Minimal Camera technical aspects ?

[Clark]

I have been using my cell phone and Ipad to take tear down photos. Some are fair to good, some have to be retaken. And memory has been a constant problem for both devices. I'm thinking a modest digital camera would solve the majority of the problems by downloading directly to a desk top file. I'm looking for recommendations as to what minimal technical specifications should be included to: 1) keeping the work load to as little as possible, 2) have good usable photos for restoration and easy viewing without tweaking. Thanks Clark

[Scott]

Hi Clark
i used a Nikon AW100 which has now been superseded by the V300 which has Bluetooth and Wifi plus video stabilization which mine is too old to have but would be useful.
this camera is shock and water proof, and has an optical zoom. I regularly use mine in salt water, must be 6 or more years by now, and having dropped it both in the field and in the shop many times I can attest to its ruggedness. It also has a standard mount base so you can use a tripod. Mine is 16mp so I assume the new version is the same or better.

[Hank Jarrett]

I used to have a Nikon Coolpix camera (even earlier than what he is talking about) and as I remember it was tough as nails. Seems like they are pretty inexpensive on e-BAY since everyone uses their phone to take photos now days. I am betting the bright orange ones would be pretty hard to lay down and loose track of in a typical hangar too.

Hank

[LostnSpace]

Wal-Mart has some cheap Nikon cameras, I also wrote a few notes, kept in a 3 ring binder with field approvals and papers from Terry Bowden and stuff like that, wish you the very best on your project

[RyanShort1]

I'd look for something with at least 20 Megapixels and a optical zoom. Digital zoom is pretty worthless. I'd tend to stay with one of the bigger names - Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc... and use SD cards.

[lawheelock]

I too, use a Nikon CoolPix S8100. It has all the bells and whistles including optical as well as digital Zoom but what I use mostly for documentation of parts is the macro mode. I bought my original from WalMart several years ago but damaged it in my pocket full of tools so bought this one through e-bay and have used it extensively. I usually shoot in the PC mode which does not use the 12mega pixal capability, but I find the lower resolution to be perfectly adequate for documentation since I rarely make prints larger than 4 X 6 and the lower resolution makes emailing great for limiting the bandwidth useage. I like to leave the dating function turned on so that all my pix have the date on them that they were shot. The battery holds up for an amazing length of time.

I also use my Samsung Galaxly S6 cell phone and it does a good job of focusing up close and the gallery app lets you downsize from the huge files to less than 500KB which is great for emailing photos.
I think folks get carried away with huge megapixel resolutions as few folks are wanting to make 30 X 40 inch prints. I have a borescope that plugs into the S6 that makes good photos of engine internals like valves.

Larry Wheelock, N96179 BC12D under repair, Mooney M20C, Stinson 108 with Mooney 180 hp engine