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Archive 2019 · Food Photography - Body Advice

C Napa
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Food Photography - Body Advice

Looking for a compact camera body that I can bring into restaurants unconsciously, most likely would pair it with a 24-35mm lens.

I'm thinking the a6500 or a7ii would be my best bet - is that overkill? My main reason behind this is the need for image stabilization, for those low light situations while taking pictures of food.

Jun 12, 2019 at 01:31 PM

twentysevenone
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Food Photography - Body Advice

A7III with a 35/2.8, either the Rok or the Sony would be a good place to start. Very low profile and any wider than 2.8 leaves too much out of focus when you're shooting food imo.

Jun 12, 2019 at 02:25 PM

goodbokeh
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Food Photography - Body Advice

With low light the latest generation A73 would be the logical choice. Close focus for food is important so consider the 25 2.0 Zeiss Batis. Without it's lens hood mounted it is small enough and focuses very close. It's on sale today for the next 8 hours for $899 at B&H.

Jun 12, 2019 at 02:47 PM

saxguy
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Food Photography - Body Advice

I use the a7r iii, first I was using the CV40 1.2 and now I'm trying out the Batis 40 because it allows me to get a bit closer. Here are some examples (The first five are with the CV40, the last 3 with the Batis 40). Low light is your enemy in restaurants which means higher ISOs and longer shutter speeds at times. I recently picked up a platypod and it does make things a bit easier. The Batis and CV40 have very different looks (to me). I may go back to the CV40.

Oh, and the last shot - that isn't a real apple. It's made of brown brown butter mouse with an armagnac sabayon and apple confit core.

Edited on Jun 12, 2019 at 04:25 PM · View previous versions

Jun 12, 2019 at 03:08 PM

pasblues
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Food Photography - Body Advice

Oh, great, I stumble on this thread right before dinner time. I'm dying here!

Jun 12, 2019 at 03:29 PM

C Napa
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Food Photography - Body Advice

@saxguy - exactly the type of shots I'm looking to do! Do you feel like the a7riii body is compact enough?

Jun 12, 2019 at 03:48 PM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Food Photography - Body Advice

pasblues wrote:
Oh, great, I stumble on this thread right before dinner time. I'm dying here!

Agree . If my wife sees this than Im cooking tonight.

I think dinner out tonight is the Guy plan.

Jun 12, 2019 at 03:52 PM

saxguy
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Food Photography - Body Advice

C Napa wrote:
@saxguy@ - exactly the type of shots I'm looking to do! Do you feel like the a7riii body is compact enough?

I don't have a problem with it, but then again when I travel I lug around a bunch of primes. I'm toying with the idea of just picking up the RX1r II again as my technique has gotten better since first using it. There are some tradeoffs, the big one being that without IBIS shutter speeds will be even slower and noise will be greater - unless I'm shooting from the platypod, but even then there are some shots that need to be hand held for composition purposes.

I've never felt like I'm using anything "too" big when I have either the a7R iii and either the CV40/Batis 40. I have tried using the 24-70 GM and that was a little bigger than I would have liked as a diner. I don't think you can go wrong wirh either.

The pros of using the CV40 are that I think you get a little more organic looking photos, also, the faster aperture can make for some interesting non-food shots when in restaurants (see below).

The Batis can get closer - that, alone, makes it the better choice sometimes when you don't want to start pushing plates all over the table.

Here's the CV40 doing its thing when food isn't the subject but there's other interesting subjects in the restaurant:

Jun 12, 2019 at 04:18 PM

C Napa
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Food Photography - Body Advice

@saxguy - Really appreciate the insight! Thank you!

Jun 13, 2019 at 07:51 AM

rgreen7777
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Food Photography - Body Advice

I use the a6400 and the FE 28 f/2. Very sharp on aps-c. Close focusing. Good in low light. Relatively small. Does double duty as an equivalent 42mm for people shots. But I had that lens for my a7r3 so didn’t buy it special for the a6400.

Jun 13, 2019 at 08:20 AM

terencepatrick
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Food Photography - Body Advice

C Napa wrote:
Looking for a compact camera body that I can bring into restaurants unconsciously

Food photos while sleep walking? That's a whole new subgenre!

Jun 18, 2019 at 02:06 PM

ftllens
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Food Photography - Body Advice

Depending on how tight you want the shot, the Laowa 15mm f2 has an insane MFD and you get more context due to fov and dof. CV/Batis 40mm are great choices along with the 25 as mentioned. The Batis is bigger but it can actually be more discrete because you can take compose and get the shot faster. Anything other than a phone, they will notice anyway.

A7riii you can crop in unless you're doing large prints, so lens choices are more flexible.

Best would still be the Sony 90mm 2.8 macro though. Standing up and moving stuff around is way more noticeable than a longer lens.

Jun 18, 2019 at 02:49 PM

ftllens
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Food Photography - Body Advice

What restaurant is this? I want to go just for the apple thing...

saxguy wrote:
I use the a7r iii, first I was using the CV40 1.2 and now I'm trying out the Batis 40 because it allows me to get a bit closer. Here are some examples (The first five are with the CV40, the last 3 with the Batis 40). Low light is your enemy in restaurants which means higher ISOs and longer shutter speeds at times. I recently picked up a platypod and it does make things a bit easier. The Batis and CV40 have very different looks (to me). I may go back to the CV40.

Oh, and the last shot -...Show more →

Jun 18, 2019 at 02:50 PM

AmbientMike
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Food Photography - Body Advice

What FL did you want? More wide or normal?

24mm is wide on ff, 35mm on 1.5 crop is 52.5mm ff equivalent, a lot longer. 24mm on crop is about the same as ff 35mm

35mm and wider are probably available in a pretty small package for Sony. Of course faster could be a big advantage in a dim restaurant but is also generally larger, to some degree.

High ISO is better on FF, an advantage in a dim restaurant. But good pp skills may get you 6400+ on crop. Probably easier on ff though.

So that's maybe a few things to consider.

Jun 18, 2019 at 10:11 PM

saxguy
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Food Photography - Body Advice

ftllens wrote:
What restaurant is this? I want to go just for the apple thing...

It's Le Bernardin in NYC. Trust me, everything else on the menu is amazing, too.

Jun 21, 2019 at 02:49 PM

saxguy
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Food Photography - Body Advice

More food - this time I went with the a7r iii and the Batis 40mm

Atomix, NYC

Jun 21, 2019 at 02:56 PM

ftllens
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Food Photography - Body Advice

Thanks, I guess I'm going to go broke again eating in NYC.

Jun 21, 2019 at 03:43 PM

Coilavana
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Food Photography - Body Advice

I don't like eating in restaurants. Food is a kind of ritual, the joint absorption of food brings people together - this has been the case for centuries. For example, I can't eat with people who are unpleasant to me. If it's a boring meeting, then I really would prefer to take a walk somewhere.If you are just learning to cook, online videos with detailed instructions will help you easily master the basic concepts and important culinary nuances. They will allow you to avoid the typical mistakes of beginners and successfully apply theoretical knowledge in practice. I often use https://www.lolacovington.com/ for the preparation of delicious products.https://www.lolacovington.com/

Edited on Sep 22, 2021 at 11:58 AM · View previous versions

Aug 31, 2021 at 08:56 AM

Grenache
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Food Photography - Body Advice

I think you mean “unobtrusively,” rather than “unconsciously.” If you are unconscious, no matter what lens and body combo you use, the photos will be rubbish. 🥳

The RX1 series is about as stealthy as it gets. RX100 series after version V is a good option too. Those can be cheap used.

Jim

Sep 01, 2021 at 03:27 AM


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