Good evening fellows, I just hope this thread isn't too "grey" even for the grey area. (In case, please don't delete but move it to the soap box, thanks)

I will soon go through a pair of web projects for which I feel the need of quick-snapshot taking of various objects (primarily details of cameras, tube radios and phonographs) being disassembled and reassembled. I will occasionally use it for auctions on you-know-which site as well, I guess. This is a field where, really, one doesn't need at all the quality of a b&w picture or the precision of a scanner, but will rather appreciate the convenience of a picture format immediately ready for the net.

The camera I have in mind should meet these criteria:

1 - must be able of close-focusing small details (this is very important)

2 - must be easy to find on you-know-which auction site at cheap prices (I personally have little interest for digital pictures, and will not use it for photography, so a huge investment would have no point)

3 - I don't care for brands, megabytes or megapixels (this is to expand point 2: I'm not seeking for cheap CCD sensors - I'm seeking for FAIRLY GOOD sensors which are NOW cheap (but just in price) because they're considered "old technology" by megapixels and megabytes maniacs. Once I'd have pixels enough for a fullscreen picture on a computer's screen, I think I'd be done.)

4 - must be Windows XP fully (repeat: fully; I already have problems enough with my scanner at work) compatible, possibly via the convenient USB port.

5 - must have a self-shot facility (as I will hand tools, tubes and gears with both hands all of the times).

6 - a compact camera is fine with me (will never upgrade it, as again: will never use it for photography).

I hope I explained myself well: it's the camera that every megapixel-crazy is getting rid of for few bucks, but which is a knock-out for web applications. Is somebody gently willing to help? Thanks a lot - M.

My old Coolpix 990 or the later 995 handles that sort of thing perfectly (3.3 Mpix). Macro performance is quite good and it has full manual control (aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and focus) if you want it. Add a hotshoe adapter and a Wein safesync and it works with studio strobes.

I have no problem plugging the camera into my laptop with XP via USB, but I have a multi-card reader/floppy drive, so it's usually easier just to take the card out and read it with the card reader.

If you shoot film formats that you can't scan easily, it also is handy for digitizing negs and transparencies for the web or even print using a copy stand and a light box.

Mine's not for sale, but you can find them on keh.com, eBay, and the other usual places.

David, similarly I've been thinking about the need to pick-up a digi-thingamajig in order to upload pics of items I occasionally place in the classifieds section here. The Coolpix still looks to be too much for such a basic application. i.e 72 ppi screen res. Mostly I suppose I'd like to be able to find what the cheapest used item them is that could get in reasonably close. Any suggestions?

My current alternative is to burn of a roll, and have low res scans done at the time of processing. Not terribly expensive, but certainly time consuming.