imo, good even lighting. twice as bright as you think you need. light bulbs, i like power compact bulbs. less heat and watts and come in different temperatures or color of light. 5000K-5500K mimics daylight really well. a basic tripod(15-20 bucks). these are most important to me, more than the cam. any 2-3 meg cam can take pics good enough for the net. if you want extreme macros or very large prints, bigger than 8x10. be ready to spend some$$.


vaughn