Camera "Feature" advice needed

[Jeff Smith]

Folks,
I have very bright white paint. And having Meg's "SHINE" on it is not helping.

I have a 3-4 year old Kodak Digital Camera that up until now have been reasonably happy with. My problem is I'd like to take some updated pics of my truck and some close ups of a couple of problem spots I want to address in the near future.

I am having a heck of a time taking pictures of the thing that are worth posting. That bright white paint is so bright it just does not take the kind of pics I'd like to post.

I have few minor water etches and also have what I believe is some sort of dealer/manufacturer chemical splatter. This splatter did not reveal itself till after I clayed>cleaned and polished. So I think they did a little cover up on me.

Anyway. I can't seem to get these to come out on pics very well becasue of the brightness of the paint. I have tried in the shade & sun. Direct sunlight with the sun as a backdrop. I have tried at night with the flash.

I was wondering if there are any new fangled camera features I could look for when purchasing my next camera that will help me to overcome this problem. My current camera is not very feature laden so I am hoping I can pick up another one that will have the correct features in place so I can take decent pics for posts.

Also, while on the pic topic. Any recommendations for Picture Editing software would be welcome as well.

[amg/md]

there is a thread in the on-line technical tutorials on how to crop your photos, etc. Mike refers to Lview Pro software. If you do a search it will come up.

Microsoft has PhotoDraw.

Mac has iphoto.

(We need the rain to go away now for the weekend. But doesn't look good for MD.)

[RamAirV1]

If you are having trouble with overexposure due to the white paint, look for a camera where you can stop down the aperture to reduce or eliminate the overexposure.

One trick you might try with your current camera is to put it in macro focusing mode (as denoted by a flower icon). The camera will still focus on far subjects but may take a little bit longer. Most point and shoot digicams will automatically stop down the aperture when in macro mode and this should help with overexposure.

White can be a tricky thing for digital cameras especially outdoors if it is sunny out. I prefer to use a camera with manual aperture and shutter speed settings for more flexibility. There are point and shoot cameras with this feature (M mode). Some point and shoot cameras will let you stop down to F8. Canon and Olympus have some relatively inexpensive cameras that have these features.

If you are willing to spend more money I would consider a DSLR like a D-70, 20D, or Rebel XT. They can stop down to F-22 dpending on the lens. Plus they have some program modes that actually work pretty good. The pixels in the DSLRs are larger and give better image quality too. Mike shoots with a Rebel D, so he can probalby give you some good tips on getting good images.

RamAirV1

[Djmigs]

I highly recommend Canon actually i only suggest that....you will be happy with this brand....or your money back ...sound like a info mercial j/k with the money back but for real i would definately pic up one up either a five mega pixel or 7 either one should be great

[RamAirV1]

Originally posted by Djmigs
I highly recommend Canon actually i only suggest that....you will be happy with this brand....or your money back ...sound like a info mercial j/k with the money back but for real i would definately pic up one up either a five mega pixel or 7 either one should be great

Canon makes great digicams, from the point and shoot up to the DSLRs. You should try a 5D if you get the chance. To bad the gallery can't handle 12.8 MP LOL! The G6 7MP point and shoot is very good also but is now difficult to find. Canon must have a replacement for it in the pipeline.

RamAirV1