Advice on equipment needs

[CraftyCat]

HI everyone, I am looking to invest in a camera and lens for taking product shots and nature shots. I am graphic designer expanding my skills. Can anyone give advice on what to look for etc. as bit clueless.
Thanks.

 

[Tomasko]

Welcome! You should include your budget and your country...

 

[TonyBallas]

HI everyone, I am looking to invest in a camera and lens for taking product shots and nature shots. I am graphic designer expanding my skills. Can anyone give advice on what to look for etc. as bit clueless.
Thanks.

Thanks for the question & I wish I could afford new equipment myself, but take in to account how much photographic experience you have, and how much time you want to spend with taking images, especially the product shots.

To start you'll want good lighting for taking product pictures. I think a really good all in one camera might work well for you if you don't have a big budget to get started. By all in one I mean lens fixed and can't change, and for nature photography you may want one that focuses at close range (macro as some call it), but what you want to look for is the closer the minimum focus distance is from the subject gets real tight detailed images; good for products too, such as jewelry or small trinkets and housewares.

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[zombiesniper]

Tony I don't think you're allowed to advertise your company without vendor status.

 

[zombiesniper]

@CraftyCat product and nature photography are almost at the exact opposite in what is needed for lenses but most camera bodies are quite capable of either.

A budget will greatly aid in purchase recommendations as we could suggest from $1-100k quite easily.

nature photography you may want one that focuses at close range (macro as some call it),

Nope everyone calls it macro which can be part of nature photography but then again so can wildlife where the gear is 100% different.

 

[Tomasko]

@zombiesniper , actually, Nikon lenses are labelled "micro" for whatever reason.

 

[zombiesniper]

Yes but who uses Nikon anymore....didn't they go out of business last year?

 

[Designer]

HI everyone, I am looking to invest in a camera and lens for taking product shots and nature shots. I am graphic designer expanding my skills. Can anyone give advice on what to look for etc. as bit clueless.
Thanks.

Greetings, and welcome!

I suggest a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR). For most of what you mentioned, you might be able to do both with only one lens, albeit a compromise. Depending on what level of professionalism and quality of image, you can spend hundreds to thousands. You're going to need some things in addition to a camera and one or two lenses, so be sure to have a realistic budget for that too. Lighting and a good tripod would be the minimum. Also you should plan on doing some editing on the computer as well.

 

[TonyBallas]

Tony I don't think you're allowed to advertise your company without vendor status.

Oh, sorry about the mistake. I was more so just reaching out by email, but I understand it still tends to be a form of advertising, and I will not do it again.

How do people sign up for vendor status, and where can I find the rules of the group(s) to check them out again.


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[benhasajeep]

Yes but who uses Nikon anymore....didn't they go out of business last year?

Ha, from what I read. More people are switching from Canon to Nikon due to sensors and the big lenses. But you never know with the "more people" quotes as none of them ever reveal their sources.

 

[benhasajeep]

HI everyone, I am looking to invest in a camera and lens for taking product shots and nature shots. I am graphic designer expanding my skills. Can anyone give advice on what to look for etc. as bit clueless.
Thanks.

Welcome! You should include your budget and your country...

Yes, budget would be needed. There is a large range of entry gear to full pro gear. Entry level gear could be $499 for entry level DSLR with kit lens to several thousands for just an advanced body, and a couple thousand for each lens.

 

[Frank F.]

HI everyone, I am looking to invest in a camera and lens for taking product shots and nature shots. I am graphic designer expanding my skills. Can anyone give advice on what to look for etc. as bit clueless.
Thanks.

I did a lot of product shots for a living and can assure you that the right lighting is more important than a fancy camera or lens.

Second is learning to shoot products geometrically appealing, but this should be the easy part for you as a graphics designer.

Optimal equipment is a tilt/shift lens like a Nikon PC 85mm or equivalent from other manufacturers and a camera with tethering capabilities. These do not necessarily have to be in the camera itself, third party software and an USB connection can help.

You do not need to buy a camera or lens new, esp when you start it is a good idea to keep cost low. Esp with Nikon lenses my experience is that a used one in very good condition can be sold for the price you paid for it or even more, if you reconsider or upgrade later.

Summary:

Skill is more important than light
Light is more important than lens
Lens is more important than camera
Keeping costs down is more important than the last bit in Image Quality

 

[dxqcanada]

Tony I don't think you're allowed to advertise your company without vendor status.

Oh, sorry about the mistake. I was more so just reaching out by email, but I understand it still tends to be a form of advertising, and I will not do it again.

How do people sign up for vendor status, and where can I find the rules of the group(s) to check them out again.


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I believe you will need to contact an Administrator.

 

[john.margetts]

nature photography you may want one that focuses at close range (macro as some call it),

Nope everyone calls it macro which can be part of nature photography but then again so can wildlife where the gear is 100% different.

Actually, Macro is specifically a lens that produces an exactly life-size image on the sensor. It has nothing to do with focus range. Many useful, close-focus lenses are not macro.

 

[Tomasko]

Tony I don't think you're allowed to advertise your company without vendor status.

Oh, sorry about the mistake. I was more so just reaching out by email, but I understand it still tends to be a form of advertising, and I will not do it again.

How do people sign up for vendor status, and where can I find the rules of the group(s) to check them out again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Except it being a kind of advertising, there's one more problem - giving advices outside the forum helps only that particular person, not the others. If we keep it here, every visitor can benefit from it