Single Supply OP-AMP Output Swing Close to Negative Rail...

I need to build a buffer circuit (voltage follower) that accepts an input of around 0.5V to 4.5V. This will run from a fixed single supply of 12V, so I don't need to worry about how close the output can swing to VCC since my positive supply will be much higher than my input signal.

What I'm worried about (and I admit I know little about analog electronics) is how close the op-amp can get to 0V. I'v elooked at some common amps like the 741, but can't determine how close they can swing to 0V.

Look for a rail to rail opamp, they'll get you lower than the 0.5v you're looking for.

^ I was gonna do that, but people hve said that's overkill for my application. I really would like to know a good, common op-amp that will get reasonably close to 0V, don't care about how close it gets to VCC.

The old and clunky **broken link removed** and the **broken link removed** will both swing very close to the negative rail (Gnd). Also look at the "also recommended" on those two pages.