[Woodcarver] Re: question about cameras

[Ramsey]

If you are photographing for the web or e-mail only, it's not much of 
an investment.  I use a old Olympus D-450 Zoom1.3 megapixel camera. 
It's way more than enough for the web.  They are probably available 
on EBay for less than $100.  It takes great pictures and makes up for 
most lighting problems that occur with film cameras.  You should use 
a photo editing program to adjust and compress the photos for the 
web. Basic ones come with most cameras. Compressing means reducing 
the file size small enough so the photos don't take forever to 
download.

On the other hand, if you want to take high quality photos for prints 
or publication,  I would recommend at least a 4 megapixel camera. 
They probably start at around $400.
I use a Nikon Cool Pix 4500.  It will take high resolution TIFFs.  It 
is not as forgiving as the Olympus but offers a lot more options.  If 
you aren't well versed in photography techniques the extra features 
may be irrelevant but if you learn how to use it it's an awesome tool.
-- 
Ron Ramsey
http://www.carvedbyramsey.com


Be sure to look at the incredible nature inspired art jewelry hand 
fabricated by my wife, Karen Olsen Ramsey.  It's worth the time to 
take a look!
http://www.artjeweler.com