I was going to say look at Fuji refurbs, but I think the cost of a body and lenses may just blow your budget. I personally have an XE-1 with the “cheap” zoom lenses. Even the cheap lenses get exceptional reviews.
, the XE-2 body is often available as a factory refurb @ £300
http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/fujifilm-x-e2-refurbished.html
but a Macro lens is £350 thus blowing your budget.
http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/lenses/refurbished-lenses?lenstype=540
(I know these probably show out of stock. They come and go.) The small zoom lens I have is reviewed here.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/fujinon/xc-16-50mm-f3.5-5.6-ois/review/
note the camera applies correction for zoom distortion which may be a problem for some curators. Probably not suitable for your needs as minimum focus is just under 12 inches.
Dave Wade
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tony Harris
Sent: 05 October 2016 19:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Good basic camera for small museum digitisation setup?
Hi Jon,
For that money I'd consider a second-hand body, places like MPB photographic https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/ might enable you to get an ok DSLR body then a simple prime lens. MPB list the shutter actuations so you can see how much use a camera has had, so the less actuations the better. The Nikon 50mm 1.8D lens is old but has very little pincushion distortion, it can get as close as 50 cm to the object. They still make it and it's about £100 new. If you need to get closer then it's macro and the cost will rise but a secondhand 60mm macro might not be out of the question.
http://www.europe-nikon.com/en_GB/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-50mm-f-1-8d
Zoom lenses are generally not favoured because of the large amounts of distortion they produce.
Tony
Tony Harris
Digital Media & Photography Officer
Government Art Collection
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> tony.harris @culture.gov.uk | 020 7211 2426
@govartcol /governmentartcollection | <http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/> www.gac.culture.gov.uk
On 5 October 2016 at 18:46, jon pratty <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > wrote:
Hi all
I'm working on a small digitisation project with a local volunteer-run museum in the SE and we now need a good basic digital camera to begin our digitisation activity. Most of the object capture work will be done by the volunteers, so we need to acquire a camera capable of making images and saving them as RAW files rather than just .jpgs.
I don't usually work with budget-end cameras so I'm not familiar with models that might fit the bill - can anyone on the list offer some hints about devices we can buy that might work well at our level? We're looking to spend £300-£500?
All responses appreciated...
Jon
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Jon Pratty, FRSA
Creative Digital Producer
07739 287392
@jon_pratty
Chair, Brighton Digital Festival <http://brightondigitalfestival.co.uk> CIC
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