# Purchasing a camera for product shots



## goddess_gagged (May 9, 2008)

I'm researching to purchase a camera for the company I work for. It's main purpose will be for shooting products (specifically cast iron / bronze statues, and furniture). These will eventually make their way to print and/or a website.

I'm not sure what to look for in a digital SLR when it comes to this type of photography. The budget will be $1000 to $2000, but less is always better if I can get something that works well.

What I've been told to look for is something relatively easy to use (I won't be here after August so someone else will be taking over) and, if possible, stores the photos as TIFF files right off the bat. I would also imagine that a fairly high MP would be good considering these will be printed in catalogues, brochures, etc.

I'm also not adverse to getting an extra lens if it will make a difference. Thanks for any help!


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## rooky (May 9, 2008)

if your budget is 1000-2000 and less is better... wouldnt the nikon d80 be the way to go. I just bought one. I like the camera but im too new with it to know how to use it right. lol But i will admit, if you are taking product pix...im sure it would be more than sufficient. and although it doesnt store pix as tiff's off the bat, you can easily convert them on your pc with its included software in just a couple minutes to tiff. real easy.  

I just bought a bundle with a lens for around 1000.00 here at a local photo store.


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## Village Idiot (May 9, 2008)

Why the d80? Wouldn't the Canon 30D be the way to go? You can get body and lens for under $1000.


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## Village Idiot (May 9, 2008)

Anyways, is some one that knows what they're doing going to be using the camera? If these photos are for print use, then I wouldn't want crappy product photos personally. Besides, product and commercial photography is mainly about the setup and the backdrop and the lighting.


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## goddess_gagged (May 9, 2008)

I'll be using the camera for the summer (I'm on a co-op work term for school). I'm not an expert by any means, but I'm fairly good with technology and have a decent creative eye.

A person on another forum suggested a Canon Rebel XTi. It sounds pretty good for the price...what do you guys/gals think?

Regarding lighting:  I don't know much about it. We are looking to purchase lighting equipment along with the camera, so if you have any suggestions that would be awesome. Just know that the space we have is limited, and we don't want anything too fancy/cumbersome. Just enough to make a decent-looking shot.

Also, if I were interested in the 30D, where can it be purchased? I'm from Canada and I don't see it at Future Shop.

Thanks.


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## Don Kondra (May 9, 2008)

I've recently gone through the whole upgrade adventure to shoot the furniture I make and what I've ended up with is the Olympus E-510 and the Zuiko 14-54 mm f 2.8 lens.

Also a Velbon tripod, two Cameron light stands, 2 65w CF bulbs and a paper backdrop. 

Some sources in Canada are Don's Photo, Henry's Camera's and Vistek 

So far I have been experimenting with continuous lighting augmented with natural light on a cloudy day.

This is a test shot with a wrinkled white sheet to determin the permanent location of my paper backdrop....







And the CF lights in Cameron stands.... the 65w bulbs are equivalent to 200w incandescent... I had to go to a lighting wholesaler to get them that big  






Hope this helps.

Cheers, Don


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## Village Idiot (May 9, 2008)

goddess_gagged said:


> I'll be using the camera for the summer (I'm on a co-op work term for school). I'm not an expert by any means, but I'm fairly good with technology and have a decent creative eye.
> 
> A person on another forum suggested a Canon Rebel XTi. It sounds pretty good for the price...what do you guys/gals think?
> 
> ...


 
bhphotovideo.com

lights - Alienbees.com

You can get a two light 160w/s AB package with stands and umbrellas for $600. That's a fairly good price of a decent quality studio strobe setup. It should come with everything you need to fire them. I prefer flashes to hot lights. You just seem to get a better color and a brighter light out of them.


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## goddess_gagged (May 9, 2008)

Thanks for all the info!

Suppose we bought a Rebel XTi. Would the stock lens be okay, or is there another lens that would be ideal for product shots? Keep in mind, this is mostly furniture so I don't think a macro lens is needed.

Village, would you consider that $600 package to be fairly user-friendly? When I leave in August, the lady here will be left to take the photos and operate the lighting. She is very adamant about not going too complex with the lighting.

While I'm talking about lighting, what is the purpose of the umbrellas? To soften the light? I'm not even sure how to set up a lighting system. I guess this is why simple is better for us


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## Village Idiot (May 11, 2008)

goddess_gagged said:


> Thanks for all the info!
> 
> Suppose we bought a Rebel XTi. Would the stock lens be okay, or is there another lens that would be ideal for product shots? Keep in mind, this is mostly furniture so I don't think a macro lens is needed.
> 
> ...


 
If it's setup, all you have to do is plug in and shoot. The complicated part comes with lighting ratios and settings. You can set everything up to where it should work, but some minor tweaking of aperture and lighting position might be necessary. That's not complicated for me, but some one that has never touched a camera in manual mode will be SOL. You really can't use auto mode either. You're going to want a static shutter speed for controlling the ambient and then adjusting the aperture will control the exposure. That's something she'll have to understand.


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## goddess_gagged (May 12, 2008)

Village Idiot said:


> If it's setup, all you have to do is plug in and shoot. The complicated part comes with lighting ratios and settings. You can set everything up to where it should work, but some minor tweaking of aperture and lighting position might be necessary. That's not complicated for me, but some one that has never touched a camera in manual mode will be SOL. You really can't use auto mode either. You're going to want a static shutter speed for controlling the ambient and then adjusting the aperture will control the exposure. That's something she'll have to understand.



Unfortunately, I think that's too complex for her. Keep in mind, the company is going to be getting their "flagship" items professionally photographed. It's all the smaller items they want to photograph for "take-away" sheets that customers can have. Is there anysimple 2-light setup to use? I can probably teach her some of the manual stuff on the camera...I just want a static setup where they can quickly take a decent-looking photo when an item gets shipped in.

Thanks


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## goddess_gagged (May 14, 2008)

Okay, update on the situation.

My boss wants to hire a photographer to create our set (lighting, backdrop, all that). So I don't need to worry about lighting.

Regarding the camera:  a photographer recommended the Nikon D80 to us. It is more expensive than the Canon Rebel XTi, with much the same specs. How do they compare against each other for product photography?

Also, most importantly, if we were to buy the body of one of these cameras, what lens would be best for either one (remember, it's just being used for medium-range product photography...so no zooms or macros).

Any help as soon as possible would be much appreciated  thanks!


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## The_Traveler (May 14, 2008)

goddess_gagged said:


> Okay, update on the situation.
> 
> My boss wants to hire a photographer to create our set (lighting, backdrop, all that). So I don't need to worry about lighting.
> 
> ...




Camera body makes little/no difference.
Get better lens.
The lens depends on what size products you are going to be shooting.
What are the products and how big are they?


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## goddess_gagged (May 14, 2008)

The_Traveler said:


> Camera body makes little/no difference.
> Get better lens.
> The lens depends on what size products you are going to be shooting.
> What are the products and how big are they?



We shoot furniture (anything from a small chair, to an armoire, to a couch, to a bed). There may also be bronze or cast iron statues. These products can range from [roughly] 2' - 10' tall.

Our studio is a fairly small room, just FYI.


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## The_Traveler (May 14, 2008)

This is going to be a problem because product shots of fairly large items taken from relatively close up will show some distortion in the straight lines or perspective. For example, a object that is 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide will almost fill the screen of a camera using a 24 mm lens. (a relatively wide angle lens) when the camera is 9 feet from the front of the object. (this assumes a cropped sensor digital camera as oppose to a full-sensor) An image of any object with straight edges may have to be corrected in post processing. 

You need to rethink this issue before committing to  any camera/lens/studio setup. 

Here are three good links that might help

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_view
http://www.kevinwilley.com/l3_topic03.htm
http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/EFLenses101/focal_length_chart.html

What they are saying, in short, is that, for any given object size, the  closer to the object that the camera must be [i.e. the size of the studio/set and camera position], the shorter the focal length of the lens has to be and the greater the potential distortion. A longer lens will give less distortion but must be further away.


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## goddess_gagged (May 14, 2008)

The_Traveler said:


> This is going to be a problem because product shots of fairly large items taken from relatively close up will show some distortion in the straight lines or perspective. For example, a object that is 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide will almost fill the screen of a camera using a 24 mm lens. (a relatively wide angle lens) when the camera is 9 feet from the front of the object. (this assumes a cropped sensor digital camera as oppose to a full-sensor) An image of any object with straight edges may have to be corrected in post processing.
> 
> You need to rethink this issue before committing to  any camera/lens/studio setup.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the help. Most of the products will not be nearly that size. Although we want good quality photos, these will mainly be for documentation, website, and some take-away flyers for customers. We will still be going to a professional photographer for the more important items. I should emphasize that my boss does _not_ want this to be a complicated process.

What would be the simplest solution to this distortion problem? Would a wide-angle lens help? I don't think it would be a huge problem anyways, as most furniture is fairly medium-sized.


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## The_Traveler (May 14, 2008)

Since a SLR almost certainly commits you to some amount of post-processing, which will complicate matters AND your boss wants this to be simple, you might consider a good quality P&S along with a tripod.  

That will save much money and time. P&S, by virtue of their design come with  wide angle lenses and will produce good-enough quality of casual shots. 

You can then use the $ for a basic cheap lighting kit and backdrop, calibrate the camera setup and you are done. Fast, cheap and efficient.


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## skieur (May 15, 2008)

The_Traveler said:


> This is going to be a problem because product shots of fairly large items taken from relatively close up will show some distortion in the straight lines or perspective. For example, a object that is 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide will almost fill the screen of a camera using a 24 mm lens. (a relatively wide angle lens) when the camera is 9 feet from the front of the object. (this assumes a cropped sensor digital camera as oppose to a full-sensor) An image of any object with straight edges may have to be corrected in post processing.
> 
> You need to rethink this issue before committing to any camera/lens/studio setup.
> 
> ...


 
Serious commercial and product shooting requires tilt/shift lens to control distortion and a camera like the Canon Mark III or Nikon D3.  

The problem with companies and organizations is that they most often go too low on budget and too high on the expectations.  Without the right camera, lighting and studio equipment, as well as a very experienced photographer, the results will look amateurish.

skieur


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## The_Traveler (May 15, 2008)

goddess_gagged said:


> Although we want good quality photos, *these will mainly be for documentation, website, and some take-away flyers for customers.* We will still be going to a professional photographer for the more important items. I should emphasize that my boss does _not_ want this to be a complicated process.



This is a where the OP must come in on budget, make it simple and, most of all, manage expectations for his boss

The OP might consider printing out this thread for his boss to read.

Altho there seems to be some mission shift from the first post.



goddess_gagged said:


> These will eventually make their way to print and/or a website.
> I would also imagine that a fairly high MP would be good considering these will be printed in catalogues, brochures, etc.



Perhaps the OP should get the boss to clarify the needs and the limits.

Inexpensive, simple, good. - Pick any two.


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## goddess_gagged (May 15, 2008)

Sorry for the confusion. From what I understand, what we want is:


high-resolution / good quality shots for print
print will most likely be the take-away flyers I mentioned earlier. The catalog photos will most likely be professional photos.
these will also be used on the web

good quality, but not necessarily "professional". I know this is vague and poorly communicated, but it's the best I got!
The lighting will be taken care of by a pro. AFAIK, he will set up a continuous lighting set which will remain static. We're just taking care of the camera.

I know distortion is an issue, but unless it's insanely obvious (I know photographers have a keen eye for small blemishes), it probably won't be an issue for us. Who knows, maybe the kit lens will be enough for what we're doing.


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## D-50 (May 15, 2008)

Honestly any DLSR will do just fine.  there is no DSLR that is suited to shoot specifically product shots. Buy the cheapest body you can and get a decent lens or just use the kit lens I dont think you are going to notice a difference. If a pro photographer set up the lights and all you need to do is press the shutter button then you will be fine.  The only thing is I do not think the same lighting will be useable for differing products, you are going to need to move it around a bit.


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## goddess_gagged (May 15, 2008)

D-50 said:


> Honestly any DLSR will do just fine.  there is no DSLR that is suited to shoot specifically product shots. Buy the cheapest body you can and get a decent lens or just use the kit lens I dont think you are going to notice a difference. If a pro photographer set up the lights and all you need to do is press the shutter button then you will be fine.  The only thing is I do not think the same lighting will be useable for differing products, you are going to need to move it around a bit.



Thanks! yeah, I think we may buy it with the kit lens and see how we like the quality.

I may have to ask the pro photographer about different set-ups for different products when he comes. I'm sure he can give me a few ideas to work with.

When you say 'get a decent lens', is there just a general-use lens that simply is better quality than the kit lens? Specifically for the D80 if possible.


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## chantal7 (May 15, 2008)

I'll just throw this one out there. It's not the camera that does the nice quality photos, it's the person behind the camera. You can take amazing pictures probably with any DSLR camera, it's you that does the amazing job at it.  I enjoy my camera, Canon Rebel XTi and there is also the new one, XTs. Whatever you choose I'm sure it will be great. Good luck to your product shots!


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## rooky (May 15, 2008)

Guys, I have to disagree slightly with some of the comments I've read.  Some of you are saying its not the camera but the photographer that makes the picture.  Well, I agree with this for the most part... it does take a person with an eye for the shot to make a nice shot.  And with a certain amout of knowledge, obtaining that shot becomes easier in my opinion.  But in my mind, the equipment does matter.  With a quality product or tool...  one with a broader range of options or capabilities, for example, it can certainly make the journey a little easier and your creative range much more inclusive.  That's just my opinion.  

In any case, the camera to a photgrapher is as a brush is to a painter.  And I don't think Michaelangelo would have settled for a Q-tip if he had a choice.

Just liike I tell my customers.............

One guy came to me once and said, "Man, I could take my own shots, who needs a photographer?"  And I said, "Yeah, I could build my own car too, but I'd rather just buy a Ford."


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