Best digital camera for Jewellery Business

Hi

 

I am looking for the best digiral camera for the jewellery business. I would

like to take the best pictures of GOLD neckless, bracelet, ring, earing,

bangle, etc.

 

Which digital camera do you recomment and which lens is good for this purpose

 

Regards

 

Gokhan Goktayoglu

I think you could do this sort of photography with any modern DSLR above the 6MP level. For detail shots you would want a good quality 100mm Macro lens. This would be able to take the wider shots of the whole item as well. The question you really need to ask is how best to LIGHT the jewellry. You would be well advised to purchase a good LIGHT TENT and a small flash unit to power it. I assume you mean take photos of the jewellry on its own rather than being worn.

Anyhow lighting it correctly is more important than which camera you use in my opinion. Hope this helps !

try posting in the lighting forum regarding lighting ?

Hi Gokhan,<BR>

Seriously, any modern DSLR will do a good job for you. I might suggest the Sony Alpha - it's very sharp at ISO 100 and you will be able to shoot everything at that - because hopefully you will be using a tripod! If you shoot in RAW mode, the detail shots of your pieces will be stunning.<BR><BR>

The lens you want to use is something with a very close focusing distance. If you can only spend about $300 or so, I would suggest the KM 28-75mm f2.8 (D) lens. If you have a little more money, the best lens possible would probably be the Minolta (or Sony) 100mm Macro lens. It is one of the sharpest lenses ever made, and will focus very close as it has macro capability. Distortion will be zero with this lens. Your pieces will look the best they can be, unless you were to shoot them with a 4x5 film camera on Provia - but that is a different story. :-)<BR>

Another somewhat cheaper lens option would be one of the 50mm macro lenses - almost as sharp as the 100mm macro, but you will not be able to fill up the frame with your smaller pieces as well, so a longer focal length is probably better.<BR>

Hope that helps, let us know if you have any more questions.<BR>

Jed

I agree that your main concern would be on how best to light your subjuect. You'll need soft lighting so not to get harsh highlights. You might want to get a light tent and a diffusor for your lights. And you'll want some muslin background cloth and display stands to place your objects on.

 

As for which camera to buy, any modern DSLR will do the job, and need not be a Sony. When buying a camera/body set-up it is best to look at the overall cost and availability of accessories. Sony, while being able to fill your needs, is no better than Canon, Nikon, Pentax, or Olympus in doing so.

 

A pervious poster stated "Another somewhat cheaper lens option would be one of the 50mm macro lenses - almost as sharp as the 100mm macro, but you will not be able to fill up the frame with your smaller pieces as well, so a longer focal length is probably better." This doesn't make sense, as both the 50mm and 100mm macro lenses both focus down to 1:1, which would mean that the area covered would be the same. The 100mm will allow you to work further away from your subject which makes it easier to work with external lighting, as your shadow won't block the light as much. With the 50mm, at 1:1 your lens' front elements will only be a couple of inches from the subject, with the 100mm, you'll be a couple of inches further away at the same magnification. K/M did make a 180mm macro, which is hard to find, but allows you to be even further away.

 

Since you'll buying to do macro work, don't be swayed by Sony's Super Steady Shot feature as the function is not as useful when doing macro work, plus, if you use a tripod, it doesn't work at all.

Thanks for the edit - I didn't word that right. What I meant to say was at a decent working distance, you would fill the frame much better with the 100mm macro vs the 50mm macro. I don't think it would be very easy to get good lighting on the pieces and have the lens be almost on top of the item he's trying to photograph. That's why I was suggesting the 100mm would fill the frame better.<BR>

But bottom line yes, you are right, you could just get closer with the 50mm - it just might not be as easy.<BR>

Jed

I think once you get to 6MP camera you're after the camera's features you need, want and

work intuitively. The real question, in my view, isn't so much the camera, but the lens(es) for

the work. The lens will determine the quality of the image (ok, after the photographer's

talent, experience and knowledge to capture the image). So judge the camera system than

just the camera. What's good a great camera with a lens that doesn't do the job?

As far as macros go, the Tamron 90mm macro is probably the best performance:price option on the market. It'll give you a good working distance, has good performance and you can buy it at a great price for almost any mount.

Personally, I think a good light tent, a light table and a good tripod is probably more important for setting up the Prop and the Jeweleries. Any of todays current Macro Lens whichever brand is more than good enough.

Lighting is without a doubt the most important element in shooting jewelry and a light tent indispensable. Shooting straight down is another necessity, as critical as a straight film plane on architecture. Note that the laws of optics,converging lines, etc. remain the same in digital photography as they were in film.