Lens for food photography

Hammerhead64 said:
If the OP is of the opinion that a move to a Canon body will improve any shots taken I am afraid that may be a possible error as the advice given to date is clear that this type of photography is about setup/lighting and not the kit brand you own and I think the advice that singlespeed offers is very astute.
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I'm not under that impression at all. I know I need to work on my basic skills/lighting/setup etc etc a great deal but I do feel that with a better 'base' I'll manage to do that more easily. I have never been overly happy with the D60 Nikon since I bought it ... it was a rushed choice and I was far to influenced by a desire for a quick purchase and the desire to not have to save up for as long as I otherwise would have.
 
You have a clear reason for making the change so good luck to you. I am sure with the excellent assistance that glitch has put on here you will do fine. As I said I made the difficult choice to sell up a lot of kit to go to my current camera and start afresh it's not easy and i'm glad that I did. I think most people find that kit lenses are fine to start off with but once you get involved with taking more critical shots you quickly find the kit lenses limited. You may find a simple prime lens ("nifty 50" 50mm f1.8 for example) will start you off and would not necessarilly break the bank. this would allow you to identify what more expensive lens you would need in the future. This is just a suggestion and I am sure the more learned members in this thread will soon put me right if this is wrong.
This is all very difficult as there are so many options. (y)
 
KitchenGoddess said:
I've just been looking at these lenses http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0008G2P72/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE and http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005K47X/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Instead of getting the kit lens do you think these two would be better?
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These two? Are you considering getting one or both?

Being as theres only 10mm difference between them, you wouldn't gain much flexibility. As an example, its the same as 46.8mm and 56.25mm on your D60 (being as the canon has a crop factor of 1.6 instead od 1.5 on the nikon)... so you should be able to get an idea of the field of view from your D60 and kit lens at the above zooms. Yes, I know you can only get up to 55mm, but its close enough to show what I mean.

The 50mm f1.8 II does sound like a bargain, but it has been built to the bargain price by the use of plastic throughout. It may not be the easiest to use if you fancy manualy focussing, due to the small focussing ring. Image wise, I wouldn't personaly have a clue, but DPreview conclusion is
"Overall conclusion
The Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II may be one of the cheapest lenses currently on the market, but its optics belie its lowly price. As befits a classic standard prime lens, it's very sharp when stopped down (especially in the centre), shows minimal chromatic aberration, and has relatively low distortion; APS-C users will also benefit from extremely low vignetting. In most regards it comes very close indeed to its much more expensive bigger brother, the EF 50mm F1.4 USM, lagging marginally behind in corner sharpness at any specific aperture. The only real blight in imaging terms is the lens's bokeh, or rendition of out-of-focus backgrounds, which is anything but smooth with a distinct tendency to render bright highlights as obvious pentagons (it's a pity Canon didn't choose to use a diaphragm with 7 or 8 blades instead of 5)."


If you intend to use the lens wide open, then the cheapest route may not be the best
 
KitchenGoddess said:
I've just been looking at these lenses http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0008G2P72/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE and http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005K47X/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Instead of getting the kit lens do you think these two would be better?
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Are you literally buying into Canon specifically for your blog or will you be using the camera and lens(es) for other purposes?

I would hesitate from spending any more than you really need to and stick with the basics for now. A macro lens won't really be of much use to you (been there, done that) but I reckon a 50mm would be. And while that particular version isn't really the best of the bunch, it is cheap and it will certainly get you off and running for now.

If you're set on a Canon I'd buy the 50D body, a remote control (RS-80N3 or equivalent) and the Ef-S Super Precision Matte focusing screen. That's an invaluable addition for food photography as it allows you to have complete control over your manual focusing (which you'll be doing a fair bit of) and will really help you pinpoint the precise areas of the food you want to draw the eye to.

Perhaps go for the 50mm f/1.8 as something to use with the body and get to grips with the change of system but save your pennies for some better glass. And don't forget the option of hiring - there's a few places that will hire you lenses for a perfectly reasonable sum of money and give you access to the best equipment but at a price you can afford to pay.

In fact, I'd say you could get away with using the 50mm for your everyday work and then just hire in some better glass when you're going for those final shots that will take pride of place on the blog.
 
glitch, can we see some samples of your work, i take photos of food (mainly my dinner) a lot too !
 
KitchenGoddess said:
I'm going into town to look at a D50 today, have one lined up on amazon to buy if I like it. Wish me luck :)
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Kitchengoddess I presume you mean a Canon 50D not a Nikon D50.

I must admit to being a bit confused as to the reason you need to convert from a Nikon D60 to a Canon 50D now? I would say that this change will initially make it more difficult to get the high quality results you are striving for.

If I am right (as your questions seem to imply) that you are new to Photography it is more important to understand the photography basics as mentioned previously, before moving onto a more complicated setup. I am not sure about Canon kit but I am of the understanding that a 50D is equivalent to a D300 in complexity. If this is the case the camera is likely to require more setting up than the D60 which is for a more general consumer market. If you look at the results you can achieve on this type of camera with a decent prime lens I think you will save yourself a great deal of hard saving and unecessary spending. Give yourself a chance to find out what the D60 is limiting you in creatively before switching. At the end of the day it is a decision for you, just make sure it's not the salesman doing that for you?

Paul
 
I absolutely loved the feel of the 50d and have ordered it along with the kit lends and 50mm. Glitch I'll add the screen to my order, it looks very useful. Thanks for pointing it out.

I will mainly be doing photography for my blog atm but I
am in the process of writing a cookbook that I'd be aiming to self publish so it would be good (and cost effective) to do my own photography.
 
KitchenGoddess said:
I see you've been reading my blog Singlespeed. Hope you like what you saw :)
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It was only a quick look realy, to have a look what your trying to acheive.

Theres a couple of tasty looking photos there, but quite a few of them look rather flat and un-interesting. If you haven't already taken the 50D plunge, you should realy give some more thought getting to grips with some creative lighting to give texture and form, with proper focusing control and use of DOF to emphasise the subject. Sorry for being blunt, but a new body wouldn't help much, and has been pointed out, it may be worse as theres less done for you on higher spec bodies
... if you realy do need an Amazon fix, an SB-600 speed light and hotshoe cable, coupled with a tripod would make a much better investment to get some off-camera flash going on. These could be used later if you still have to upgrade.

Red Snapper tripods are highly recomended on here.


I see you took the plunge, so the SB-600 being nikon may not be the best bet.
 
KitchenGoddess said:
I didn't do this for "an amazon fix" but out of a desire to become the best photographer I can. I do realise I have an awful lot to learn but learn I will.
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Good on you then. I'm sure that once you get to grips with it, the 50D will give you excellent quality results and probably not need upgrading for some time to come (y)
 
Raymond Lin said:
glitch, can we see some samples of your work, i take photos of food (mainly my dinner) a lot too !
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I'm afraid all I've got to hand are these rather small samples of some of my older work.

Image-1.jpg
Image-8.jpg

Image-7.jpg
Image-6.jpg

Image-3.jpg
Image-4.jpg

Image-5.jpg
Image-2.jpg


KitchenGoddess; if you'd rather these were taken elsewhere, please say the word. I wouldn't want to derail what's so far been a somewhat successful thread.
 
Glitch, those really are pro quality do you produce these for publication? If not you should, would be worth contacting the publishers of various cooks/chefs.
 
glitch said:
KitchenGoddess; if you'd rather these were taken elsewhere, please say the word. I wouldn't want to derail what's so far been a somewhat successful thread.
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Goodness no! Not in the slightest. It's lovely to see your work here, anyhow it inspires me to see what I might one day be able to achieve.

Hope you don't mind me showing this but I was very happy with it (well I think it's my best so far and I've had a few compliments on a couple of food forums I'm on):

3620306776_8d1cdd832e.jpg


but I do feel a bit lame seeing it next to your masterpieces Glitch
 
Nice, i can see the criteria I think?

Clear, clean, minimal colours (apart from the food), even exposure (no harsh shadows).
 
60mm Macro f/2.8
close focusing possibilities, sharp, large apertures, portrait focal length?
 
singlespeed said:
It was only a quick look realy, to have a look what your trying to acheive.

Theres a couple of tasty looking photos there, but quite a few of them look rather flat and un-interesting. If you haven't already taken the 50D plunge, you should realy give some more thought getting to grips with some creative lighting to give texture and form, with proper focusing control and use of DOF to emphasise the subject. Sorry for being blunt, but a new body wouldn't help much, and has been pointed out, it may be worse as theres less done for you on higher spec bodies
... if you realy do need an Amazon fix, an SB-600 speed light and hotshoe cable, coupled with a tripod would make a much better investment to get some off-camera flash going on. These could be used later if you still have to upgrade.

Red Snapper tripods are highly recomended on here.


I see you took the plunge, so the SB-600 being nikon may not be the best bet.
Click to expand...

If you want a better look at my photography, many of my 'better' attempts can be seen here:
http://www.tastespotting.com/profile/Kitchen Goddess
 
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