The DSLR guy strikes again. He is obviously biased towards the bigger, more complex DSLRs (digital single-lens reflex cameras, with lots of functions, interchangeable lenses, mirrors to focus the light/image that flip out of the way to shoot - the "reflex" in DSLR - lots of pixels in the sensor that focuses, and lots of money to buy, even at entry-level). I learned on a film SLR, a manual Nikon that didn't even have a built-in light meter, so I REALLY learned photography, a long, long time ago. I moved up to a Nikon FM, with meter and autofocus, but as soon as digital came available, I moved over. (Film & processing for serious shooting is just too expensive, purists be damned.)



Let me say that any of the point-and-shoot mid-range and higher-quality point-and-shoots will give you the quality you need for shooting for eBay. You are not going to be making 16"x20" prints for display, you are going to be putting them online and you just need them to look good at maybe a 10"x13" screen equivalent, which any camera with 8 MP or more will do, presuming it will focus at the distance or closeness you need it to. And if you use a tripod, you can ensure no shake on any camera.



The idea about the lighting box stuff is a good one, but I was shooting for eBay for a few years using a point-and-shoot and a built-in flash along with a regular flood or spotlight above or beside the setup, depending on what I was shooting. You can adjust for the kind of lights in the camera, since lights have colors that need balancing, and cameras have a "white balance" setting or will do it automatically.



I have a friend who's been selling coins and art pottery/ceramic dishes, etc., on eBay for over a decade, and was using a Canon digital ELPH until recently when she switched to a Panasonic ZS7; I think it's overkill for her because it has GPS and HD video which she won't use, and the ZS5 is the identical camera minus those 2 things, with a good close-up capability, as well as a decent zoom range, lots of adjustments if you want to use them, and great automatic settings if you'd rather not deal with it. And it's small and light, with flash built-in. Your idea of the FZ35 would work, too - it is a "DSLR-Like" camera (and FZ-100 that I will be buying soon, probably, as it comes close to a DSLR in quality and can do things no DSLR can do, yuk yuk. But overkill for what you need.) You might also look into the Canon PowerShot SX210 IS, the Lumix FS5 or ZS7, the Nikon Coolpix S8100, and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 or HX5V, all cameras in the same general price range, with features like the Lumix FZ35, but smaller. If you want the larger "compact" size, look at the Canon PowerShot SX130 IS, or stick with the Lumix FZ35.