Best Cameras For Photographing Artwork
Lots of the images of art either online or in print are simply not good enough! They don’t do the work of the artist justice; fuzzy images, oversaturation, bad lighting – there are numerous ways to make a great piece look mediocre. Best Cameras For Photographing Artwork
And of course, there are just as many subtle techniques for getting the best possible images (check them out in our article Tips for photographing artwork). But buying a good quality camera to capture stunning shots of your art is a fantastic starting place. Best Spy Camera
Who is this article is for?
I’ve written this article with artists in mind, not photographers. Wading through the ocean of information available from online reviews and forums can be arduous and confusing. Especially if you don’t know your shutter speeds from your focal ranges. I aim to make the choice as simple as possible for artists on varying budgets wishing to purchase a camera to shoot their work.
Which is the best camera for shooting artwork?
It depends entirely on what you need to do. When photographing art, the aim should always be to make the image as sharp and representative of the actual piece as possible.
But if you need images mainly for use on the internet or to use on small art prints, some of the less expensive options (like compact
and advanced compact cameras) will be just fine. If you want to capture photographs of a high enough quality to reproduce on medium to large-sized prints, you’ll be looking at investing a little more (on either a DSLR
or an interchangeable lens semi-compact camera
).
With that in mind, we’ll review the pros and cons of each category of camera and suggest specific models.
Fathoming the features
So that we’re all on the same page and to help you understand the online reviews when you’re doing your research, let’s take a look at what some of the jargon means:
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- Sensor size: As a general rule, the bigger the sensor size, the better quality the images will be.
- Megapixels (MP) and resolution: Megapixels represent the number of dots in an image; the more megapixels, the higher the resolution. High resolution doesn’t always equate to high quality, but it does mean more detail and a greater potential for cropping in on the details of your artwork. Low-res images will look pixelated when zoomed in on. A 12MP camera or above is ideal for photographing artwork.
- Image stabilization (IS): Although I would always suggest using a tripod when taking photographs of artwork, image stabilization features help reduce blur caused by vibration.
- OVF/EVF (Optical viewfinder/Electronic viewfinder): As well as an LCD display screen, some digital cameras also have viewfinders. Electronic viewfinders are also more representative than the live preview in that they reduce ambient light.
- Zoom lens/Prime lens: Zoom lenses offer a lot of versatility in that you can zoom in and out, but the images captured are only ever really great quality in the mid-range of the zoom. Prime lenses don’t zoom at all, but always produce better quality shots.
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