gregaanes

Final use is not very demanding- typically 1200 px square for viewing on our ecommerce site, maybe printed at 300 pix 2" x 2" but print media seems to have died out. I'm just trying to get a clean image (my current camera creates some artifacts as well as having mold on the lens). The old camera also has a nuisance color gradation between edges, like a ghosting or shadowing. No matter how I set the lights it won't go away. Your statement about internal post processing and RAW images makes me think I should be shooting RAW and doing my own postproc as necessary.

Bridge Camera such as the Panasonic Lumix or Fuji FinePix? What type of a camera was used for your attached picture- it has wonderful tones and sharpness. My goal is rich wood grains and color, as wood is challenging to capture accurately on film.

While this doesn't seem like the exact forum I want, it does seem to have many of camera geeks who know a lot (more than I do). My situation: I make furniture and do my own product shots in a dedicated corner of the showroom with three strobes, currently using a fifteen year old Canon G8 (inherited from my mom). After a few years of ongoing practice I have topped out on lighting and scene setup and now see the camera as my bottleneck. I seem to have maxed out on my photo quality given my current budget and time. Yes I do post process each shot to be used for the max look. See the attached sample file. And remember, pictures are not my focus nor my business even though I am striving for excellence. If I were to upgrade my camera, what would the best cam be for these needs? I don't need bells and whistles but they are unavoidable. I just need a great single shot cam with the best possible picture/colors in the under $500 price range. I understand that the bigger the sensor the better the picture which makes sense. But DSLR, mirrorless or whatever? I was quite into photography back in the 70s and am well versed in film camera functioning. But the array and potentials of Dig cams is overwhelming. Advice??