Shutter Speed canon Mark III 5D

[Roomka]

trying to get an idea of what settings you guys shoot for product photography, i shot this @ F18 / 1/8 shutter speed with an ISO of 100



this photo is right out the SD card, No post work done.

 

[KmH]

Why f/18?
What lens?

F/18 is going to soften focus because of diffraction and lets in little light, which is why your shutter speed is so slow.
Diffraction Limited Photography: Pixel Size, Aperture and Airy Disks

The face of the watch has a really bad reflection on it that makes the watch crystal look milky rather than clear.

I would suggest most of your problems are more lighting problems than camera or exposure issues.

If you don't already have it you might want to get the product photographers lighting bible - Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

If you open up the lens aperture by 1.3 stop to f/11, you can add 1.3 stops of shutter speed (1/20) and get a noticeable gain in image sharpness because f/11 will have a smaller Airy Disk.

 

[Roomka]

also i have a white Velluim paper in front of the watch so that the edges of the light box dont appear on the crystal.

yeah this was done with F11 (1/20),my guess would be the vellum paper thats causing this color issue.

 

[Roomka]

this is a shot without the vellum paper


the dial color of the watch is like in this picture below, yes im wayyyyy off. lighting... lighting... lighting... correct?
View attachment 73302

 

[KmH]

Yep the vellum paper is reflecting on the watch crystal and making it look semi-opaque (hazy).

 

[gsgary]

Ditch the light box

One light and reflector

 

[Big Mike]

I'll repeat what KmH said above...

If you don't already have it you might want to get the product photographers lighting bible - Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting