What digital camera and lens would you recommend for a photo like this

sdlogan9 · Mar 25, 2015

Hello -

I need to reproduce many photo's every day similar to this one or even better would be awesome!. what Camera and Lens would you recommend me to get if this is all I need to do. Quality photo is my objective. I dont need video or any fast moving sports photo capabilities.

Please recommend me a few options in different price ranges.. even a few different brands/models

Although I am really liking the Nikon stuff. Ultimately what lens to choose is where I am struggling the most. I will be shooting the subject from about 3 feet away. And I want nice bokeh.

I need specific model numbers for the lens and camera as I am a beginner.

I did purchase Lightroom 5 already.

Please do not post images to which you do not hold rights. You my post a link.

-Shane

480sparky · Mar 25, 2015

Any DSLR with a kit or prime lens will do. There's nothing earth - shattering about the image.

fjrabon · Mar 25, 2015

60mm tamron f/2 macro portrait hybrid with a nikon d3300

syaudi · Mar 26, 2015

there's nothing special about the photo, you can get that without post processing. that looks to be somewhere around the f/2 range, so a 50mm 1.8 should be enough (three feet away is ~1 meter so maybe an 85mm f/1.4 or a small zoom). with Nikon I'd assume you could buy a cheap body and then get really nice vintage glass with bigger apertures at the same focal length for a fraction of the costs of modern lens (I'm assuming you don't mind going into post because you bought Lightroom).

feel free to correct me, I'm not well versed in Nikon lens (particularly maximum aperture values). those just happen to pop up as comparisons for Canon lens.

petrochemist · Mar 26, 2015

What is it about the photo you're trying to reproduce?
Any camera would be able to get more of it in focus, so I assume you're after shallow DOF. I'm sure there are lenses for every DSLR or mirrorless camera capable of matching or beating the DOF shown here.
The shot you've provided doesn't challenge the bokeh of a lens. Bokeh is about how out of focus highlights are rendered, it's NOT just out o focus areas.

DarkShadow · Mar 26, 2015

Any cell phone with a camera will do and probably better.

Solarflare · Mar 26, 2015

Well, as others said - what exactly do you actually like about this picture ?

1. If you're after great colors - well, you could get a color checker. You already have the software to use that. A color checker will allow you to reproduce the colors extremely precisely.

Other than that, you'll ideally want a camera with a lot of color depth, otherwise your colors would be natural, but still wont have much variation and still would look "flat". Color depth is a measurement for how precisely a camera measures the colors in a picture. Basically larger pixels will give you more color depth, thus you're after a large sensor.

APS-C sized sensors, like in an entry level DSLR from Nikon F, Canon EOS or Pentax K, would be a very affordable way to get it. Theres also some mirrorless cameras out there with APS-C sized sensors - Sony E, Canon EOS-M, Leica T, Samsung NX, Fuji X.

2. If you're after shallow depth of field, well in the macro range of photography thats pretty much a given. Even the minature sensor in my old compact can archieve extremely shallow depth of field when used in the macro range. Other than that, large sensors and prime lenses with large maximum apertures would be the way to go. Again APS-C is the lowest, most affordable option for some good shallow depth of field.

The next step above APS-C would be small format, which comes in a number of alternative names - full frame, 35mm film, 36x24mm. Cameras for this are a lot more expensive (ca 2000€ when new) and lenses also (well the 50mm prime is usually still very cheap, and some lenses which are outrageously expensive for APS-C dont increase much in price for full frame). Also you need to know theres the rule of diminishing returns - for every extra you pay, you get increasingly less returns.

After small format, there is medium format - and here we talk about camera systems for about 10000€ and above. The new Pentax 645z with the 55mm prime lens would be exactly in this spot.

Designer · Mar 26, 2015

Why does everyone assume he wants a shallow DOF?

He said "or better", and I interpret that as meaning the entire object in focus.

petrochemist · Mar 26, 2015

Designer said:
Why does everyone assume he wants a shallow DOF?

He said "or better", and I interpret that as meaning the entire object in focus.

Because more of the subject in focus is no challenge!
The OP's reference to Bokeh also suggests shallow DOF, which is something of a trend at the moment....

Just cleaning the subject prior to photographing it would probably make the image better. Careful lighting, and choice of optimum settings with the existing camera can almost certainly produce a much better image - but as you say finding in which way 'better' is wanted is needed before specific advise can be given.

Alexr25 · Mar 26, 2015

petrochemist said:
Because more of the subject in focus is no challenge!

So the challenge is to get the subject out of focus?

waday · Mar 26, 2015

Designer said:
Why does everyone assume he wants a shallow DOF?

He said "or better", and I interpret that as meaning the entire object in focus.

I agree with @petrochemist.. the example photo and the OP's asking for 'bokeh' led me to believe he wanted shallow DOF.

"Or better" to me means: better composition, better lighting, better background, better image quality, etc.

Designer · Mar 26, 2015

sdlogan9 said:
..or even better would be awesome!. And I want nice bokeh... I am a beginner.-Shane

Hi, Shane

I am getting something of a mixed message with your original post. You apparently don't know the definition of "bokeh", so I'm wondering what exactly you want.

Ordinarily, with product photography one does not see as much blur as in your example, and what blur there is is certainly not how one would evaluate bokeh.

A bit of clarification would help.