Best lens for product photography

[greenytime]

I am wondering what would be the best lens for product photography.

I am currently using the kit lens that came with my Canon 600D but would like to upgrade to get sharper images (the slow auto focus is also really annoying).

I am taking pictures of small products, such as mens accessories, ties, handkerchiefs etc.. Top down, using a tripod with a horizontal arm.

If there's any more info I can give that would help, please ask.

Thanks

 

[tirediron]

If the images aren't sharp, then chances are the issue lies with your set-up and NOT the lens. Kit lenses are slow (ie comparatively small maximum aperture), and don't usually have the best build quality, but stopped down to say f8, and at mid-range (~35mm) they should be tack-sharp. Is your set-up rock solid? Are your shutter speeds reasonable (1/125 or above)? I

 

[Derrel]

There is no one "best" lens for product photography, but for fairly small objects, like say cufflinks, a 90mm to 150mm macro lens from Tamron,Tokina,SIgma, or Canon would work fine. On larger objects, with a 90 to 150mm lens, the camera might very well need to be moved back to 8 to 15 feet, in order to be able to frame the entire object within the field of view of a longer, telephoto macro lens. Focusing speed ought not be any concern whatsoever in doing small product photography.

 

[fjrabon]

A) you should probably manual focus for product photography anyway. It's not a big deal, but I generally find manual focusing is easier in this scenario because you can set it and forget it unless you move your tripod or you move your subject.

B) product photography is the genre where lens quality matters the least.
C) that being said, the tamron 60mm f/2 macro/portrait hybrid is my favorite for product photography.

 

[greenytime]

If the images aren't sharp, then chances are the issue lies with your set-up and NOT the lens. Kit lenses are slow (ie comparatively small maximum aperture), and don't usually have the best build quality, but stopped down to say f8, and at mid-range (~35mm) they should be tack-sharp. Is your set-up rock solid? Are your shutter speeds reasonable (1/125 or above)? I

I need to change my "f" number, that's for sure.

My shutter speeds are normally around 1/6 1/8.... I sometimes use a professional photographer for items that I don't have the space for and he used 1/250 for everything. I tried it and my images were just black!

There is no one "best" lens for product photography, but for fairly small objects, like say cufflinks, a 90mm to 150mm macro lens from Tamron,Tokina,SIgma, or Canon would work fine. On larger objects, with a 90 to 150mm lens, the camera might very well need to be moved back to 8 to 15 feet, in order to be able to frame the entire object within the field of view of a longer, telephoto macro lens. Focusing speed ought not be any concern whatsoever in doing small product photography.

Interesting post.. Thanks. According to this post, the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L should work great.. This is one of the lenses that I was considering. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

A) you should probably manual focus for product photography anyway. It's not a big deal, but I generally find manual focusing is easier in this scenario because you can set it and forget it unless you move your tripod or you move your subject.

B) product photography is the genre where lens quality matters the least.
C) that being said, the tamron 60mm f/2 macro/portrait hybrid is my favorite for product photography.

A) I trust the auto-focus on my camera far more than my ability to eye-ball it. I'll discover after taking a couple of hundred shots that they were all just slightly out of focus!!!

B) Ok.

C) Thanks. I'll look into this.

 

[fjrabon]

A) I trust the auto-focus on my camera far more than my ability to eye-ball it. I'll discover after taking a couple of hundred shots that they were all just slightly out of focus!!!

You don't have to trust your eyeball, you should have a focus peak indicator in your camera viewfinder that lights up when you are in focus. Thus once you set it, you don't have to worry about your camera trying to refocus. Nail your focus once, and then bam, you've got it. Autofocus will often hunt and try to refocus when nothing moved at all. If you're shooting a static shot, I'll often times even use auto-focus to focus in the first place, then switch it off to manual focus so that it locks on that focus and I can just shoot, adjusting light, without having to worry about the camera trying to focus again. Especially if you're adjusting lighting, I find that it can screw around with the autofocus.

 

[greenytime]

You don't have to trust your eyeball, you should have a focus peak indicator in your camera viewfinder that lights up when you are in focus. Thus once you set it, you don't have to worry about your camera trying to refocus. Nail your focus once, and then bam, you've got it. Autofocus will often hunt and try to refocus when nothing moved at all. If you're shooting a static shot, I'll often times even use auto-focus to focus in the first place, then switch it off to manual focus so that it locks on that focus and I can just shoot, adjusting light, without having to worry about the camera trying to focus again. Especially if you're adjusting lighting, I find that it can screw around with the autofocus.

Interesting.. I don't know what that feature is. I am using a Canon 600D. Will have to Google around to see how to do it.

I totally agree about the auto-focus, it hunts quite often and drives me insane, that's why I was thinking a better lens wouldn't do that.

 

[Derrel]

Sure, the Canon 100mm L-series macro would work, but there's not a whole lot of need for such an expensive, Image Stabilized macro lens...the plain old Canon 100mm EF macro is amply good...so is the Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro model, or the 90mm AF-SP Di model from Tamron. The Tokina and Tamron are both kind of "cult favorite" third-party macro lenses, and are actually very good performers.

As to the professional's macro shots, all made at 1/250 second: that would make me think he shot all of them at the X-synch speed of his camera, using studio type electronic flash...which is why HIS shots were not black...

One simple tip for hand focusing in tabletop setups is to position a small, high-contrast "focusing target" at a critical place in the set, focus on that, then REMOVE the target!!! You MUST remove the doggone target! You can make these yourself with simple bits of fine printed matter glued to small pieces of card stock. Use Live View focusing, or shoot-focus-review...any way to get the focus nailed...do whatever you have to do.

 

[fjrabon]

You don't have to trust your eyeball, you should have a focus peak indicator in your camera viewfinder that lights up when you are in focus. Thus once you set it, you don't have to worry about your camera trying to refocus. Nail your focus once, and then bam, you've got it. Autofocus will often hunt and try to refocus when nothing moved at all. If you're shooting a static shot, I'll often times even use auto-focus to focus in the first place, then switch it off to manual focus so that it locks on that focus and I can just shoot, adjusting light, without having to worry about the camera trying to focus again. Especially if you're adjusting lighting, I find that it can screw around with the autofocus.

Interesting.. I don't know what that feature is. I am using a Canon 600D. Will have to Google around to see how to do it.

I totally agree about the auto-focus, it hunts quite often and drives me insane, that's why I was thinking a better lens wouldn't do that.

A lens could help, but it might not, or might only partially fix the problem.

Focus confirmation indicator is in the bottom right hand portion of your viewfinder

 

[Austin Greene]

I need to change my "f" number, that's for sure.

My shutter speeds are normally around 1/6 1/8.... I sometimes use a professional photographer for items that I don't have the space for and he used 1/250 for everything. I tried it and my images were just black!

Oh sweet jesus...

I believe this may not be an issue with your settings at all, but rather, that you've stumbled across a case of CPSB, or Complete Photographic Sensory Breakdown. It's a condition that affects many DSLR's, because why would it affect the owner, that would be ridiculous. Signs and symptoms usually include:

• Finding camera manuals in the trash
• Lens caps permanently affixed to lens front elements
• Poor quality images
• Black images, regardless of the settings (just as you describe!)

As far as I know the only treatment is to take your camera, box it up with all the original parts if you can (if you don't have them it's ok), and mail it back to the manufacturer. Place a note in the box that describes what you've been experiencing, along with the subject line of "Need to RTFM: Have CPSB".

They should take care of you

 

[greenytime]

I need to change my "f" number, that's for sure.

My shutter speeds are normally around 1/6 1/8.... I sometimes use a professional photographer for items that I don't have the space for and he used 1/250 for everything. I tried it and my images were just black!

Oh sweet jesus...

I believe this may not be an issue with your settings at all, but rather, that you've stumbled across a case of CPSB, or Complete Photographic Sensory Breakdown. It's a condition that affects many DSLR's, because why would it affect the owner, that would be ridiculous. Signs and symptoms usually include:

• Finding camera manuals in the trash
• Lens caps permanently affixed to lens front elements
• Poor quality images
• Black images, regardless of the settings (just as you describe!)

As far as I know the only treatment is to take your camera, box it up with all the original parts if you can (if you don't have them it's ok), and mail it back to the manufacturer. Place a note in the box that describes what you've been experiencing, along with the subject line of "Need to RTFM: Have CPSB".

They should take care of you

 

[Austin Greene]

I need to change my "f" number, that's for sure.

My shutter speeds are normally around 1/6 1/8.... I sometimes use a professional photographer for items that I don't have the space for and he used 1/250 for everything. I tried it and my images were just black!

Oh sweet jesus...

I believe this may not be an issue with your settings at all, but rather, that you've stumbled across a case of CPSB, or Complete Photographic Sensory Breakdown. It's a condition that affects many DSLR's, because why would it affect the owner, that would be ridiculous. Signs and symptoms usually include:

• Finding camera manuals in the trash
• Lens caps permanently affixed to lens front elements
• Poor quality images
• Black images, regardless of the settings (just as you describe!)

As far as I know the only treatment is to take your camera, box it up with all the original parts if you can (if you don't have them it's ok), and mail it back to the manufacturer. Place a note in the box that describes what you've been experiencing, along with the subject line of "Need to RTFM: Have CPSB".

They should take care of you

 

[astroNikon]

Top down, using a tripod with a horizontal arm.

Tripod with a Horizontal arm ?
What kind of tripod (as in sturdiness) and how far out is the horizontal arm going. This may be making a nice little springboard action upon touching it.

I hope you are not actuating the picture with your own finger. It's probably causing shaking issues. Just in case ... Use a radio remote or corded trigger to minimize that.

I used a horizontal arm too $70 thing and boy .. you have to use a remote release to not have it even slightly bounce.

 

[Austin Greene]

Top down, using a tripod with a horizontal arm.

Tripod with a Horizontal arm ?
What kind of tripod (as in sturdiness) and how far out is the horizontal arm going. This may be making a nice little springboard action upon touching it.

I hope you are not actuating the picture with your own finger. It's probably causing shaking issues. Just in case ... Use a radio remote or corded trigger to minimize that.

I used a horizontal arm too $70 thing and boy .. you have to use a remote release to not have it even slightly bounce.

Depends on the tripod. Most truly studio-quality tripods won't have any issue with a boom. Ours is Manfrotto, and while it's a POS in my opinion, it holds our boom steady. It's also giant, so there's that.

 

[astroNikon]

Depends on the tripod. Most truly studio-quality tripods won't have any issue with a boom. Ours is Manfrotto, and while it's a POS in my opinion, it holds our boom steady. It's also giant, so there's that.

Yes, but it depends what the OP has.

My Boom on my Slik Professional is fine.
But on the Slik 500DX is fine too with a remote release.
On a cheappo tripod I have laying around I wouldn't even try it.
with most newbie's getting cheaper tripods I bring that up as a potential problem, as few would be steady even without a boom, and most newbie's don't use a remote release.