New Camera/Old Camera and Soapmaking

I just got a new camera! I've been using a little, cheap old point and shoot to take all my jewelry pictures for years. I've maxed out its few capabilities and need to move on. I admit I don't enjoy photography and don't understand it very well. I've been playing with my new Samsung NX100 and have just barely begun to understand what all those little icons are for in the menu. This is probably not the go-to camera for the "Photography for Dummies" crowd, but I'll see what I can do. The manual claims to be in English, but I don't believe it.

These are some before and after photos using my old and new cameras and taking photos of the handmade soap that I just made for my family. Photographing small sparkly objects like jewelry is gonna take some more study. All of these are completely unedited and taken on automatic without a tripod in somewhat dim light during a rainstorm . . . and . . . I don't think I held the camera very steady.

Old

New. The new camera can be set for square format

Old

New. Much truer color--same type of soap as above.

Old. All the soaps look kind of grey.

New. You can see the subtle color differences in the soap.

New. My soaps curing on the windowsill.

New

About the soap:
For more information on how I make my homemade soap, read this blog post I did a while back. My soaps aren't particularly colorful or pretty. I like a big, chunky, hand-cut, rustic bar with natural ingredients.

These are the types of soaps that I just finished making. These should last us a while:

* honey oatmeal (last photo)
* lavender with bentonite clay marbled (photo 5&6)
* sandalwood/patchouli with red Morrocan clay marbled (second photo)
* cedarwood/lime leaf with green French clay marbled (second photo)
* Caleb's sensitive skin shampoo bar with neem, green tea and calendula (top photo)
* grapefruit/hybiscus with poppyseeds (photo 5&6)
* vanilla bean spice swirled (photos 3&4)