Which camera for product shots?

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jxm28788

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Hi,

I'm not a professional photographer, or even an amateur one, and don't have any idea which the best cameras or brands are so was hoping someone could recomend a good setup.

I'll mostly be taking product shots of electronic goods for my website, probably in a light tent with a white background. I think I might need a separate flash, but I'm not sure how they work - do I need a remote or something that activates the camera and flash at the same time?

Something that can do stop motion as well would be a bonus...

Any way, can you let me know which would be best out of these models or at least round it down to the best 2?

Canon EOS 500D
Canon EOS 1000D
Nikon D3100 14MP
Nikon D5000 12.3MP
Sony A390
Sony A290

I also need to know what sort of lens I'd need for the close up product shots...

Thanks.
 
What lighting for product photography is the more relevant question
 
You haven't mentioned a budget.

Light tent would suggest smaller (portable) items?

You'll either need flash and trigger or two/three directional lights outside the tent.

I made up a macro studio (big cardboard box, tissue paper) and used two desk lamps minus their shades. Worked ok.

I have read about an all encompassing tent which has only a hole for the lens.


Cameras, any will do. You may want a macro lens, depending on how close you want to get to the item/detail and how clean you can keep it.

If your budget isn't too great, check out the local second hand store and handle the cameras.

Any one you know who you can borrow one off? Or different ones?
 
Can you let me know how the trigger works please? is it wires to both the camera and a separate flash?

Budget isn't an issue, but I wouldn't really want anything more expensive than the ones I mentioned (and I am restricted to those models btw).
 
From what I gather a trigger just fires the flash... ie you press the shutter and all flashes fire at once. On the assumption those flashes are positioned around the subject and aren't on the camera.

I think there are cabled option and remote (wireless) options plus some entry flashes fire when they 'see' the flash firing.

Best if you go an handle the camera to find the one that suits you. Not sure if the entry models have cable release / flash handling.

Have a search online for pocket wizard (expensive but should give you an idea how to use) and on you tube for setting up and usage.
 
If I read your original post correctly your business is selling electronic goods online and you have little or no experience of photography.
You are correct on the basic equipment for product photography and other posters have added comments about lighting and other things.
Looking at this from a business point of view,if you buy new equipment the camera,lens,lighting,probably a tripod and software to process the images will be in the order of £500 or more depending on what you buy, less if you buy used.
You will then have to learn how to set it up,experiment with lighting etc to see what works and process the images.
That is time which detracts from your main business of selling electronic goods.
You may find it more cost effective to try and recruit someone to do the job for you, unless you want to take up photography as a hobby or an adjunct to your business.
If you were to contact your local camera club you may find someone who is more than willing to help out for a small payment.

Chris
 
Product shots are easy. Simple objects on a white background tend to come out well with minimal effort and you certainly don't need any greatly expensive kit or lighting.

If you really want them WOW (which will probably be barely indistinguishable at a conscious level to the average consumer), then I'm sure you could find someone to do it for you for less than the price of the kit you're looking at. Otherwise, I'd put the money back in your pocket, spend a little time setting up your images, tweaking them in an image editor, and admiring the end result.

All depends on what you see as important in the overall business model...and maybe more to the point, your own creative skills ;)
 
troutfisher said:
You may find it more cost effective to try and recruit someone to do the job for you
Click to expand...
One of the drivers for this is I have a huge pile of vouchers to burn through in a short amount of time, so buying a bunch of expensive camera equipment is going to help me out on that front. As far as I'm concerned it's all free stuff so cost is not an issue, and I'll no doubt use it for other things...
 
Something like this?

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jxm28788 said:
One of the drivers for this is I have a huge pile of vouchers to burn through in a short amount of time, so buying a bunch of expensive camera equipment is going to help me out on that front. As far as I'm concerned it's all free stuff so cost is not an issue, and I'll no doubt use it for other things...
Click to expand...



By all means buy the gear if you have an interest in photography, and learn how to use it properly and you will be rewarded.

However as far as your business goes you have to ask yourself how long you can wait to get the images you need. I would say even with the instant feedback of digital which can greatly speed up the learning process, it will take you a couple years of solid practice to pull off high end product photography along with the post production skills.

Sure you will get OK results but not the type you get from someone experienced. Maybe get the gear and have a go if you want it anyway and you might be happy with what you can achieve at first. But there is a reason people pay for it, good images increase sales its that simple.

Good luck with it.
 
Instead of a DSLR how about something like an LX5?

Something like this might be a good idea as it's quite easy to get good DoF and a really punchy ready to use image, maybe easier than with a DSLR.
 
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