Posted: 7/10/2012 7:29:30 AM EDT
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I have a Canon EOS Rebel XS Digital camera.
I am looking for a lens to take closeups of firearms and other items I sell online. I am not a photographer but I do know better photos typically result in higher closing prices. I think I'm looking for something called a "macro" lens. I have been shopping on Ebay and I've seen complete lenses for upwards of a $1000.00 and I've also noticed what can best be described as an add on filter looking apparatus for less than $20.00. Will the $20.00 trinket work for my intended purpose..??? Please realise I'm not going into the photography business and I want to accomplish the desired results as economical as possible. TD |
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1. Grab a halfway decent point and shoot off your floor
2. create a nice shooting area with good light 3. put the point and shoot in macro mode 4. profit??? You probably already have access to a camera that can do what you like. You dont have to step up to DLSR with a $300 macro lens just to clear another 10% on GB. Any modern point and shoot has a macro function and can take quality photos with good lighting. |
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When it comes to online auction photos, the best photos look good more because of the lighting, not the lens. Get a light tent like this: http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-30in-Photo-Soft-Light/dp/B001TKCZVM/, some lights, and a tripod.
How close do you want to get? My guess is that you don't really need or want a true macro lens, they tend to have very narrow depth of field (only a small part of the photo is in focus) and are used to take photos of small objects, maybe a bolt face, but typically not significant portions of a rifle. In any event, something like this would be fine: http://www.keh.com/camera/Canon-EOS-Non-Mfg-Zoom-Lenses/1/sku-CE099990385620?r=FE |
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Quoted:
1. Grab a halfway decent point and shoot off your floor 2. create a nice shooting area with good light 3. put the point and shoot in macro mode 4. profit??? You probably already have access to a camera that can do what you like. You dont have to step up to DLSR with a $300 macro lens just to clear another 10% on GB. Any modern point and shoot has a macro function and can take quality photos with good lighting. Isn't that Canon Rebel XS he has an SLR? Should be able to get fantastic photos from that without a macro lens. Find out what the minimum/ recommended focus distance is for your lens. As stated, a dedicated macro lens may not be necessary. It's likely if you do a little bit of reading about lighting and playing around with the settings on that Rebel you may be able to improve your results without buying anything. As cliche as it sounds, the owners manual has great info to help improve photography skills. Check this out too http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/taking-closeup-photographs-with-a-canon-eos-digita.html |
I have a Canon T1i, which is pretty similar to the XS, just newer and more resolution. I'm no photographer, by any stretch of the imagination, but in playing around with it, I've found that correct lighting really is the key. With the kit lens, and enough light, you can stand off your subject a ways and zoom in or out to focus on what you want a lot easier than spending more money on lenses that may or may not do what you want them to. Another key is stability. Buy a decent tripod and a remote trigger - you can get those fairly cheaply. I got this shot offhand, using the kit lens and standing by a window with the blinds open:
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TD,
Pardon the Wall-O-Text answer.  I use to be in the photo biz in a BIG way now days I help my wife's studio & the local SO w/ their photo needs.
Cliff Notes $20 lens thingy OK but expect soft focus or distorted results. Lighting, Exposure & White Balance mater when taking pictures. Get them right and your pictures will be great. Your lens should work. Buy dedicated macro lens if you find yourself shooting LOTS of jewelry. Lighting what your selling is key along w/ consistency... consistent light, exposure, color balance, shot angles, etc. Below is a starting point. Light; As for lighting a long gun or hand gun or a toaster oven, the lighting you use can be all the same. Google up DIY light tents. Once you've made a dedicated shooting area all you do is drop in your subject, shoot it, change the angle shoot it again...rinse & repeat till you get enough angles for your add. Remember it doesn't cost $$$ to take the pictures just TIME to edit them to what you can use. So shoot efficiently and it won't become a chore. As for the lights any good work light of 300watts or more will work. Just remember that bright ass 1000watt light will be hot and after 1hour working near, it life will begin to suck. You can use a 4' flo fixture but you'll want about 8 HO (high output) lamps to get enough light so you can get enough depth of field for most pictures. Also while on the subject of lighting a few guide lines Think of those deep blue polished revolvers as a mirror cause they will reflect every thing on the set, you, the camera, tripod, wrinkles in the light tent etc..so a large soft light source will create a large soft reflection (catchlight). Think of ads for cars. You'll see a long catchlight along the lines & curves on the car. Also that catchlight will be the color of the light source. Look at the gun rags & you'll see lots of red & blue catchlights along the edges of the guns & knives. Speaking of color see Color Balance below. Exposure; Set the control dial to "M" not the "green box" or" P". These Auto modes will give you a good exposure but it will not be consistent. When you shoot jewelry with bad exposures the gold will look wrong for the karat weight. Same for a black rifle it will look gray or totally black w/ no detail. Buy a $6 Gray Card. You will use this to get correct exposures & for correct white balance settings. Gray Card Review. Detailed article about using a gray card for white balance w/ some good pic's for the reading chalanged. 
Color Balance; Correct color balance means a black rifle is black & a deep blue polish shows up as a deep blue. Bad color balance means anything lit w/ flo lights is green & a work light looks yellow. If you shoot a full on shot of a black rifle in AWB color balance mode with a white background the color accuracy will be close but...when you shoot a tight shot of the engraving (so to speak) the AWB mode will try to make blacks look blue or green or yellow. By shooting the gray card in AWB mode you'll have a "Custom White Balance" target to use when you set your camera's custom white balance. IIRC after you have the gray card shot, scroll through the menu till you find Custom White Balance. Then follow the screen prompts. You Tube video how to... Lens; The $20 close up filters/diopters are okay but can distort the image. The center can be sharp w/ the edges getting 'bent' or out of focus. They'll work but your Rebel XS 's kit lens 18~55 should focus close enough. It will focus as close as 10" ~ 12". Just zoom the lens to get more or less in the shot. If you find yourself shooting really small stuff rings, earrings & such a dedicated macro lens would be worth it. Canon 60mm Macro. Tamron 90mm Macro. Use a tripod to make sure the shot is sharp because to get good depth of=more in focus front to back in the shot you will be using a slow shutter speed. 7mm |
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The best lens out there for Canon Digital DLRs is the 1.8 fixed 50mm. It has one of the lowest light ratings next to their 1.4 lense and takes amazing pictures. Use your apature priority mode and dial down the f stop to 1.8. Put the gun in a white bath tub and use external lighting and no flash. Pics will come out great.
The 1.8 lense has fantastic reviews as every pro I know has this lense for point and shoot sessions where try want a lightweight lense and great light gathering ability. The lense is only $115 or less online and works great. A 1.8 zoom lense would cost you $1800 and up for that quality. We have a Canon T3i and we use this lense all the time in addition to our 18-85 IS lense |
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Quoted:
The best lens out there for Canon Digital DLRs is the 1.8 fixed 50mm. It has one of the lowest light ratings next to their 1.4 lense and takes amazing pictures. Use your apature priority mode and dial down the f stop to 1.8. Put the gun in a white bath tub and use external lighting and no flash. Pics will come out great. The 1.8 lense has fantastic reviews as every pro I know has this lense for point and shoot sessions where try want a lightweight lense and great light gathering ability. The lense is only $115 or less online and works great. A 1.8 zoom lense would cost you $1800 and up for that quality. We have a Canon T3i and we use this lense all the time in addition to our 18-85 IS lense You may also want to think about the Mk I version of that lens which is metal. It is no longer made, so generally you have to scour ebay for an old Cannon that has this lens attached. That's how I got mine. For macro/portrai work, it is hard to beat the 100mm Canon macro. Why that lens is not an L series lens is beyond me. |