I'm looking for a digital camera that will focus well on the whole diamond ring, including the diamonds. And any tips on how to make the backround white without having to edit it would be appreciated
thanks Since I don't know your budget I can't suggest a camera for you. If you are buying a compact digital camera, check if macro feature is there. Macro means close focussing.
If you are buying a digital SLR camera then you have to buy a macro lens.
Select an aperture of f8 or above. This will help in keeping the diamonds and the ring in focus. A white sheet or white paper will serve well as a background. Well it seems like the best camera is always the one with the most mega pixels, but I have a Kodak, 5.1 MP 850 Camera and I just took a lot of pictures at a neighbors wedding. The crossed hands and rings were spectcular.
Why not just use a white tablecloth......... Four things to consider...
1- You will need a camera that has a "Macro" function as one of its features. Some cameras show it as a symbol of a flower in profile.
2- You will need at least 5 Mega pixels in order to make an acceptable print.
3- Stay with the major brands. The business is in flux and a lot of the smaller makers are getting out of the business or dying.
This becomes a big problem if you need a warranty repair or a part.
Sony, Canon, Kodak, Panasonic, Nikon, HP or Pentax are all pretty solid brands and safe to select.
4- Buy from a reputable dealer with an actual camera department with actual camera experts. You want to be able to get technical assistance when you need it and you want to feel comfortable doing so.
Now, I'm going to tell you one of my secrets for shooting jewelery.
Get a white plastic, 1 gallon jug. The type that laundry bleach comes in is perfect.
Cut a hole in the side only big enough to clear the camera's lens and flash. If the shape of your camera is going to produce an odd shaped hole, remember that the jug is on laying its side when in use.
Lay the jug down with the hole on top. I hold mine in place with play-doh so the jug doesn't roll.
Place the item to be photographed in the jug. Place the camera as close as you can. If you can put the camera right against the jug, that would be perfect. If not, get as close as you can while still keeping in focus.
If you can't get right up to the jug, then make the hole 50% larger.
You can roll the jug on its side and hang chains or bracelets inside.
You may have to adjust the exposure on your camera. Some cameras' auto exposure systems see all that white and under expose the subject, sometimes by as much as 2 or 3 stops.
Thankfully, as it's digital, we can do it over right away.
If your camera has a removeable flash, you can shoot through the hole, but the flash fires at the outside of the jug making a completely shadow free environment. Both above answers are correct, but I will give you a technique for simple backgrounds. Check out my brother's auction on eBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie... I did the photography for him. This was done with a Nikon D200 with a macro lens, but it could have probably been done with a much lesser camera with macro capabilities. The key thing to look at, though, are the photos that appear to have an all-white background. The pen was set on top of a white light box and then photographed with flash also. There was almost no need to edit other than cropping to the correct size. I've done some diamonds this way, but can't find any photos around... The light source is actually an x-ray viewer, but perhaps you have an old slide sorter or view box. Or, you could get a piece of white plexiglas and light it from below. When you do diaminds this way, they look like they are floating. If I find any photos, I'll add a link to this message.
I like f:16-22 most of the time and it is often helpful to underexpose by about a stop. (EV -1.0) The Canon PowerShot S3 IS is one of the very few cameras that accept to focus, in macro mode, down to a distance of ZERO. Which allows you to get very close, and photograph the smallest details. Which should be great for diamond jewelry.
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