Hi guys, I will be shooting some products and I need the best possible image result for 30 or 35mm range. I already have one Nikkor 50mm 1.8 and this lense rocks. I also have the Nikkor 18-70mm and is ok but I pretty sure it could be better.
I have one Nikon D70s and I need between F8 and F16. Using a couple flash
What do you think should be the best option in this case? Wich prime or zoom lense will be the sharper option?
try the 18-70 at f11-f13, should really be sharp enough, otherwise the 35mm af-d @ f13. you will be working very (too) close to the subject, what size is you subject? for table top stuff 85mm is handier.
Well in my case, I need to be not more far than 1.4 meter from object, I already have my 50mm and it works well, but if I need to shoot a 60cm or taller object for example, the 50mm do not work well. But with 35mm I can take the picture.
I heard the Nikkor 18-50mm is sharper then 18-70mm, is that true?
Using a D70 under those shooting conditions, you would need to spend A LOT of money to see a very marginal improvement in resolution. The 18-70mm is very, very good at 35-50mm f8-f11.
Your lighting, product positioning, post processing, etc., will yield far greater image improvements than another lens under these specific conditions.
If money were no object, I'd say the Zeiss ZF 35mm as the color and contrast is just plain out of this world across the board with this lens. It is breathtakingly sharp with a great close working distance. Also, what you're doing will really lend itself to the manual focus.
That said, will the viewer notice the difference? Very, very unlikely. As Marc mentioned above there are many other variables that will have a lot greater impact on your final image than a new lens.
I like the zoom suggestions (18-70 or 17-55mm) for compositional flexibility and because you don't need a fast lens.
However, Marc is correct. Lighting and positioning are key to good product photography. They trump concerns regarding lens quality when stopped down. I would go with the 18-70mm and then invest in good light modifiers if needed.
Sigma 30mm f1.4 - IMO is the "best" IQ in that focal range. However, at f8 or 11 many lenses would be equally sharp. By f 13 or even stopped down further - diffraction can become an issue - which would degrade the IQ.
1_of_9 wrote:
Sigma 30mm f1.4 - IMO is the "best" IQ in that focal range. However, at f8 or 11 many lenses would be equally sharp. By f 13 or even stopped down further - diffraction can become an issue - which would degrade the IQ.
Good point. Fast and wide primes are generally designed to excel wide open.
But as much as I love my 35mm f/1.4 Nikkor at f/2 to f/5.6, I'm not sure it would be as good as a 17-55mm, or even an 18-70mm, at apertures smaller than f/11. But I've never done the comparison.
1_of_9 - if by "best" you mean with a noticable color cast, then yes, the Sigma is the clear winner of the primes in this range. If you want true color reproduction with amazing contrast then you'll have to look elsewhere.
Where the Sigma wins is that it's faster (doesn't help here), cheaper (always a good thing), and AF (again, doesn't really help here). Where it loses is actual end result picture quality. Not even close.
And yes, I've owned several Sigma 30's in both the Canon world (1Dmk2, 20D) and Nikon world (D200, D2H, D2X). They all had the same yellow Sigma cast. Shame really, as they were otherwise nice lenses.
Yes Tom, my concern here is to get a very detailed image. Of course money is important, but I do not want to spend a lot in a new lens just for a almost no noticeable improvement.
I think I have a good lighting kit, AB800 and with Photoflex Softbox. This is a picture taken last night using this kit. It was F8 I think. I was testing my 50mm. Tonight I'm gonna test the 18-70.
