Budget Product Photography - Camera vs Phone

[Puzzled]

Hoping to gain some knowledge from you guys on the best direction to head down when on a tight budget.

Situation is that I have started selling a few products that I've made (mainly glass engravings) and I'm finding the limitations of my current camera phone (HTC One M8) frustrating. It actually does a good job to my eye of capturing the engraved glass in low / soft lighting after some editing to remove reflections but the low resolution of the photos and the distance I need to photograph from to get the perspective I'm after (about 50 - 60cm) means the final edit is only about 1000px x 1000px and starts to look a bit ropey. It also loses all its manual settings when you close the app so consistency is tricky, especially with focusing as the phone finds it hard to auto focus on glass.

I'm a bit tight for spare funds at the minute and have 2 options for a camera.

1. £300 budget for camera with lens / lenses, second hand is fine.
2. Possibly stretch to around £550 for a decent camera phone such as the Nokia 9 Pureview (I need a new phone anyway hence the smaller budget for option 1.

I'm leaning towards option 1 as I think it will give more potential for growth later on with different lenses and filters but I have no idea how things have moved on in the camera world and if a second hand buy from say 2012 is now rubbish compared to a new budget option.

I've seen some of newer ones have WiFi connectivity which would be handy for viewing shots on the desktop while everything is set up in another room and some automatic modes would be nice to get started.

Then there's the question of lenses which is completely new to me, most ads I've seen come with the 18-55mm lens as standard but as I generally take my pictures in low light I don't know if I need something more specific?

In summary, what are some good second hand buys for someone on a tight budget and little experience?

 

[Columbo]

Firstly lighting, lighting and more lighting.
Regardless of the camera in use the better the lighting the better rendering of the image is.

So question would be is how big are the subjects you are using? Rather than drop a wedge of cash on new gear straight away would a cheap light tent (£30-£50) aid with the quality?

Second point would be that if reflections are causing problems then something you can attach a Circular polariser to the front of would cure that problem and that isn’t your phone, I’d go 2nd hand / used and perhaps with a micro 4/3 camera from Panasonic or Olympus.

They are small, light, cheap to buy used and easy to use, the standard 14-42mm cheap kit lenses will be fine for your use.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

Is there a camera rentals place anywhere near you OP? You might be able to try before you buy.

 

[doodah]

Is there a camera rentals place anywhere near you OP? You might be able to try before you buy.

Or Fat LLama.

 

[Puzzled]

Firstly lighting, lighting and more lighting.
Regardless of the camera in use the better the lighting the better rendering of the image is.

So question would be is how big are the subjects you are using? Rather than drop a wedge of cash on new gear straight away would a cheap light tent (£30-£50) aid with the quality?

Second point would be that if reflections are causing problems then something you can attach a Circular polariser to the front of would cure that problem and that isn’t your phone, I’d go 2nd hand / used and perhaps with a micro 4/3 camera from Panasonic or Olympus.

They are small, light, cheap to buy used and easy to use, the standard 14-42mm cheap kit lenses will be fine for your use.

Most of what I do is drinkware so wine glasses etc, I am now moving in to larger pieces (vases) and framed artwork so flexibility is key really.

I do have a light tent but while 99% of product photography is done on a white background, glass engravings don't really show up that well so I tend to shoot with a dark background and soft side lighting. However this is me working around the limitations of my current camera more than anything.

I've read about polarising filters and keen to try one as reflections really are annoying on glass and anything to reduce them will make life easier.

Any particular models to look out for second hand?

Is there a camera rentals place anywhere near you OP? You might be able to try before you buy.

Or Fat LLama.

I didn't know you could rent cameras so thanks for mentioning that, a quick look online shows the prices are pretty reasonable but while it would give me an insight I will need a camera quite often as I'm always trying new things.

Looking at current / previous second hand listings I see cameras like the Canon EOS M and Sony A5000 sell for between £120 to £170. Would either of those still be classed as worth buying or are there any other particular models I should keep an eye for that were regarded as good all rounders for beginners?

I don't see much new in budget but the older Canon EOS 4000D DSLR Camera and EF-S 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 III Lens is available for £260

 

[Columbo]

Most of what I do is drinkware so wine glasses etc, I am now moving in to larger pieces (vases) and framed artwork so flexibility is key really.

I do have a light tent but while 99% of product photography is done on a white background, glass engravings don't really show up that well so I tend to shoot with a dark background and soft side lighting. However this is me working around the limitations of my current camera more than anything.

I've read about polarising filters and keen to try one as reflections really are annoying on glass and anything to reduce them will make life easier.

Any particular models to look out for second hand?

For 2nd hand gear I use https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/ and those 2 cameras you have mentioned would be fine, any modern camera would to be honest.
For filters I use SRB Photographic, no need to buy the really high priced B&W or Lee filter, SRB's perform the same. https://www.srb-photographic.co.uk/circular-polariser-filters-1282-c.asp