Sub £300 Zoom for product shots

dunganick

dunganick

Messages
1,458
Name
Nick
Edit My Images
Yes
So i've been given the job of buying up a fairly budget studio setup for my work. We produce packaging, so most of the products shot are packaging.

Most of the kit has been purchased, including a 50d and used 17-85 IS. Now I'm pretty unimpressed with it frankly, lots of CA even at F8 and its just not sharp (front/back focus checked). To confirm, i bought in my 50 f1.8 in and that blows the spots off it (despite not being the sharpest lens in the world).

So my question. What would you buy. Budget is £300 (ideally less) and it needs to be a zoom covering at least 20mm to about 80mm

Thanks in advance!
 
tamron 28-75mm f2.8 ?

canon 50mm mkII @ f8 is I think one of the sharpest IN THE WORLD ! at least up to really high end stuff.
 
Interesting, that looks an impressive lens!

Im somewhat spoilt by my other lenses, so the 50mm isn't what i would call the sharpest in the world. But Per £ it probably is!
 
Are the pics for web or banners?
If it's web use then they are going to px wide at 72dpi, not really that demanding for most glass.

A prime is your best bet for product shots, stick with something longer than 50mm, that way if you get close then the product won't suffer from distortion.
 
If you've got the space, what about a 70-200mm F/4L. Can be picked up for around the £350 mark and provide fantastic quality.

I used it for the only product shoot I have ever done on my 5D. Here is an example at 150mm F/11

IMG_9773.jpg
 
The images need to be of as high standard as possible, they get used in print and will be used to grow a portfolio that might move into other fields.

Do you have any suggestions?

We are using a 1.6 crop body so in my opinion 50mm wouldn't give the perspective needed on some of the larger packs or group shots. Having said this - i am going to buy a 50mm as it is a no brainer for £80.

Thanks Steve, i did think about a 70-200 F4, i love it as a focal length. But i fear it will suffer the same issue as mentioned above and with the 1.6 crop it will either not be wide enough or flatten the perspective too much.

I'm happy to stand corrected and would really like to justify buying one.
 
Last edited:
You may find it unsuitable sometimes, but I guess it depends what you're shooting. You wouldn't lose much if you bought one and sold it on a couple of months later. Or 5D MKIs are coming down in price ;)

Here is a 100% crop at F/11

IMG_9827-2.jpg


Anyway, in your shoes, where the subject isn't going to run away, I would probably be looking at primes for best performance but I guess the cost will add up. There is always the 17-85mm as a last resort...
 
Just had a thought, what about old school manual primes, M42 and the like?! Cheap as chips, AV mode, live view on the 50D to focus, stop down with manual aperture ring, away you go.
 
Sorry i should of mentioned. This setup will be used for general archiving of posted samples, so needs to be idiot proof (without doing my colleagues a disservice). So manual focus is probably out of the question.

That sample shot is certainly impressive. Better than i can honestly say i've seen out of mine. As you say, they would be foolish not to purchase one - which will be my recommendation tomorrow. But i would like to have a zoom lens solution for when we return the current one.

Thanks again for the help guys.
 
Last edited:
Don't forget that it's a 100% out of a 5D, so if you cropped it to be the same as a crop body it's around 6MP.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top