Looking good

Just wondering what type of camera people use to capture some of the stunning photos that get posted on the forum. Some of the shots are so detailed, they're amazing. I'm looking to upgrade my trusty dinosaur so I can get some usable shots so a bit of an idea as to what might be a good option would be handy.

Hey,

I have a Sony Alpha A350 DSLR which I was using for most of my shots, however, these days I just use my Iphone 5 which has a surprisingly good light sensor and takes quite a good photo.

If you're looking for a good quality DSLR, Cannon or Sony are very good in my experience and if you want that amazing detail you will need a macro lens which are simply brilliant but quite expensive.

Or if your looking at a phone, any of the latest smartphones from Apple or Samsung take really good photos.

HN

Yeah, I thought the new phones would do a pretty good job at capturing the detail. I was more thinking that I might go with a tablet though as I'd rather the larger screen and would find it more useful all round with various other functions and applications. I've yet to research which one I might choose but I'll probably go that route. Thanks for reassuring me that a phone is adequate. So many beautiful flowers this season and I've got many species that I'd like a proper ID on but I'll just have to patiently name them when I can.

One thing to keep in mind is that tablets 'generally' have a lower spec camera than the comparative model phone, just double check the specs before laying down your money

HN

I'll keep that in mind, cheers.

Acctually use the exact same camera as HN, though I'm looking at upgrading some time next year.
2 bonuses with a Sony over any other DSLR is firstly that they use in body stabilisation as opposed to in lens stabilisation that most other brands use. Means any lens you buy and mount is stabilised.
Secondly the Sony mount is a legacy from the mid 80's Minolta AF film cameras, so any lens made to fit that mount will fit a brand spanking new Sony DSLR/DSLT.
I've got a collection of 9 or 10 lenses and all bar 3 are older Minolta lenses bought on the cheap through ebay.

SnowFella, I didn't know they would fit, thanks for that.

Dyxum lens database for Sony/Minolta A mount
 
Cost me more money than what I really want to think of, but then again buying new lenses rather than old used ones would of cost me half a fortune!
Just got to be careful when buying old ones in kit form, as in someone selling an old film camera along with lenses, in lots of cases it's someone selling old gear that's spent a decade stuffed into a drawer. Bad storage like that can cause fungus growth inside the optics and unless you know what to look for lots of camera challenged sellers have no idea that what they are selling has it's own little colony of life inside it.

Here's one that turned up in the mail some months ago from a seller that had it drawer stored inside it's hard lenscase.
fungus colony
All the marks are inside the lens and can't be cleaned unless you take it fully apart!

Edit: changed to link as the image size broke the forum format