What camera do I use to take nice Passport Size Photos?

[bishopwin]

Hi there. I'm new to this forum and would like to get some help on which camera to purchase.

My company requires a camera to take Passport size photos of employees. As we are in the Events management business, we need to take pictures for working passes. I am using a Canon Ixus camera now. Problem is everytime after setting the camera on the tripod and the zoom distance, whenever the camera is switched off, all the settings are lost. Also, with the camera mounted on the tripod, I cannot connect the power cable to the camera constantly as the tripod base plate is blocking it. So whenever I remove the base plate, somehow the tripod will be moved and the 'ideal' position is lost. Even when I label the floor, somehow all the pictures taken are different in sizes coz of the zoom. My staff are doing it so it must really be very simple to use.

A friend told me to get a DSLR coz I can manually set the zoom. Also, I would like to connect the camera to my Mac or PC laptop such that everytime I snap a picture, the picture immediately appears in my photo folder. This is to facilitate me labeling the picture with the person's IC no and Full name immediately. I dont want to have to remove the SD card and plug into the PC to label. Its troublesome coz I will have to note down the details of each picture and can only do it at the end of the day. Otherwise, if I shoot 10-20 people a day, I'm going to forget who is who. I dont mind it being wired to my laptop permanently. Dont need Wi-Fi as I understand that these devices attached to the camera are expensive. My budget is about SGD$1,500 so that's a fairly decent budget, I was told.

Any ideas as to which camera brand has the required software to do what I need and the necessary accessories like cables, lens, PC/Mac software that I require for nice passport size photos. I dont need to take photography studio kind of pictures. As long as its clear and I dont need to crop the pictures after taking it, I'm fine with it. I just want to click and label the pictures. If its Nikon or Canon, I would like to use back its proprietory software.

Any help is appreciated. If I'm in the wrong thread, administrators please feel free to move my thread to the right one. Thanks once again.

 

[AAljunied]

I have experience with only Canon 40 and 50D.
They should do the job well. There are other inexpensive
DSLR you can look at. As for wireless, it is not expensive
if during the shoot, you are close to you Notebook or PC,
EYE FI is relatively inexpensive, in fact its cheap.

http://www.eye.fi/products/connectx2

UDS49.99 only
I think you can get it cheaper elsewhere.
So dont discount wireless as it make your
job much easier.

_______
Abdullah | www.PictureU.biz | Instant Photography for Events |

 

[kwttan]

Well, if your requirement is just to take passport size photos, perhaps a Nikon D3100 plus 18-55mm or 18-105mm kit lens can meet your need. Perhaps with a flash, SB700, to go with the setup will be good. I assume you already have a tripod.
Above should add up to 1.25k-1.3k. If you intend to hook the cam to you pc or laptop, perhaps get a long USB cable to connect.

 

[Atarandas]

Well, if your requirement is just to take passport size photos, perhaps a Nikon D3100 plus 18-55mm or 18-105mm kit lens can meet your need. Perhaps with a flash, SB700, to go with the setup will be good. I assume you already have a tripod.
Above should add up to 1.25k-1.3k. If you intend to hook the cam to you pc or laptop, perhaps get a long USB cable to connect.

If I am not wrong the d3100 doesn't have tethering capabilities ? Or is the case where the software to remotely control the camera on pc is not supplied with the camera for nikon cameras.

I think your budget of 1.5k is kind of hard to get tethered shot. I think only canon dslr can meet your budget if you get 550d kit or 500d kit. Canon dslr should come with the tethered software with their cameras which allows you to save your shots into pc direct. Just make sure you have a long USB cable .

For nikon , the software itself is few hundred bucks. For Sony , only the a700,850 and 900 comes with the tethering software.

Aperture 3 and lightroom3 also has tethering capabilities but may have compatibility issues with models of dslr. So end of the day your best bet maybe with canon. Do a good search on canon tethered shots or go down to Vivo canon gallery to ask them in details on it.

 

[Painting with light]

A clip on webcam . Positioned on top of screen facing subject.

The practical solution which are very often used by government agencies for instant passport size pictures on location with minimal logistic and set up time.

Does not require support as it sits on your laptop and being on a desk with a single wire from webcam to pc. Subject would be in front sitting on a chair. No additional logistic required.

 

[tikiman]

if the camera is basically used for taking passport size photos, a canon 1000D kit will do the trick. Canon DSLR comes with a bundle s/w that can let u connect the camera to the computer via usb cable. Will cost less than 1/2 yur budget. You can even get a cable release and pop-up diffuser so that u can produce nicer looking pictures.


Check out the market places' mass sales & price guide to know where to get from.

good luck

 

[willdoang]

u need a backdrop and a constant bright lightning, anycamera will do the job even a PnS

 

[Octarine]

In MoM in Riverwalk there is a small photo company snapping the pics for Employment Passes. They use a small PnS camera mounted on a cheap little table tripod, connected via USB. Even a webcam could do the job with enough light.
Look what's left once the image in on EP/WP.. a tiny picture, the hologram even in B/W.
There was a link here to youtube, showing iPhone in a studio setup with stunning results. Surely that will be sufficient for your purposes as well.

 

[daredevil123]

A mid range webcam will do the job. There's software that will handle the image and print. Also set up your lights. White florescent will do.

 

[Adnix]

u need a backdrop and a constant bright lightning, anycamera will do the job even a PnS

Yes I agree with you! :thumbsup:

To threadstarter: No need to waste money with elaborate setups. Especially when it's for working pass purpose only. Just use a simple background, get the lighting right, make sure no unwanted reflections/glares from the lights, and no shadows in the background, so that you do not need to waste time on post processing.

But if you are planning to invest in the camera for other purposes, then you can start to research more on cameras and lenses