I Want Sharp Image (New Camera or Macro Lens)

[margzxero]

I have canon 750D, I want a nice sharp/clear image of my jewelry, do I need to invest in macro or buy new camera.

Thanks

[TTMartin · Accepted solution]

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@margzxero wrote:

I am a freelance product photographer but shooting a jewellery is very hard. I am planning to buy a Canon 5D or better invest in macro lens?

For Macro work the 5D would be a step backwards. The smaller the sensor the larger the depth of field. Going to a larger sensor just means having to use a smaller aperture to compensate for it. You gain nothing, but, a lighter wallet.

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

Great, in that case go for the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens instead.

[ebiggs1]

Reasoning; if you are going to be in a professional or in a near professional world, the better gear will serve you better.  Rebels are designed for amateurs and are not intended for heavy day in and day out work.  The "L" class of lenses are also designed for professional work and built to take the demands.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Great, in that case go for the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens instead.

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You might still be left with a DOF problem. With flat objects like stamps and coins, you can compensate by shooting straight on. But a lot of jewelry doesn't really have a "straight on" angle. So you might want to consider a macro rail for your tripod, to aid in image stacking. Or go whole hog and get a tilt-shift lens. As you say, photographing jewelry is hard. 

[ebiggs1]

Naw, too much trouble.  Stack in PS ! 

[diverhank]

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@margzxero wrote:

I am a freelance product photographer but shooting a jewellery is very hard. I am planning to buy a Canon 5D or better invest in macro lens?

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As others stated, a 5D will not help you at all if you're not getting sharp pictures with your current camera.  Personally I don't even think you need a new lens to get clear and sharp pictures.

The key is lighting and good focus.  Light needs to be diffused but bright.  Mount your camera on a tripod.  Use Av mode, set your ISO to 100 and set your aperture to f/16 or f/11 (if f/11 is sharper).  Make sure you are not closer than what the lens can do. Check it's MFD (min focus distance). Switch your lens to M (manual).  Use Live view and zoom in - canon cameras allow 10x zoom and manually focus until the part you want is crystal clear.  Set off the shutter by using a remote or use the 2 second self-timer to avoid camera shake.

For this kind of work, auto-focus is usually not precise enough and that's your problem right now.  For this lens, you may not be able to get close enough.  You need to crop but getting a sharp picture is not a problem with any lens.

[TCampbell]

The macro lens will have not only the ability to focus at a much closer distance, they also typically have the ability to resolve finer levels of detail than the average lens.

However... there's more to getting the shot than just the camera & lens.

You'll need a tripod.

You may need to use a technique called "Focus Stacking" (which relies on software) if the depth of field required is greater than you can easily achieve at very close focusing distance with high focal length lenses.   This involves not only a tripod, but even a focusing rail may be helpful.

Lighting is also tricky.  Shiny jewelry is basically like having lots and lots of "mirrrored" surfaces.  They reflect whatever can be seen in each "mirror".  So you may need to head down to the craft store and invest in some white foam-core boards as well as some black foam-core boards so you can control what shows up in each reflection (these boards are placed out of frame.  Also, as is always the case with lighting, a broad lighting source (e.g.  shooting through diffusing screens or using soft-boxes) will provide light that doesn't create harsh well-defined shadows.  

Lastly, the camera lens will typically reveal flaws that aren't easily visible under normal inspection.  So you may be using Photoshop to touch up the jewelry.

The camera body is fine.  In fact, nearly any camera body will do the job.  You wont be relying on features that test the performance of the camera.  ISO isn't a problem (you'll be providing plenty of light that you wont need to boost ISO), the focus system wont matter (you'll be using manual focus).  I prefer to use tethering software in live-view so I have a very large view of my subject on the computer monitor and I can put the focus exactly where I want it.  I don't rely on an auto-focus point.

Software that offers "focus peaking" may be beneficial (I use something called Kuuvik Capture for this).  Focus peaking causes a sort of sparkly static-like edge to appear on any subject where the software detects you've achieved optimum focus.  It's ane easy way to visual what is "in" focus vs. "out" of focus.

[kvbarkley]

http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2016/top-tips-small-product-photos.shtml

[ebiggs1]

"Personally I don't even think you need a new lens to get clear and sharp pictures."

You don't think the ef 100mm f2.8 macro can do better than a kit zoom?    Just curious!

[diverhank]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"Personally I don't even think you need a new lens to get clear and sharp pictures."

You don't think the ef 100mm f2.8 macro can do better than a kit zoom?    Just curious!

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I didn't say that.  In capable hands, a macro lens will be infinitely better but if you can't get sharp and clear picture with a kit lens, you won't get sharp and clear pictures with a better lens, either.  There is no magic in a macro lens that will get you sharp picture without doing the right thing.  That is my point.