| | This is out of the normal scope of this site but� | | | | I am in search of a Digital Camera for use with documentation instructions. What would be the Minimum Resolution that I should require? I will need details of assemblies such as Component Identification, Wire routings, Solder joint quality and the like. If anyone has any recommendations as to� | | 1) Make Model | | 2) Min. Resolution | | 3) Accessories | | 4) Memory | | | | Thanks for you advise | | | | MD Cox | | | | | | | | Sorry, don't know what went wrong first time but this is what I actually had typed!
I have used a number of digital cameras. Lens quality is a REAL problem and many of them have a higher pixel resolution than the lens can offer at all zoom and macro settings. Believe it or not, I now use a 3-CCD camcorder as a still camera (Panasonic NV-DX1xx series). This gives easy control of shutter speed and iris (very important: never buy a still or video camera without a real iris diaphragm and few of them do), as well as a moderately good lens (not perfect, on macro it gives a small pincushion distortion at the edges, but it is adequate). Although each CCD is only about 400 kpixels, they are staggered by a 1/3 line, so that the luminance signal is multiplexed from all three and the colours and light sensitivity are extraordinary. It has a special mode for stills which improves the quality (as opposed to capturing a still from a video clip): am not sure exactly how this works, but it is certainly a definite improvement (but murder for videos !!!). One of the advantages is that it records the stills onto Mini-DV tape with over 700 stills/tape, so there is no lack of capacity. On playback, each still is indexed, which is useful when finding a specific one or where stills and videos are mixed.
Oh, I forgot, it can also film videos :-)
Somewhat off-topic, I interface it into a computer via a Matrox Marvel TV/graphics card and can capture and edit the video or stills with Ulead Media-Studio Pro. Still editing is done with Corel PhotoPaint. Before Marvel, I used VideoBlaster for importing stills.
Quality: I can print a very acceptable 20 x 15 cm image at 720 dpi on my old Epson inkjet and at 15 x 10 cm, it is better than any printed photo in a book.
BTW, there is an American company purportedly on the verge of marketing a multi-zillion CCD device which is 24 x 36 mm and is claimed to fit in the back of any 35 mm SLR camera with a resolution of about 4000 x 3000 pixels, for <$750. If this becomes a reality, it will take video stills into a whole new ball park. The electronics is in the "cassette". I like the notion, as we are now in the realms of good lenses and all the versatility plus of a decent camera.
Brian
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