Whats the best lens for product shots?

[IanC]

Merry Christmas all. Just a quick question, what's everyone's preferred lens for product shots?

Would a 50mm suffice or is a dedicated macro more effective in this area?

 

[evilonion]

well i use my sigma 18-50 2.8 normally at around 50mm for shots of fabric packs and threads etc for the shop.
The 50mm 1.8 would probably be perfect.
Depends what you're shooting though i guess and how close you need to be
I've found the lighting to be the most important thing for my products.

 

[IanC]

well i use my sigma 18-50 2.8 normally at around 50mm for shots of fabric packs and threads etc for the shop.
The 50mm 1.8 would probably be perfect.
Depends what you're shooting though i guess and how close you need to be
I've found the lighting to be the most important thing for my products.

I have recently made myself one of these - http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography/

But I'm yet to use it in anger. I think I would like to get a 50mm 1.8 anyway just for its low ligh capability.

 

[SimonUK]

I guess it depends on the product your shooting, but a 50mm would be perfect imo for smaller things ( Mind out of the gutter )

Id get a 50mm anyway! Great len's and fun as heck!

 

[jockwav]

I mostly use my 50mm 1.8
I do a lot of swarovski crystal shots for the wife as she sells all that stuff.

 

[looop]

depends what you are wanting to photograph but something in around the 50-85mm range has always worked well for me. Go for a macro lens if you are photographing small objects.
I would say your lighting is something to focus your thoughts on too.

 

[DB_SamX]

My brother does a lot of computer parts photography for reviewing purposes and he uses the kit 18-55mm lens on the D40. We think it looks perfectly fine but that's for this particular purpose, so it depends what products you want to photograph.

 

[StewartR]

The perfect lens for product photography is a tilt-shift, either 45mm or 90mm depending on the size of the product and the amount of space you have available.

Use of a tilt-shift gives you two distinct advantages:
1. Use the shift function to control perspective and avoid converging vertical on straight-edged products.
2. Use the tilt function to control which parts of the product are in focus.