Monday, January 20, 2014

What is the best focal length for product photography? (I have a 1.6x APS-C sensor so take that into account)?

best canon lens product photography on Canon Powershot N Review | PhotographyBLOG
best canon lens product photography image



Jack Jagge


I am thinking about what kind of lens should I buy for product photography. It will be a prime for sure.
50mm? 135mm?
85mm?

Btw I am thinking about buying the 50.



Answer
Depends on how big the "products" you want to shoot are. If you're shooting jewelry, I recommend the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro (don't get the L version). If you're shooting cars, you probably want to look at the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5.

If it's anything small (like small enough to put on a table), you almost definitely want a macro lens. 50mm is a good place to start, the EF 50mm f/1.8 is fantastic, and the EF 50mm f/1.4 is even better. I use the EF 85mm f/1.8 for portraits, and while I love that lens, it doesn't focus very close, so it wouldn't be idea for small product photography. Same goes for the EF 135mm f/2L. Awesome lens, I love using it for portraits, but it doesn't suit product photography very well.

Maybe take a look at the Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro or the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro. If you're into third-party lenses, Tamron makes a pretty good 60mm f/2 Macro, and an even better 90mm f/2.8 Macro.

Good luck!

Photography tips for a dark lit environment with moving figures?




???????


I own a Canon 60D DSLR camera and I need to take photos for an upcoming school dance. I would like these photos to cone out as best as possible, but because of the situation, I need tips on how to set up the settings in my camera for the best results.
The dance is very active, and there many moving figures around multicolored/flashing lights in a dark environment.
What settings would help me get the pictures clear, crisp, and not blurry? How would I get the photos to come out with



Answer
First, forget about using your camera's built-in flash except for pictures of individuals or small groups and if you do use it in those situations you'll need to diffuse the flash.

Second, if you can afford either the Canon EF 28mm f1.8 or EF 35mm f2.0 then buy the one you like best after trying them at your local camera store. If you can't afford to buy a new lens then ask if you can rent one. Trying to use the slow, variable aperture zoom lens that came with your camera is going to require a very high ISO so a faster prime lens like the 28mm or 35mm will allow a lower ISO which means reduced digital noise and better image quality. You'll still need a high ISO such as 1600 even with an f1.8 or f2.0 prime lens to achieve a shutter speed fast enough to prevent blur caused by subject motion or camera movement. Since the lenses I'm suggesting are prime lenses with no zoom you'll have to "zoom" with your feet - take a few steps closer to get less in the scene, take a few steps back to get more in the scene. That's how we "zoomed" before zoom lenses were invented.

Third, use your camera's Spot metering setting so the camera's meter isn't trying to calculate exposure for the entire scene. Here are a couple of articles on using spot metering:

http://spotmetering.com/spwhy.htm

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/05/28/when-to-use-spot-metering

The idea is to meter only your subject(s) and let the background go dark.

As I said earlier, if you decide to use your camera's built-in flash in some situations it will need to be diffused. You can use a piece of tissue or thin white cloth or the "Puffer" from Gary Fong.
http://www.garyfongestore.com/featured-products/puffer-pop-up-flash-diffuser.html Using the flash without some sort of diffusion results in harsh lighting which is not very flattering.

From this review it appears that your camera does fairly well at high ISO values but I still recommend one of the 2 fast prime lenses previously referenced.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E60D/E60DA.HTM

Good luck and hope you share some of your results.




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