Camera recommendations for published photos

[fkj2]

I'm looking for a camera that would produce images suitable for publication in a book.

Would a Nikon D3200 be sufficient or would I need the D7000?

Thanks for suggestions.

 

[zackiedawg]

Any DSLR camera, or SLT camera, or virtually any mirrorless camera (all APS-C sensors, and M4:3 sensors) are capable of meeting publication standards for books and periodicals. Even P&S cameras, if the shot was well exposed, resolution is sufficient, and the lighting was good, can meet publication standards, depending on the print size that will be needed.

Do not worry about which camera body, nor which camera brand. It's more about the lenses which will help get the shot needed, and more than anything, the photographer who is responsible for doing the metering & composition to deliver the worthy photograph.

I have been publishing photos for 9 years now, from local periodicals to national periodicals and books, starting with a prosumer P&S camera in 2004, a superzoom in 2006, DSLRs (entry-level and mid-level) since 2008, and mirrorless cameras (APS-C) since 2011. The camera hasn't mattered - whether or not I nailed the shot and had the right settings, and did the appropriate post-processing without overprocessing, were all that mattered.

 

[fkj2]

Do not worry about which camera body, nor which camera brand. It's more about the lenses which will help get the shot needed, and more than anything, the photographer who is responsible for doing the metering & composition to deliver the worthy photograph.

Good to know. Thanks. That advice will definitely save me a few $$$ when purchasing the camera.

 

[havoc315]

Zackie is completely correct.

But watch out for resolution and photo size. This has little to do with the camera model -- Most have more than enough megapixel to print photos appropriate for a "book size."
But sometimes, when you look at the photo on your computer screen, not necessarily in a huge size, some imperfections may be hidden. A picture that looks good in an email, may not look good when blown up to 5X7 or larger for a book.

I recently ordered a book of photos, just selecting the "best" from my family collection over several months. I was a bit stupid, saving time by going through thumbnails to pick the photos. So while most of the book looks great, I have a couple of pictures with iffy blurry focus. Looked great when it was small, but when blown up for an entire page in the book, suddenly looked horrible.

Now, that had nothing to do with the camera. The photos were taken with a great camera.

Finally, remember that when you crop pictures, you are essentially losing megapixels. So let's say you take a picture with a 16mp camera. If you hit the focus, if your exposure was right, you will get a picture you can easily print at 8X10. But let's say you crop out half the photo -- suddenly the resolution may not be sufficient for anything bigger than 4X6.