Expert: Suzie Eads - 6/22/2008

Question
I can not seem to find a relative inexpensive digital camera that will take crisp, clear, color correct photos of the oriental rugs I am listing for sale on ebay. I take overall shots, closer images, and close-up shots with my Olympus. The colors seem to be all over the spectrum and the images blurry. I have had this same experience with a couple other name brand cameras I have borrowed from friends to see if I can get better images.
Any suggestions for a camera for me to try out? I am in the $250 dollar range for a budget.
Thank you.
Michael Phillips
phillipsrugs@comcast.net


Answer
Michael;

I am SO sorry it took me SO long to answer you.  I did not realize I had a question in the que!

I have sold a few rugs on eBay and there is something about a rug that makes them hard to photograph.  I don't know what it is.. I sympathize with you on that!  

Your biggest problem might be the lighting.  If you are selling high dollar rugs, I would consider investing a little bit into your photo set up.  There are several sellers on eBay that have photo studio lights if you want to go "big" with your lighting. Stand lights are easy to put up and take down, and might just help with your color correction.

Does your Olympus have the macro feature? This should help with close up photos and your problem with blurry images. You might want to try a tri-pod if the blur you are getting could come from camera movement.

I use a very old Sony Mavica for my eBay photos.  It has served me very well.  This last one I bought on eBay for 40.00 about 4 years ago. I would try to correct my lighting problem first then try out a new camera.

If you'd like I wouldn't mind looking at some of your auctions to see how your photos look.  My "personal" camera is a Sony Cyber-shot® Digital Camera DSC-H50/B

Suzie