Tor Giffard wrote:What kind of digital still camera is required for good quality close up work?
Dave
How much do you want to spend, Dave?
If you want to make a big thing of photography, you could splash out on a DSLR and equip it with whatever specialised lenses you need. The DSLR body may cost several hundred pounds before you start adding in the cost of lenses, etc.
Having struggled to get shots from which I could decent enlargements on an elderly Olympus Mu, I recently decided to get a new camera having a reasonable macro capability. I did so with the specific intention of using this to reveal the shortcomings in my model making that ought to be made good. I ended up getting a Fuji X10, the main reasons for my choice being its large sensor and 1cm macro capability. I paid about £225 for mine, which is about £140 less than the price of the newer model, the X20. Didn't think the enhancements incorporated into the X20 justified the extra cost.
I am a complete tyro at photography, but I'm encouraged by the results I've been getting from the X10. It is, however, by no means the cheapest of cameras and you might well get results that are acceptable to you from a camera costing half as much.