x zoom lens that's just incredible. It has a minimum focus distance of about three inches.

My wife almost always leaves it set on "green mode," but you can control the aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc, if you want to. and the whole rig is light as a feather.  The big reservation the magazines always express about bridge cameras is that, because they're so small, you can't do much to reduce the depth of field. Almost everything is always in focus. (Artistic types like to play with "bokeh" - deliberate blurring. Later edit - when I typed this last night my phone refused to recognize "bokeh" and changed it to "hokey." I hate machines that think they're smarter than I am, though they're usually right.) Seems to me that that huge depth of field is just what the doctor ordered for model photography. Next time I need to take model pictures I'll borrow Anne's Canon and see what I can do with it - IF I can pry it out her hands. She loves that little camera, and so do I.