I want to put a digital camera on a tripod to take pictures of my pot plant's daily growth. I intend to just leave it in the room with the plants.
What I am looking for is a cheap camera that will be able to take clear pictures of trichromes. If it can do this I assume pictures of the plant will be clear, crisp and with good color as well. These are the cameras I have found on ebay that I feel may do the job but I am open to expert, experienced advice other than to purchase something that is out of my budget/price range ($200+ USD).
Polaroid IS2132 16MP Camera, Zoom 21X Optical, 105X Digital
Polaroid iX5038, 20MP Camera with 50x optical zoom
Polaroid iX6038 Digital Camera 20MP Zoom 60x Optical, 120x Digital
Vivitar IE3035 18MP camera with 30x optical zoom
At first I thought the Vivitar xx14 would be a good choice but from what I see from youtube I don't care for the picture quality of its video so I doubt I would like the picture quality of its photographs. That and I do not believe it capable of taking close ups of the trichromes muchless clear pictures since it is only digital zoom. I want to record the plant's progress as the trichromes turn from clear to milk.
I am asking for advice as I do not know what zoom I require to take clear pictures of the trichomes. I don't need a trichrome to take the whole frame of the picture, although that would be my wish list, but if I could get a sense of how the trichomes are progressing by taking a snap shot that would be ideal. My hands are too shaky to use a jeweler's loupe and I am hoping to be able to use a camera to observe and record my progress.
I also considered the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC W800/830 and the Cannon Powershot Elph 180 but then decided on the above for their more powerful optical zooms in hope that they will do the trick for the close ups to tell the changes of the trichromes.
