Bought a Nikkor 60mm 2.8 AF-S - Is it the correct lens??

[odmassive]

Hi all,

Firstly i'm new to the forum so please forgive me if i'm posting in the wrong place.

I have a Nikon D5100 and have just bought a Nikkor 60mm 2.8 AF-S micro lens after numerous positive reviews.

I use it for product photography and it is great for macro work and with full size products approx 50cm x 50cm. However, I was hoping that I could use it for larger products in the region of 150cm x 60cm but i have to move so far back that the image quality is suffering.

Any suggestions on what im doing wrong or what lens i should use would be great.

I'm using this with storbe lights.

Thanks
ALex

 

[Overread]

Whilst it is a macro lens you shouldn't have any problems at all taking photos of larger subjects and retaining good detail and quality in the final shot. If you could post a few examples along with details and settings that you used we might be able to work out what it is that might be going wrong with your setup.

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[SCraig]

The D5100 has an APS-C size sensor in it so effectively you are seeing a 90mm focal length (60 x 1.5 = 90). If you want wide angle with that camera you will probably need to go to something a lot shorter.

 

[odmassive]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

Unfortunately I had the lighting on hire so dont have any of the poor quality shots to prove as i deleted them.

Scott, are you suggesting something more like the Nikon AF-S 35mm f1.8 for closer in / better quality?

Thanks

 

[SCraig]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

Unfortunately I had the lighting on hire so dont have any of the poor quality shots to prove as i deleted them.

Scott, are you suggesting something more like the Nikon AF-S 35mm f1.8 for closer in / better quality?

Thanks

A 35mm lens on your camera would be the equivalent of a 52mm lens on a 35mm (or FX-sensor) camera. That is right at what is accepted as a "Normal" lens for 35mm photography. In other words the view is roughly what you would see with the naked eye; not wide angle or not telephoto.

My suggestion would be to borrow or rent a short zoom lens, somewhere in the 17mm-70mm range and find out what focal length works best for your purposes. Shoot a bunch of shots, decide which one gave you the view that you were looking for, and then look at the EXIF data to see what the focal length of the shot was.

People can throw numbers at you all day as to what they think is the best for your purposes, but in the end only you can really decide that for yourself.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

Unfortunately I had the lighting on hire so dont have any of the poor quality shots to prove as i deleted them.

Scott, are you suggesting something more like the Nikon AF-S 35mm f1.8 for closer in / better quality?

Thanks

I wouldn't suggest that lens for pro work at all. I sold mine because of the mad aberrations it provides. Of course "some" of this can be fixed with software but you know...