Suggestions -an inexpensive camera that shoots TIFF format?

[JoeM]

A guy at work needs a relatively simple and inexpensive camera to photograph micro audio components. He's going to buy one of those cheap light boxes they use to photograph stuff for ebay.

Some photos may be used for print work but since he will not be editing much or have PhotoShop I thought a camera that shoots TIFFs rather than RAW would be a better idea.

I have a Nikon 5700 at work that works fine for my product shots and thought I'd look at similar Nikon CoolPix models. He is looking to spend as little as possible.

IS there anything out there now that has decent Macro capabilities, is maybe in the $300-$400 price range and shoots TIFFS?

TIA

[AlphaDog]

Why TIFFs? I can understand the appeal of RAW, because the editing capabilities are so high, but I don't understand the desire for TIFF. I've been told (not to be confused with it being gospel) that an immediate conversion of a JPEG file to one of the non-lossy formats accomplishes pretty much the same thing as having the image file saved in TIFF by the camera.

[papercup]

Why tiff?

Tifs are unnecessarily large, and most cameras have moved away from them.

A high quality jpeg is almost indistinguishable from a small sensor P& S tif, for all intents and purposes.

Find a camera that shoots raw & jpeg at the same time if max quality is desired.

[clay]

pick up a Canon Rebel XT and you can shoot in RAW and can easily convert to TIF or whatever you want.

[pRICE cUBE]

I have seen used nikon 5400 for less than $75 http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Ni...cp5400.asp

What is the point of using TIFF for ebay?

[JoeM]

No TIFF for ebay. TIFF for print. The light box is LIKE the ones you see people buying for ebay sales.

File size is not an issue. RAW is out of the question. This guy won't have time to convert and will not be editing. Some of these images will probably wind up on large posters and even on tradeshow booth walls.

I'm not familiar with newer cameras but I know some do use JPG to cut down on files size with larger images. I can see the compression in the large JPG images I've been sent but again, I haven't seen recent cameras.

So what camera would be able to produce a JPG with the same quality as a 300ppi TIFF at a size of at least 2560x 1920 and can this guy get something at the $300- $600 price range?

[Racer X]

"File size is not an issue. RAW is out of the question. This guy won't have time to convert and will not be editing. Some of these images will probably wind up on large posters and even on tradeshow booth walls. "

then he needs a real camera with a decent lens, and a high MP sensor.

[JoeM]

Racer X wrote:
"File size is not an issue. RAW is out of the question. This guy won't have time to convert and will not be editing. Some of these images will probably wind up on large posters and even on tradeshow booth walls. "

then he needs a real camera with a decent lens, and a high MP sensor.

You are absolutely right but what he needs and what he can afford is 2 different things... :whine:

[Racer X]

penny-wise and MP foolish.

[AllGold]

Sorry but I think you only think he wants TIFF. TIFF is an archaic format that is virtually unused now.

[smartass mode on]
A few decades ago they created an image format intended to dramatically decrease file sizes while still maintaining a "visually lossless" image if the proper settings are used. You might have heard of it; it's called JPEG.
[smartass mode off]

You will generally only see compression artifacts if the JPEG quality is set too low. Of course cheapy cameras might not give you much control of the JPEG quality (or for that matter, image capture quality to begin with).

Also, many cameras with raw capability come with their own raw-to-(JPEG, TIFF, whatever) conversion software.

Some of these images will probably wind up on large posters and even on tradeshow booth walls.

Then perhaps a professional photographer with pro equipment who knows how to use it might be worthwhile. ... Oops, somehow smartass mode got turned on again.