It’s been recommended that we need to get a macro editing camera that takes a great, high-detailed picture one to two inches away. We are looking to spend between $150- $300. Goal is to photograph jewelry and items for eBay. What cam would you recommend and are there any good bits of advice for how to take the best possible shot? Such as florescent vs. sun or incandescent, etc. Thanks for any help you can give.
Most regular P&S cameras have a macro mode that is sufficient for posting photos of jewelry on EBay. Much more important is getting a nice setup for taking the photos, a light box or such, which are easy to DYI.
Something basic like the Canon ELPH 115 has a macro mode that allows you to get 1cm from your subject. Build a nice light box and get a small tripod or stand and you should be all set.
Thanks! Do you have any advise on what sort of light to use & how it should be positioned?
You should create a lightbox like this - How to Create an Inexpensive Photography Lightbox: 12 Steps
you want a mountable camera that is comfortable to hold. those will likely have a good macro mode.
long tube fluorescent bulbs through a diffuser spread the light well.
Either a ringlight - mono or strobe - or the white lightboxes described work well. The basic idea with the latter is to shoot through as small a hole as possible (3-4 inches), position that reflection on a corner or oblique of the item being shot, and then light the hell out of the outside of the fabric lightbox. With some practice and three or four good monolights with dimming, you can get very dramatic lighting even on complex, glittery things.
My oldest worked his way through college as a product photographer for a major extreme-sports retailer, and still needs a couple of beers to describe the nightmare that was a completely chromed skateboard… but then, I once shot a 30x40 foot piece of machinery that the manufacturer had decided should be all chrome, glass and polish…
And you let them live??? :smack:
Hope you jacked the price to the moon for that job… ::: sheesh :::: 
Compact fluorescents make daylight balancing easy. Get some 100 W (equivalent) reflector bulbs and cheap bowl-shaped work lights.
Thin-to-medium white cloth will work as a diffuser.
Ring flashes are nice, but probably beyond your price range.
Just make sure all surfaces that the camera sees are bathed in diffused light.
I have an old light box (originally for viewing film) which serves as the bottom lighting. Large and small work lights provide the top and sides.
You’ll need to play with the lighting to get it right - I use a 1x2 with spring clamps to position the lights.
Ideally, this can be setup somewhere where it will be undisturbed as long as you are moving product.
Would this be comparable?
That’s a step up, the next model higher. For the purposes of taking these EBay shots it’s not going to give you much more. It’s a better general purpose camera however. They’ve both been succeeded by the ELPH 150, but they’re all in roughly the same price range.
Wrong kind of shot; once it was full of bullet holes they no longer wanted photos of it. :dubious:
If you plan on doing a lot of this type of photography then I would suggest a Shooting Tent similar to this one:
[URL=“http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/331828-REG/Interfit_INT294_Light_Pod_Small_Cocoon.html”
I should have added that I use a small lamp with a 60- or 100-watt bulb with no shade placed behind the tent.