Camera/lens advice needed for small sculpture work

[fotofotofoto]

Hi,

I need some help choosing some camera gear for taking pictures of my small sculptural pieces.

The pieces range in size from 4" (10cm) to a maximum of maybe 2' (60cm) -- wood, ceramics metal, cloth, etc. Just talking about the camera and lens(es) here, not lighting, etc. I'll be putting the photos up on my web site as well as submitting to shows/exhibitions. The standard size for submissions is typically 1920px on the longest side. Print is not a major factor here. Also, I'll be shooting exclusively on a tripod and generally at a medium to small-ish aperture; a fast lens is not real important. Sharpness is, though, for this kind of work.

IS/VR obviously not relevant when shooting on a tripod.
Autofocus not important to me -- actually, I prefer to focus manually for this work.

Partial to Nikon.

Being that I don't have the money for a full pro setup, and being that IS/VR and AF are not important to me, maybe I can save a lot of $$$ by buying some older, high quality primes (from a reputable dealer on ebay or maybe locally here in the San Francisco Bay Area)? An 85mm and maybe a 135mm? I understand that a guy named John White can do conversions for older lenses (aiconversions dot com). And couple that with a new Nikon body - maybe the D7000?

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Brandon

 

[Overread]

Key question - why are you not considering the lighting in this budget and setup?

 

[fotofotofoto]

Key question - why are you not considering the lighting in this budget and setup?

I've been working on the lighting setup, too, but wanted to keep the scope of this post focused on the camera/lens so that it wouldn't be overwhelming for people to respond to everything.

So far I've done a DYI lighting setup, making an overhead softbox and followed the setup from the prophotolife dot com videos (and borrowed a friend's Canon Rebel with kit zoom to start the learning process). I can already tell that I'll need to get some real lighting gear before too long -- not sure what a minimally acceptable setup might be, though -- if anyone feels like chiming in, great, otherwise advice on the camera/lens front is welcome.

Thanks,

Brandon

 

[KmH]

I would suggest you get an older, used Nikon camera body and a really good recent lens. (D70, D70s, D80)

After photographer knowledge and skill, the lens has more to do with image quality than the camera body does.

 

[crochetsusy]

thank you...

 

[Christie Photo]

I would suggest you get an older, used Nikon camera body and a really good recent lens. (D70, D70s, D80)

After photographer knowledge and skill, the lens has more to do with image quality than the camera body does.

Good advice.

And I hate to state the obvious, but.... I trust you have a decent, sturdy tripod. It would allow you to work with continuous lighting (which is cheaper) at a reasonable aperture.

-Pete

 

[ghache]

Like Kmh said, i would get a decent body. pretty much anything can do. Since your shooting object that is relativily large, no need for macro lens here. If your using lighting, any lens would do. Most of the lens, even the cheap kit lens are decently sharp at f8-F11 with low distortion at the mid range. anything would work basicly. older lens, manual lens, zoom lens, kit lens,

 

[Christie Photo]

anything would work basicly. older lens, manual lens, zoom lens, kit lens,

Sure, but....

Putting aside improved color from better optics and coatings, don't you think he'd be better off with a modern lens that will avail all the features of the camera?

-Pete

 

[ghache]

anything would work basicly. older lens, manual lens, zoom lens, kit lens,

Sure, but....

Putting aside improved color from better optics and coatings, don't you think he'd be better off with a modern lens that will avail all the features of the camera?

-Pete

Of course getting a modern lens would be the best thing to do.. i was just saying that you could probably using anything and it would do the job.