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03/11/2006 11:57:30 AM · #1 |
I just received my Nikon D50 and purchased a Sigma 50mm F2.8 DG Macro lens for it recommended by B&H for the camera. I am somewhat new to the world of soft boxes and light igloos, but I learn really fast. My problem lies in the lack of a zoom.
I have a super High quality website, and I am the photographer. I need to take PERFECT pictures of many items. This IS NOT FOR EBAY!!!
I am frustrated always needing to stand on boxes, step away, dodge light stands and light diffusers and other items because I am phyisically having to move in order to get the proper size in the lens.
In many of the situations I am going to shoot in, I am going to have to put the lens of the camera right up to the shooting enclosure and close up the sides to block out all incidental light. I am studding all of the PhotoFlex lighting kits and there are many situations where I will have to vary the cameras distance from my subject.
With this in mind, I never realized that the lens I purchased does not have a zoom! I have always owned standard high grade digital point and shoot cameras that ALL have zooms. So what do I do? I think I need to return this lens to purchase one that has an adjustable zoom range to adjust for shooting smaller items like watches in a soft box to shooting larger items on my table like fishing rods and shoes.
I am a fly fishing expert and will need to take pics of many various sizes of objects from small 1/2" items to shirts and other clothing.
Is there one lens I should purchase? Should I return the Sigma Macro lens that was sold to me?
I NEED HELP!
Thanks!
Message edited by author 2006-03-11 15:13:33. |
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03/11/2006 12:15:39 PM · #2 |
Relax, you made a great choice.
For your needs, your setup is probably a dozen times better than the bare minimum, so you are well ahead of the game.
A P&S camera could do just fine. With good lighting, even my little S2 can take some fantastic shots.
A Nikon D50 with a kit lens would do an excellent job.
A Nikon D50 with a prime macro lens is likely to be an amazing combo.
You just need to learn to use it. Just because it's a fixed focal length doesn't mean that it's fixed focus. People use 100mm macro lenses all the time in a working range of around 1-3 inches. This is the beauty of a true 1:1 ratio macro lens. You can get right up close or move farther away.
You don't need a zoom, you just need a tripod you can pick up and move around. If you had a zoom lens, you wouldn't need to pick up and move around so much, but I would guess that you would still need to anyways.
The benefit is that prime lenses are nearly always optically superior to zoom lenses, not just in sharpness, but in color response as well.
50mm works out to about 80mm on a Nikon body with the crop factor, and this is commonly used as a portrait length and is great for in-studio use.
I think you will be really happy with it once you learn how to make it do what you want it to.
One thing you might seriously consider looking at is a sliding camera mount. This is probably taking it to a level that is totally unnecessary for web product shooting, but if you want to do really small stuff, because of DOF, it can be VERY useful to be able to move the camera in very small increments rather than moving the focus.
Macro shooting is usually done with Manual focus. |
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03/11/2006 12:29:31 PM · #3 |
WOW! for just selling stuff on e-bay you are in serious over-kill LOL. Seriously though a 50mm prime is a great all-around lens.
Just remember with web images, such as product shots for e-bay, it is not neccesary to fill the frame of the photo. You have enough data there to do some serious cropping.
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03/11/2006 12:37:30 PM · #4 |
Thanks all for the thoughts. One concern however, the problem I see is that I am having to possibly stand further away from my subject because the object is too large to fit in the screen. When I pull away from the object, then I am no longer able to shroud the camera in the light igloo/box.
My concerns are because of lighting. I am studying a great website like www.webphotostudio.com and many times you place the camera within a couple of feet of the item because of lighting requirements. In these situations, I am not able to adjust the size of the object to properly fit the lens.
Hope this sheds some light on the subject.
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03/11/2006 01:15:31 PM · #5 |
If the object fits in the light igloo, and you can open up the front of the igloo, then you shouldn't have to worry about shrouding the camera.
Just open up the front of the igloo, get the lighting right and move the tripod back to the required distance until you get all the subject in the frame. |
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03/11/2006 01:24:00 PM · #6 |
Tamron 28-75mm is a great ebay lens; I use it all the time. Semi-macro (goes to 1:2) which is fine for filling the frame with all but the smallest items, and since it's ebay you can always crop to those; at ebay display sizes cropping doesn't hurt quality one bit.
Robt.
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