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Question: Canon EOS 400D!? Which lens is equivalent to 10x optical zoom!?
Hi, I've got Canon EOS 400D with EF-S 18-55mm lens, but it's not good for me for taking photos of jewellery!. My whole idea is to be as far as possible from the object as I don't want to see my reflection or (the camera reflection) in my photos!.
I knew I should have gone for some camera with 10x,12x or 15x optical zoom!. But now is too late I bought it and I am looking for compatible lenses for that model where I can shoot at least 1m distance!.
Could you please recommend or show me a link for some good lenses, that I'm looking for!. All this stuff with macro photography is not good for me, doesn't work!.
I just need to be as far as possible from the object and still fill it in my screen - just the object nothing around, for nice enlarged detailed view!.
Many thanks!
JessicaWww@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Hi Jessica, I think you're right about the optical zoom lenses!. I don't really agree with Dr!. Sam about the macro lenses!.
In EOS 400D there is no manual adjustments when shooting in macro mode, the F number, the shutter speed and white balance are automatic, you just have to use the M mode stands for "Manual"
I hope Dr!. Sam will come back and look at this pictures:
http://silverisland!.co!.uk/images/C/DSC07!.!.!.
http://silverisland!.co!.uk/images/C/DSC09!.!.!.
http://silverisland!.co!.uk/images/C/DSC08!.!.!.
and lot more but these are enough!.
All these photos and most of the jewellery photos on eBay are taken by Sony DSC-H series cameras they all have high optical zoom!.
I've seen many photos on eBay where for example you can see the camera reflection on a black onyx pendant, probably this is something to do with the macro shooting or lenses as Dr!. Sam recommend!.
The best thing is to shoot them from a distance with good optical zoom and manual settings!.
All this rubbish with light tents, ok I agree isn't bad, but with your equipment you need to be very close to the object which isn't the answer!.
I think something like EF-S 55-250mm f-4-5!.6 IS will do the job!.
Hope this helps!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
A 10x zoom lens on an EOS would equate to about a 500mm focal length!.
Perhaps this is of use;
http://photonotes!.org/articles/beginner-!.!.!.
Don't know where you are, but Google eos lens price & you'll find plentyWww@QuestionHome@Com
wow - hope you have got lots of money! the camera is the cheap bit to buy!.
i found http://www!.digital-camera-lens!.co!.uk/ which might help!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Hi Jessica,
My suggestion is to just buy a flash diffuser instead!. MUCH cheaper and you will solve your glare problem!. If you are using the pop up flash, then the Gary Fong pop up flash diffuser is great!. There is another kind too but it's not a fave plus looks dorky!. The Gary Fong runs around $15 + ship and can be found at B&H or any photography site!.
Again, much cheaper alternitive than a new lens!. :) (That is unless you are looking for an "excuse" to buy a new lense like most of us always do!. hehe)
Happy shooting,
LeslieWww@QuestionHome@Com
SLR lenses are not rated in zoom factor but in focal length!. A 10x zoom on a digital camera would typically go from about 28mm to aboat 280mm in focal length!. So what you need to get is a 70-300mm zoom!. Canon makes several of them!. Price will range from about $200 to over $1,000 depending on which lens you choose!. I provided a link to a cheap Canon lens!. The zoom range on this should take care of what you need!. You can buy this lens at most camera stores if you would prefer to not buy online!.
http://www!.bhphotovideo!.com/c/product/16!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
May I suggest that changing lenses is not your problem!. The kit lens you have - while certainly not ideal - will work!.
You need to learn something about photographing jewelry, and particularly about controlling light -- that's how you get rid of reflection and glare!.
There are lots of sites with lots of info on the subject!. Just google "photographing jewelry!."
The idea of getting a much longer (10X or whatever) lens to do the job is the absolute worst way to solve your problem!Www@QuestionHome@Com
You have read a lot a lot of correct but useless information above!. Jim's answer is the best, because he is the only one addressing your real problem!. Your back-up-and-zoom-in approach might work (sort of) with a point and shoot camera, but you need to learn the correct way to photograph jewelery!. I have a long stock answer about the subject that contains some useful information for you!. Since you mentioned buying a new lens, I will suggest that you buy a prime macro lens and not a zoom!. Canon has a 50mm macro, but it only goes to 1:2 magnification and you'd like better!. They make a beautiful 100mm macro lens that does go to 1:1 (full size) reproduction and it's got a rebate running right now, so the final cost is $455!.00!. http://www!.bhphotovideo!.com/c/product/19!.!.!. Buy this lens and don't look back!.
From my stock answer - read what you need and ignore the rest:
For objects photographed from a distance of 3-4 feet, absolutely any digital camera and any "digital photographer" can get a suitable image!. Don't forget that the largest picture eBay will display (unless you are hosting your own images) is 800 x 800 pixels or less than 1 megapixel!. For jewelry or other small items, you have to learn macro technique!. You can also do this with almost any digital camera, but here's an article that I wrote about jewelry in specific!. I am sure that you will find it helpful!.
The best way to take photos of jewelry for a web site is with a digital SLR and a macro lens!. If you are not going to go with a DSLR, almost any point and shoot with a macro mode will serve you well!. The thing is, I feel that you need to use the flash to force the aperture to close while still having enough light for an exposure!. Many here will tell you different, but follow this advice and see what you think!.
Use your macro setting and experiment!. Let's say you have a point and shoot camera with macro and a flash on the camera!. You might have to go to a manual mode to do this, but!.!.!.
Put your item on a nice background surface!. I like to just put it in a ring box or on some velour!. Zoom out at least half-way so that you will be working about a foot away from the ring!. Be sure that you get focus confirmation!. Shoot a picture USING flash!. Check the LCD for the result!. If you have overexposed the item, use the EV adjustment to reduce the exposure!. For small items, I often find that I need to reduce the exposure by about 1!.0 EV!. (That's -1!.0 EV!.) It is better to have the item properly exposed and the background underexposed, so just worry about the jewelry for now!. Using a deliberate underexposure will cure the "too shiny" appearance of the stones and metal!.
If you know how, you can use either full manual exposure or just Aperture Priority and choose a smaller aperture (larger number) to make the ring show up in better focus!.
If you have a DSLR, post your question again stating the kind of camera that you have and the lens that you are using and we will give more details!.
If you are doing any image processing at all, such with Photoshop or it's cousins, you can crop the image to 800 pixels by 800 pixels and use Supersize images on eBay!. I always use the Picture Pack when I am selling anything of any value!.
Check out http://www!.members!.aol!.com/swf08302/hear!.!.!. which I did a while ago using a Nikon Coolpix 5400 exactly as described above!. I do NOT think this is acceptable, but we decided not to sell the ring anyhow, so I didn't bother to do a better job!. It's still better than some I've seen!. I don't keep old photos of sold items around, so I don't have much to show you, but at least you know that it's possible to get an acceptable result even without spending huge dollars on your equipment!.
The key things to remember are:
-Macro setting
-Zoom out to get about a foot away from your subject
-Use flash
-Try different EV settings and expect that you will end up with a negative EV setting, such as -1!.0 EV!.
I happen to have some photos from old auctions on an FTP site!. I think that these were all taken with a 3 MP Nikon Coolpix 885!.
http://members!.aol!.com/swf08302/carvina!.!.!.!.
http://members!.aol!.com/swf08302/skullfro!.!.!.
http://members!.aol!.com/swf08302/konkontu!.!.!.
(The patch is about 4 inches long!.)
Here are a couple of coin photos done exactly as described, but using a D200:
http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!.
I did these with my Nikon Coolpix 4600, just to show you what a really inexpensive camera can do!. It's a 4 MP camera that I paid about $150 for a couple of years ago!.
http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!.
http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!.
Here are a couple more auction photos done as described, using a 60 mm macro lens on a DSLR:
800 x 800 http://www!.members!.aol!.com/swf08302/york!.!.!.
800 x 800 http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!. (light box)
800 x 800 http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!. (light box)
800 x 800 http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/7189769@N04!.!.!. (light box)
800 x 800 http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/7189769@N04!.!.!.
This is a coin shot with a DSLR and a telephoto lens, which lets you use the flash without washing everything out:
http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!.
If you are interested in a full description of an SLR set-up, post a new question and ask specifically for that information!. I'm gathering from the nature of your question that you might be in the point and shoot market!.
This question is a link to a serious site about jewelry photography:
http://answers!.yahoo!.com/question/index;!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com