recommendation wanted, for industrial documentation

My company is getting ready to purchase a new dcam
for documentation purposes. It has to be good at
shots of very small devices on printed circuit boards.
We want to read the ic device markings, show cracks in pwbs
and so on.
It's going to get alot of use. Has to be rugged.
Can have any bazar battery out there since it will not
leave the shop.

Camera must be able to download quickly - hope recommended
camera has a usb port - they seem to work great.

Anyone have a suggestion here?
Spending targeted at $500 - $600

(How much would we have to spend to get an slr with standard
"35" len capability?)

(Old camera being replaced is an Olympus D 500L. Nice camera but
doesn't have enough resolution and the macro is hard to
work with.)



Well. The question is why would you need an SLR with standard 35" lens. You
need a camera for specific usage, and dSLR is an overkill on price, durability,
complexity, and finniky stuff such as cleaning the sensor.

Get the Olympus 5060. It's 5mp, very rugged and durable, and It should be
within budget. Look at the macro mode in this page

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/c5050/c5060-samp.html

My company is getting ready to purchase a new dcam
for documentation purposes. It has to be good at
shots of very small devices on printed circuit boards.
We want to read the ic device markings, show cracks in pwbs
and so on.
It's going to get alot of use. Has to be rugged.
Can have any bazar battery out there since it will not
leave the shop.

Camera must be able to download quickly - hope recommended
camera has a usb port - they seem to work great.

Anyone have a suggestion here?
Spending targeted at $500 - $600

(How much would we have to spend to get an slr with standard
"35" len capability?)

(Old camera being replaced is an Olympus D 500L. Nice camera but
doesn't have enough resolution and the macro is hard to
work with.)



Well. The question is why would you need an SLR with standard 35" lens. You
need a camera for specific usage, and dSLR is an overkill on price, durability,
complexity, and finniky stuff such as cleaning the sensor.

Get the Olympus 5060. It's 5mp, very rugged and durable, and It should be
within budget. Look at the macro mode in this page

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/c5050/c5060-samp.html

hfs2 wrote:
My company is getting ready to purchase a new dcam
for documentation purposes. It has to be good at
shots of very small devices on printed circuit boards.
We want to read the ic device markings, show cracks in pwbs
and so on.
It's going to get alot of use. Has to be rugged.
Can have any bazar battery out there since it will not
leave the shop.

Camera must be able to download quickly - hope recommended
camera has a usb port - they seem to work great.

Anyone have a suggestion here?
Spending targeted at $500 - $600

(How much would we have to spend to get an slr with standard
"35" len capability?)

More than your budget. Canon 10D is probably cheapest DSLR that could
be considered rugged. Abot $1400 plus more for a lens. For more
ruggedness the Olympus E1 is a good choice but abt $1500.

(Old camera being replaced is an Olympus D 500L. Nice camera but
doesn't have enough resolution and the macro is hard to
work with.)

For a rugged digicam Olympus high end such as 5060 is probably a good
choice as the other poster recommended. Coolpix 5x00 should also be
able to put up with a lot of use.
All modern digicams should have USB connection.