Hi,

One can get a camera with most of the controls
for well less than $1k. I have a $380 Olympus.
This has:

A 10X optical zoom (and a 4X digital zoom),

In macro it focuses down to 1.5 inches
(lighting can be a problem this close.)

Exposure time can be manually controlled
( this may be electronic)

The aperture can be manually controlled,
( but the range is a bit limited)

It is just a bit too big for pockets.




Jon Elson wrote:

ff wrote:
You probably need higher resolution (more megapixals) to get the detail
you want. To get the most from what you have, use lots of light and
a tripod to keep the camera steadier. The more light available, the
smaller
the aperature and hence more depth of field.
Aperture? I'm pretty sure NO digital camera in the $200 range has an
aperture, ie. an iris. I think you have to get into the $2 - 3K range
before thay have that feature. All the under $1K cameras I've seen have
no shutter, no iris, and most have a pretty primitive optical zoom
system, too. Those do most of their zooming by reducing the pixel
area, giving up resolution to make the subject appear larger. That's
the digital zoom. I have one of the cheapest (Toshiba PDR-M25) that
has a 3X optical zoom. And, that still isn't enough to do real close-up
work on small objects. The focus hits the wall at about 6", I think.

Jon