I have a bad digital camera, can't do close ups.... I can't afford a new one either, what do you guys suggest I use? Will a cheap analog camera work?

Cheap and close up are pretty much mutually exclusive. Most inexpensive film cameras will not have macro capability. You pretty much have to go to a single lens reflex and minimally get a set of magnifiers that attach like a filter, a set of extension tubes or a lens that has a macro setting on it. That's going to cost at least a couple hundrted dollars for the body and basic lens.
The basic point and shoot is not desinged for macro work and the off set viewfinder, vs. a through the lens viewfinder will offset you pictures more and more as you get closer.
Hate to say it, but unless you find a used digi with macro, you're going to have to save up some money.

Another option might be to shoot from a farther distance so that the camera can focus, then zoom and crop on the computer... Just be certain to have the camera set to its highest possible resolution setting... Try to find the point as close as possible that the camera can still focus... This isn't the best option but might give you better results... As far as film cameras... Your local Wal-Mart will carry several cameras in the $100 range that have macro settings, represented by a little flower icon usually... But if you have the 100 to spend, I might suggest that you save your pennies and hold out for a better digital...

Try to photo shoot your models outside in natural sunlight. You may not be able to get up close without the macro feature but you should have a clear image that at least the pics won't be blurry. Remember don't shoot them too close. Try this and see if it will help. Dave's idea of editing the photos and cropping is a good one to use.

I think digicams become obsolete faster than PCs these days. Look around for deals on earlier models being cleared out when the latest and greatest models become available.

I got tired of messing around with a 35mm camera (Olympus SuperZoom300) for modelling photos. Sure it had a macro mode, but about 80cm is as close as I could get to the model. And its depth of field was rather shallow. Even getting Photo-CDs done was only of marginal benefit. So, rather than waste any more 35mm film and $$ on Photo-CDs, I started looking for a digicam.

While scanning the weekly bundle of sales flyers, a local chain was offering a $100 mail-in rebate on a FujiFilm FinePix A203, so it was $150Cdn rather than $250 and originally it had a SRP of $350Cdn when released in 2002. Sure, its only 2 mega pixels (MP) and 3x Optical Zoom doesn't have the electron microscope-like macro mode of some other digicams, but its macro mode (10-80cm) takes some rather respectable pix.

Here is a cropped 2MP pic of Tamiya's 1:16 Kübelwagen:


And these are cropped 2MP pix of Tamiya's 1:35 Schwimmwagen




Some more pix (Schwimmwagen & JGSDG Motocrosser) using the A203 are at:
http://members.aol.com/kwhcoaster/Home.html

So, while the 3MP, 4MP and 5MP digicams are the latest and greatest, don't be too quick to overlook the 2MP digicams. Just be sure it is OPTICAL ZOOM, digitial zoom is pretty much useless.

HTH

Ken

All the photos in my gallery were shot with an Olympus D-460 1.3 MP camera.
I bought it when it first came out, and have no intentions of running out and buying a new one.
All the photos were cropped and resized for the gallery. Usually made smaller to take up less room.

I believe that the problem is not with your camera, it´s the lens you are using. You will need a macro lens to do closeup shots. However there is another option.

You can add "rings" between the lens and the camera that will enable closeup shots. These rings are not very expensive I believe. Go into a shop and ask about it.

The thing about about many digital cameras, especially the lower end ones, is that they dont have threads for accesories. If you are stuck with a camera without a macrosetting, or an optical zoom capability I guess you have to sell it if u can and use the cash to buy a new cam. 2.1 mp cameras are less than $200USD nowadays.

If you plan on using film, get one with a macro stting. I had a Fuji-point and shooter for less than $50 brand new. Use a slow film. That is a film with an ASA of less than 100. These types are great for enlarging your pics. But then again the minimum focusing distance of most point and shooters is 2 feet. Unless you know someone who works in a photolab, your point and shooter is practical best for a paperweight.