Camera for taking stills of musical scores?

I need to buy a digital camera to take pictures of musical scores and manuscripts. The pictures will need to be very clear, as I need to be able to carry out an analysis of the music and text. What camera would you recommend? I don't want to spend too much, but it is crucial that the pictures are clear. Thanks.

If you really will only be doing manuscripts, you might consider a dedicated document camera. B&H Photo has some ranging in price from about $500 to $1,800. The Toshiba camera is also a media projector, so that might be useful.

Epson has one that looks just super - ELPDC05 - but it sells for almost $4,000. http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consu...

Ah, yes, it makes a difference. Some of the document cams are relatively small (packable), but maybe a 6-8-10 MP camera, good macro lens and tripod is a good choice. Maybe Nikon D40 and the 60 mm macro lens... Top quality. Report It

You will need a camera that has the ability to focus closely and a way to keep the back of the camera parallel with the manuscripts and musical scores.

Usually some kind of copy stand needs to be used which will do all of this for your. The camera will fit on the stand and then the things to be copied will be placed below it with a piece of glass or acrylic to hold the object flat.

You will also want to find a way to get even lighting on the material being copied, supplied at an obtuse angle so you don't get reflections from the light sources. All of this needs to be done in a darkened room.

In extreme cases, setting up polarizing filters in front of the lights and using a polarizer on the lens becomes necessary.

Any adjustable camera will do as long as it has a good lens capable of close focus.

Any new digital camera should have enough quality, but you'll probably have better results and save money by using a flatbed scanner.