>Hello All
>I bought a digital camera from an ebay store, it is safe and "scam"
>resistant.  I'm happy with the purchase.  Some "extras" include;
>free shipping, macro focusing, free 30mb memory card, and other
>things.  The camera is 1.3 mega pixel, should I try to take mini or
>macro shell photos with it or forget it, a waste of time?  It cost
>$150us and came with a free 30mb memory card and free shipping
>(might be a good idea if ship to NZ). Please email me privately if
>you want more info.
>
>Jordan Star
>
>[log in to unmask]
>Long Island, NY

Hi Jordan

I have used my work's Mavica FD88, which is a 1.3Mp unit. Images
varied a lot in quality, but that may be in part because I was
hand-holding it.

For small shells I would use a 50mm handlens held against the
camera's lens; I also tried a 10x handlens and 10x microscope
eyepiece, both of which are difficult to use but can produce useful,
if unesthetic, images of 2mm shells (with some flare around the
edges).

One image I took with this Mavica, of a ~20mm apricot-colored
Septaria (most unusual), is to be published in a plate in the
must-have book on probably the oldest living family of gastropods
(neritids) being written by a certain listee.

For shells 30mm upward the 1.3Mp camera should do a decent job. I
want a higher-resolution (and my boss says that anything under 7Mp is
a waste of time!) to image very small micros; I think a 5.0 like the
Nikon Coolpix 7500 should do this OK (hope hope).

To buy the 7500 from a US dealer Save On Digi (SOD)
<www.saveondig.com/shop>, with a goodly range of optional extras,
will cost me $949 US (some dealers are selling the 7500 BASIC for
$1199). This includes:
512Mb card
battery & charger
USB Flashcard reader
camera bag (don't need this , but it's part of the $350 kit, which is
worth over $580 item-by-item)
cleaning kit
filter kit

To buy the cheapest in NZ will cost me $985US, and THEN I have to buy
a battery, charger etc on top of that.

In the unlikely event that a US-bought camera breaks down and Nikon
NZ won't fix it under US warranty, I pay for repairs. I'll probably
still more than break even.

Unfortunately free shipping by dealers will only be within the
country, so I'd still have to pay shipping to NZ.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
64 (3) 473-8863
<[log in to unmask]>
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh & VW/Toyota van nut
I want your sinistral gastropods!
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