Overhaulin'

I need help finding the right camera for work, needs to have adjustable lcd screen and flash adapter spot..?

My father and I work with a large vehicle wholesale operation selling cars online (our website is ewayauto.com -feel free to check it out) For the past 6 years I've used a great camera, the Sony DSC-S50.. It has served me well, i would say it's a great all around camera for just about everything. At our warehouse we just finished an awesome photo booth with strobe flashes around the top that are triggered wirelessly by a little remote that snaps into the flash adapter receiver spot on the top of the camera. (I'm sure there's a technical term but I have no idea) So now this camera is outdated i guess, because it does not have this flash adapter feature.. Don't get me wrong, still a great camera, but now i need a new one with the flash adapter reciever thing at the top.. So my question is- Does anyone know a camera that is exactly like this one but with the flash adapter piece on top.. Smaller and lighter wouldn't hurt, I wouldn't want the screen to be any smaller tho. But the 3 features this camera must have is 1. adjustable lcd screen 2. close focus button (looks like a flower icon and shows extreme detail on close shots) 3. flash adapter receiver mount piece on top. If anyone has any suggestions of different camera models i could check out that are similar, that would be great.. I don't need any fancy crazy camera, just needs to have the 3 features i mentioned, and would like to keep it under $350.. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

Public Comments

1. What you need to buy is an entry level DSLR. There is no way around this. Point and shoot cameras will not allow you to connect studio lighting. There are a few with hot shoes (flash adapter) but they would be very difficult to use with the lighting. You will also need a macro lens if you intend on doing extreme closeups of various car parts. I suspect that the kit lens would suffice but it wont get real close like a macro lens would. Most of the new DSLR's now have live view on the LCD screen though not all of them. You really should have thought more about this. There is no way you can get all you want out of a point and shoot camera. Point and shoot cameras are for snap shots. They are not designed for studio work which is what you are doing. You need a fully adjustable camera. This is of course going to be over your budget. An entry level DSLR is going to run you about $500 with a lens. If you do need a macro lens then this is going to cost you another $500-$1,000. You will also need a lightmeter $200-$300 or you will have a tough time getting your exposure correct. Lastly you will need a decent tripod. Cost $50-$200. You can't just use the camera on auto with the studio lights. You could trigger them but your camera will not know what lights you have and at what power you have them set at. You will need to learn how to use the camera on manual mode. This is also why you will need a lightmeter. The light meter will measure the amount of light from the strobes and tell you the correct exposure. The built in meter in the camera will not do this as it has no idea how powerful the strobes you are using will be. It only meters from the available light before the picture is taken or the stobes are fired.
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