Camera question
 

Anyone know good camera (Under 200) for taking close ups of coins, obviously have to have good macro setting for this, mine in getting in need of replacment and I wasnt really happy with it, it would show clear picture then change after I snapped the pic. Alternately I have my Old Rebel eos xs in the closet but it's 35m and I want digital, I do have wide angle and telephoto lens for this , could I buy just a digital body and use the lens on this?

Re: Camera question
 

You know, for just coins, you might consider a scanner. Probably easier than dealing with lighting and stuff like that. They're only like $50 I think nowadays anyways. I think the downside might be that they produce too much detail (make scratches look bad when actually they are minor) and you can't really get angles of the coin. You can always go grab one, try it out and return it if you're not happy.

Then again, you may actually want the thing for taking more than pics of coins :). As far as cameras go, I'd look into the Fuji's. They tend to produce the best quality images especially in the compacts. I'm honestly not up on the smaller cameras myself.

Re: Camera question
 

I use an Olympus Camedia 560. This 3.2 megapixel camera has 3x optical zoom, macro et.c. It can also record short (1 min or so) movies. It should be available new for well under $200 these days.
A small tripod and 1 or 2 flexible reading lamps to get adjustable illumination angle and you are all set.

Edit: I use this setup for photographing coins for Ebay listings.

Re: Camera question
 

I'm with gasilat... jump straight to a DSLR (Nikons are great!).

I've got a D50 that I bought last year, before the D40 was released. If I were buying today, I'd get a D40x. :applause_

One thing to remember, as TomD has pointed out, is that the lens is more important than the camera... but with a plain point and shoot, I'm not sure how much choice you have in what lens to use.

Re: Camera question
 

I certainly agree that a digital SLR can produce better pictures.

But for pictures of coins (especially if they are intended for computer displays - Ebay allows a max size of 1000 x 1000 pixel, I think) a cheaper camera may be just as good, or even better in some cases: my Canon Rebel XT DSLR is actually quite useless for coins if I want to shoot indoors, as it is way too heavy for my small tripod.