Beginner Lens for product photography

shakilearl

shakilearl

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Shakil
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Hello,

I need a lens for my Nikon D800E that should have the following features:
  • The studio I am working on is small. So need a wide angle lens that can cover 5-7 feet tall product from a distance of 7 feet from the product
  • when taking shot of a large product, it must keep the entire product focused not just part of it
  • Budget: used or new, £150-£300
I don't know if there is such lens exists. Please advise.
 
Umm for that price range you are going to struggle.

Could get tokina 11-16 from hdew for £319 but as for sharp edge to edge (might be the impossible dream) would need to shoot at least f5.6 /F8 so lighting would need to be good .
 
£400 and not wide. I do not support it.
 
Photographically this isn't an option. Generally for the correct view of your product, you ought to be shooting with a telephoto lens, so you'll need more space. Just getting closer with a wide angle lens will give you ugly images.
 
:agree: you can probably get your product in shot with a wide ange ( or a fisheye and defishing software) but there'll be a s*** load of distortion especially in bits that should be straight and it will look fugly

the only realistic option is to hire a bigger studio (which will work out a lot cheaper than buying a UWA )
 
big soft moose said:
:agree: you can probably get your product in shot with a wide ange ( or a fisheye and defishing software) but there'll be a s*** load of distortion especially in bits that should be straight and it will look fugly

the only realistic option is to hire a bigger studio (which will work out a lot cheaper than buying a UWA )
Click to expand...

But he won't have a lens to use in it lol
 
I assume he's got other lenses - if not buy a 50mm and rent a bigger studio

mind you the 'keeping the whole product in focus' bit might suggest a tilt shift - but they sure as hell arent in budget
 
Last edited:
As per the suggestion received from a friend, I finally bought a 2nd hand Nikon 18-105mm. It costs me only £147. Although it's pretty old model, but it serving my purpose.

BTW, thanks to everyone for your valuable advice.
 
shakilearl said:
As per the suggestion received from a friend, I finally bought a 2nd hand Nikon 18-105mm. It costs me only £147. Although it's pretty old model, but it serving my purpose.

BTW, thanks to everyone for your valuable advice.
Click to expand...

Thats an DX lens so you will have to use it in the crop mode on the D800E,to be honest to get the best from your camera, try and save for something like the Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 :)
 
shakilearl said:
As per the suggestion received from a friend, I finally bought a 2nd hand Nikon 18-105mm. It costs me only £147. Although it's pretty old model, but it serving my purpose.

BTW, thanks to everyone for your valuable advice.
Click to expand...
So, you got really good advice here, but chose bad advice from a friend instead.
 
At the risk of sounding like a broken record:
New photographers think it's all about cameras
Enthusiasts think it's all about lenses
Photographers know it's all about light.

With the total you have spent, you put most money into a fantastic camera, you've bought a lens that means the money you spent on the camera is largely wasted, and you haven't yet discovered what you need to spend on lights.

For your needs, you could have bought a camera for £100 (ish), spent £1000 on a couple of pro quality lenses and then £1000 on lights and modifiers. That would have equipped you for a start in product photography.
 
Have a look at this thread:
As a good starting point, there's load of other relevant stuff in the lighting section too. You might think you're a 'beginner' but your questions aren't really 'beginner' problems, and there's some clever people drop in to the lighting section that don't often find threads in the beginner section.
 
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