Camera what do you use ?

[wls1971]

I have of late been very busy getting round to all the watches I have put off for a while amongst them a Benrus miro rotor , eta 2671, Favre Leuba twinpower all worthy of recording. I would like to take a more active role in doing movement walkthroughs I currently have a Canon eos 5d with various lenses and a set of macro tubes, whilst this is a excellent camera it is of very bulky dimensions and needs to be used with a tripod to get the best result and requires a lot of setting up for each shot and just gets in the way.

What are current members using ? I would like ideally a compact camera point and shoot that has a excellent macro setting anyone recommend a camera

[Chopin]

I know exactly how you feel. I actually sold my Canon DSLR because it was just too bothersome to shoot, especially in macro setup.

I currently use a fairly old but decent Canon point and shot and I'm happy with it despite not having the most modern specs.

What is your budget ? I would gladly recommend Sony WX500 or HX90V. These are very good cameras but a bit pricey perhaps...

[vinn3]

i use an endoscope.

[wls1971]

1 hour ago, vinn3 said:

i use an endoscope.

I never even thought of that they look quite impressive on ebay do you use any particular one, I never used one but I have come into contact with one but it was being used by a doctor and inserted where the sun dont shine

I have a budget of £300-£400 

[Chopin]

Why not get one of those digital microscopes ? For 100 pounds you should get a pretty good one...

[vinn3]

the endoscope is a didgital microscope the size of a pencil and transmits to your T.V.  screen,  and, places copy's on the  computer.  $50.  US.

[Scouseget]

I've been using a Canon Stylus Tough model, which is a point and shoot but with manual overrides should you ever need them. It has a 4X optical zoom, and an excellent macro mode. What makes it outstanding for me is that its drop proof (to 2 meters) and waterproof (to 15 meters) , so not only does it serve excellently
for this hobby, where it resides on my bench, but also for fishing.

I photograph every step when taking apart a watch, and will even take a shot of every screw I've removed by placing it sideways over the place it came out of so I know which screw goes where when reassembling the movement. It's far better to take too many shots than too few as it costs nothing and may just really simplify reassembly. 

I've attached a shot of a small Incabloc so you can see its macro capability. 

I'm sure a lot of point and shoot cameras have similar macro features but few are as bullet proof as this camera.

[measuretwice]

I've a nikon slr D80 with macro lens I use, set up on a tripod so i can put the movement at the corner of the bench and an IR remote so I'm not touching anything.  The tripod is so I can do long exposures/high F stop shots so the depth of field is maximized.  I too photograph every step, it has saved me many times!  I've also made an adapter for that camera to go a trinocular stereo zoom for more magnification.  It works, but limited depth of field makes the results less than stunning.....I'd like to spend some time getting good at "stacking" and see what sort of images I can get.

one shot from the bench, one from the scope focused on a pallet pivot

 

Edited February 9, 2018 by measuretwice

[vinn3]

On ‎9‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 12:07 PM, wls1971 said:

I never even thought of that they look quite impressive on ebay do you use any particular one, I never used one but I have come into contact with one but it was being used by a doctor and inserted where the sun dont shine

I have a budget of £300-£400 

an endoscope IS a digital camera with its own light intensity adjustment and very high magnification (your dentist has one).  $50 U.S.A..  it works great and the size of a pencil.   the problem  for me is it needs to be connected to a computer,  find the program that runs it AND have a cable net connection.  i have taken film pix. thru all kinds of microscops [even electron scope] and just can't get use to didgital photagraphy.  vin p.s.  did the doctor give you "wallet size prints" ?

[wls1971]

Thank you all for the suggestions, The D5 is a good camera but when tripod mounted it just gets in the way once I start a job I dont like to constantly break off from it for minutes at a time so I will be buying a endoscope camera based on suggestion several people have made they are quite inexpensive and should not get in my way on the work bench.

[vinn3]

5 hours ago, wls1971 said:

Thank you all for the suggestions, The D5 is a good camera but when tripod mounted it just gets in the way once I start a job I dont like to constantly break off from it for minutes at a time so I will be buying a endoscope camera based on suggestion several people have made they are quite inexpensive and should not get in my way on the work bench.

good show,  the camera and cord will fit into an eye glass case.  vin

[p2n]

I've got a Olympus TG-4. It's got a "microscope" mode that allows really close shots. They seem very good.

I've not set up lighting on any of these - they are done either with background room lighting or a Ikea bendy led desk lamp.

I'm also hand holding the camera so that add shake. With a stand and proper lighting you could get some cracking shots.