Need a camera for Crime Scene Photogrpahy

<p>Hi everyone. I am new to the forum. I have experience with point and shoot cameras only. I am a law enforcement officer and will be attending a two week class on processing evidence at a crime scene. The class will have some photography. I was told I could borrow a department camera but that it was a piece of junk. I am thinking about buying a camera for work but also for home use. <br>

The requirement on the course flier said the camera needed a wide angle lens if available, electronic flash remote cord or synch cord for the electronic flash(for operating the flash when off the camera), tripod, extra batteries for the flash, extra camera batteries. <br>

The flier also stated "simple cameras that can be operated in manual or automatic modes are best for this course. Cameras that can only be operated in a program mode should be avoided since many of the photography exercises during the class require techniques that cannot be accomplished in a program mode. Also some students who bring advanced cameras find it difficult to do all the required techniques since some of the techniques require they override the advanced functions of the camera (unless the student is experienced and knowledgeable).<br>

Any suggestions on a camera would be appreciated. My budget would be under $1000.00. <br>

Thankyou.<br>

Will</p>

<p>Duh--CSI uses Nikon! :)</p>

<p>If you're buying a dslr and _lenses_ and flash and cords, with only 1K$ you're going to have not many lenses.<br>

I love Canon myself but i think you can buy a used Nikon D3000 and get two zooms and a flash and cords and then upgrade the camera later. Get good lenses now, they don't go obsolete like the cameras do.</p>

<p>http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002JCSV5I/ref=sr_1_2_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1294376856&sr=8-2&condition=used</p>

<p>Just about any SLR will do. In our patrol cars we all have point-and-shoot cameras; but crime scene folks like the higher tech stuff .. higher resolution and better flash technology. I've seen good crime scene photos and bad crime scene photos .. it's more about lighting techniques than the camera .. contact your local Coroner's office .. study some autopsy photos and ask lots of questions about their lighting .. your local hospital will also have competent photographers who takes pictures of trauma/injuries for use in training classes.</p>

<p>When I entered law enforcement, crime scenes were photographed on medium format cameras; then with 35mm film/slides .. today it's a digital world .. but it is indeed more about the proper use of flash to pick up textures and details of objects; or the ability to use higher ISO ratings without flash and avoiding grain and digital artifacts. Simply stated you'll have to learn about cross-lighting and diffusing flash when needed in addition to merely driving the camera.</p>

<p>You will be photographing blood stains and tools/tool marks; sometimes latent fingerprints on glass or reflective surfaces; guns, knives (lots of kitchen knives) .. why do they alway throw them in the sink??? Consider too that you will sometimes photograph footprints in mud and snow, tire marks on the roadway; general scenes of forced entry to doors/windows; wide angle shots to show signs of a struggle in homes/apartments, etc.. Lighting is everything in these scenarios.</p>

<p>Finding a "simple" digital camera is perhaps the greatest obstacle .. 10 or more pixels is probably the minimum now; a mid-priced SLR from Nikon would be my choice as I think Nikon offers better flash control (but it isn't easy to do without some practice).</p>

<p>You will be operating sometimes in "A" aperture priority but mostly in "M" manual modes; so pick a camera that feels good to operate in those modes with easy access to white balance functions, ISO setting, and flash compensation. You could do it with a camera in the class of a Nikon D200 .. but today, I'd spend the extra cash for a D7000 .. which exceeds your budget; and flash unit can be expensive.</p>

<p>Also consider contacting your local State Police crime scene photographer... they frequently have the latest and expensive cameras; and they sometimes get rid of some very competent cameras that are 1-2 years old .. you might be able to get one on loan or buy at a real discount; I'm sure those guys would love to spend a few hours talking you through the camera settings/menus. Whatever you get, be sure to practice with it before class so you know how to access the menus and settings and can make the flash do what you need it to do.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hey, William, good luck on your class. I hope you catch lots of bad guys (and exonerate the innocent ones).</p>

<p>I second the suggestion of the Nikon D7000 or the slightly older D90 if you can't justify the expense. The kit lens (that comes with the camera) should be fine for everything except for extreme close-ups of small objects. For that you would need something called a macro lens which you can purchase later (or have your boss to buy it for you).</p>

<p>You'll probably need an external flash unit eventually, but the camera's built-in flash will work in the short ter</p>

<p>An EXTRA BATTERY would also be a really good idea. You don't want to run out of juice in the middle of a shoot. As for a memory card, one 8G card would probably give you plenty of spaces. I believe that these cameras use the SD style cards, but you should double-check with the dealer.</p>

<p>CSI uses Nikon Micro/Marco flash system. The SU800 commander, and 2 small flashes attached to special lens ring. I guess good macro photography is important at crime scene.<br />A macro (micro) Nikkor lens, and a CLS compatible DSLR would complete the system.</p>

<p>Do you not know anyone who might borrow you some equipment for that time? There has been a recommendation for the camera already, which is a good idea if you want to keep using it for your private purposes, and yes, definitely get an extra battery! But if you start adding flash... mmmh... cannot you not borrow that from someone you know, granted that it's adapted to the camera you will be using? Or have I misunderstood your posting and they only want you to bring along a cord for a flash they provide? Mind you, even the cord that syncs my Nikon flash with the camera is a hefty EUR 72 for a small piece of wire.<br>

Maybe there is a local dealer who sells used equipment? You might get a camera that's 2 years old plus lens(es) completely within your budget.</p>

<p><em>"many of the photography exercises during the class require techniques that cannot be accomplished in a program mode" </em>- perhaps they will provide course instructions, step by step, e.g. set aperture ring to f=11, etc. but if you get a lens without aperture ring, you will be in trouble and need to learn much more.</p>

<p>Since number of various cameras out there is huge, and is impossible for an instructer to know them all , or to deal with them, they want to make the course instrutor's life easy, with guaranteed results.</p>

<p>Most DSLR cameras have manual mode, so you would possibly need that to follow course directions. <br>

After you graduate, then most likely in real work you will use a reliable automated camera and flash mode.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Duh--CSI uses Nikon! :)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Does anyone watch that thinking "their camera technique is cr@p - they would never get a good picture like that"?</p>

<p>OK. Just me then. I obviously need to get out more.</p>

<p>Our CSIs use Canon 40d bodies with a couple of lenses, one being a macro with 1:1 capapbility. An external flash is a necessary accessory. Also factor in the cost of extra memory cards, a spare battery, and a case. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>Does anyone watch that thinking "their camera technique is cr@p - they would never get a good picture like that"?<br>

OK. Just me then. I obviously need to get out more.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Ha--I tried shooting that way and got lousy pictures too! Just Kidding!<br>

I keep waiting for their "<em>Crime scene photography for the absolutely complete moron who looks beautiful</em>" to get to Amazon!!!!!</p>

<p>Hi. Thanks for all the responses. My friend is willing to loan me his Nikon D40. The camera only has the body and lens. No memory card, external flash etc. If I decide to use his camera I would need to buy the other stuff for the class. I'm kinda on the fence about borrowing a camera, buying the stuff to use, and then returning the camera. <br>

How is a Pentax kx for my needs? What about other cameras in the price range of the kx?<br>

Thanks again.</p>

<p>You are" buying" a system more than you realize. Nikon and Canon dominate the market to the tune of over 80% So for tapping the used market (which is the way to go) means stay with them. Do and eBay search and see the vast amount of choices.<br>

I highly recommend the Nikon system. Canon users have figured out how to use Nikon lenses but no one ever bother to do the reverse. People ooh and aah over the Nikon name (for good reason) but Canon seems common probably because they dominate the point and shoot market.<br>

The Nikon D40 is good enough except for a possible problem with no lens focusing motor in the camera if a bought lens has no motor in the lens.. Just focus manually until you advance if ever to where you won't tolerate that anymore.<br>

Borrow the D40 and lens The cards etc are no big deal if you buy them. easily sold later if you no longer like what you have. An SB400 flash is about $120.00 and could easily be sold on eBay or Craigslist.<br>

Borrow the D40 and lens</p>

<p>Jon - that's a bit opinionated, and I speak as a Nikon shooter. Either the Nikon or Canon (D)SLR systems are very capable; Canon compacts are generally better than their Nikon equivalents, but there's very little in common between the compact and SLR ranges of either company. The reason that "no one ever bother"s to mount Canon lenses on a Nikon camera is that the Nikon mount sticks out more than the Canon mount: to mount a Nikkor on a Canon camera you can put an adaptor in the way, but to do the reverse you have to grind bits off the camera or lens (or put an optical adaptor in the way that reduces quality). It's the same reason that "no-one bothers" to put Leica rangefinder lenses on Canon cameras. There's nothing wrong with lens range of either Canon or Nikon - each have their strengths and weaknesses. In fact - specifically for a CSI - I'd say that Canon's current 100mm IS macro lens is better than Nikon's 105mm equivalent; however, it's also very expensive, and might be irrelevant. I would be slightly concerned about buying away from Canon and Nikon, just because the range of obscure equipment is better for them than for the other manufacturers, but that may not be a major concern.<br />

<br />

Assuming you're going to want to get close to details (and bearing in mind that my experience goes as far as watching most CSI episodes). You'll probably want flash to make details stand out. I doubt you'll need to be able to focus on moving subjects, or need low-light performance without flash - so maybe a DSLR isn't the answer. You might do better with a compact camera that can focus very close, but which can control an off-camera flash - for example, a PowerShot G12 (or one of its older cousins). I mention this just because getting decent macro capability with a DSLR costs money, and you might be better spending the money on a macro flash (the decent ones are expensive).<br />

<br />

If you <i>do</i> go down the DSLR route, I'd suggest an off-brand macro lens (the Tamron, Tokina and Sigma macro lenses are much better thought-of than their zooms) and whichever body you prefer - having a friend with Nikon suggests sticking to it, partly for loaners and partly for the tech support. It might be a good thing to pick an older pro body with two card slots, so that you have backups, if you can find one in the price range. SLR lenses make it easier to apply filters to the lens if you need to, which may help. Either a macro flash (for convenience) or off-camera flashes and cords (for flexibility) would, I imagine, be worth factoring into your budget.<br />

<br />

Good luck, and I hope that completely uneducated contribution helps!</p>

<p>Every bit of information helps. I took photos with the D40. they look nice on the camera screen. I took out the sandisk 4gb SDHC card and plugged them directly into in home computer and laptop ports. neither computer recognized the disk. The home computer is using Vista service pack two and the laptop is xp service pack 3. I reformattted the card but it is not recognized. What do I need to do? If I buy a card reader wold that help?</p>

 

<p>William - I've had issues with SDHC cards before. Surprisingly new SD card readers appear not to cope. A new card reader (one that says SDHC on its specifications) is very cheap, and worth a try. Or you could plug the camera itself in.</p>

<p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=4303235">Andrew Garrard</a> <a href="../member-status-icons"><img title="Frequent poster" src="../v3graphics/member-status-icons/2rolls.gif" alt="" /></a>, -"that's a bit opinionated", And then you proceed to give a very long opinionated opinion. (Jan 08, 2011; 09:56 a.m.) What is it with you people that can't handle opposing opinions that you must make accusations of being opinionated? Just my opinion of course( for those that get all testy about opinions.)</p>

<p>Sorry, Jon. I wasn't deliberately being critical - you're very entitled to your opinion. I just wanted the OP to be aware that it's not universally accepted that Canon's popularity in the (D)SLR market is based on their compact cameras (I've heard it blamed on them being the first to get decent autofocus working, and on some marketing muscle, but never before your theory), nor that Canon's range is necessarily lower quality than Nikon's. I certainly wanted to point out that the reason nobody adapts Canon lenses to Nikon isn't because they're "not bothered" and Canon kit is no good - e.g. I'd find an EF 85mm f/1.2 very tempting if I could afford it and it were possible to put on my D700. I'm tempted to source a Nikkor adaptor for my old Canon bodies just for convenience, but I wouldn't do it if it were as tricky as the reverse. People <i>have</i> adapted the 14-24 Nikkor to Canon because they find it better than Canon's equivalent, but I'm sure some would mount Canon's 17mm tilt-shift on Nikon if they could.<br />

<br />

Most companies make what are considered to be very good lenses and bodies; making one good product is no guarantee that another product will be equally good, so you should read reviews separately; I don't think it's disputed that Canon and Nikon have a wider current product range than the competition. I hope anything else I said was clearly a personal opinion or a suggestion to consider; if not, treat it as a failure of my communication skills.<br />

<br />

It was only your wording which implied Canon's inferiority might be an established fact that I felt was due a bit of balance. You're welcome to prefer and advocate the Nikon system, as do I, but in this forum I think it's important that we distinguish preference from indisputable truth, and justify our conclusions. I thought you crossed a line and merited a response - but that was my opinion. :-)<br />

<br />

Sorry if offence was taken. Other than those two sentences, for what it's worth, I'm 100% behind the rest of your post.</p>

I've had the same issuses with the SCHC cards. You cand fix the problem by downloading and installing the latest SD

card reader drives from Microsoft. The original drivers for those systems could only handle SD cards. So a new driver

will fix your problem at least it has on my laptop that started with vista on it.