BlueTsunami/TVC/Jarosh/Cloud DSLR Help

[Billy Rygar]

 

My wife is going to buy me one for my birthday

[Rman]

Cool.  More food pr0n for your blog, right?

[Rman]

Were you using a point and shoot for your previous food pics?

[BlueTsunami]

There's probably a Nikon equivalent so my post can be taken as both Canon or Nikon suggested but if your interested in closeup shots, you could get any Canon DSLR (entry level would be an XS or XSi for $600-$700, next tier 40D or 50D for $900 to $1200, after that is the 5D which can be bought used or the 5DII which is $2600. The 1D cameras are more for sports photography) with its kit lens (for general use) but get a Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro Lens ($239.95) or Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro ($490.00) for extremely sharp and as close as you want shots.

You can get away with food shots with regular non macro lenses, but it requires more cropping than you may like. Also different lenses have different Minimum Focus Distances that you would have to factor. You wouldn't have to worry about these things with a macro lens.

[T-Short]

Note:  I mostly take closeups of food, and i want something that does really nice depth of field

for dof, get a nice macro or a really big aperture lens, depending on how close you want to go. 50mm or 30mm f1.4 will be nice, think so.

[BlueTsunami]

Here are links to shots taken with the lens i had posted about

Canon 50mm Macro: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/CanonEF50mmf25CompactMacro/

Canon 100mm Macro: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/CanonEF100mmf28MacroUSM/

The 100mm will give you more room to work with but the 50mm is no slouch in other aspects. Though the 100mm may force you to take shots from far off though (so the 50mm would be more indoor friendly). There's also the super expensive "L" (Luxury) Canon Macro lens but its around $1200

Canon 180mm L Macro Lens: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/CanonEF180mmf35LMacroUSM/

om nom nom

But disregard the 180mm, that's if your more into extreme macro shots.

[BlueTsunami]

Here's an example taken with my beloved 50mm f/1.4.


*beware of ridiculous portion size

Its slightly cropped at near Minimum Focus Distance, so you would have to crop even more to get further into the details of the subject. I believe Cloud has this exact lens too? Its great for portraits and shallow Depth of Field (due to the large aperture, as Hyoushi stated).

[cloudwalking]

I believe Cloud has this exact lens too? Its great for portraits and shallow Depth of Field (due to the large aperture, as Hyoushi stated).

Almost the same. I have the 50mm 1.8.

Anyway, Cohen...

I agree with BlueTsunami on the camera suggestions. Best bet is probably a Canon XS/XSi because they're pretty much the ultimate "beginner to DSLRs cameras" (or any of the cameras in the Rebel line really, those are just the newest ones).

However, I don't think that you need to shell out a ton of money for a lens.

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II will take care of the majority of your food photography needs, especially for a beginner, and can be had for just 86 bucks at amazon.com.

I have the EF 50mm 1.8. Here's some examples of my food photography that was done with that lens:









Even the kit lens that comes with the XSi (the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens) takes pretty good food photos.



So my suggestion, made simple and easy, is:

Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera KIT (with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens) ($700)
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens ($86)

total = $786 and you've got yourself two lenses that are great for food photography.

[cloudwalking]

I'm not the greatest photographer, but i am trying to learn.  Anything too nice will probably be wasted on me for now, anyhow so those sound like good options.

i was wary of the 50mm 1.8, because i thought, "how can something so cheap be any good?"

but then jarosh () bought it for me as a gift, and once i actually tried it, i loved it.

this lens will teach you a LOT about depth of field. also because it doesn't have a zoom, it forces you to actually learn to move around to compose your shots.

for 86 bucks you really can't go wrong. and when it finally breaks, you can upgrade to a more expensive prime lens.

also, the XSi kit lens is a great walkabout lens since it's relatively light and it's also quite wide. pretty awesome for street photography and architecture shots. i've also gotten great portraits and still lifes with it.

[Bildi]

I agree with the 50mm 1.8 mkII is a great option.  It's cheap, supremely sharp, and opens nice and wide which is great for indoor stuff since you can avoid a flash.  The older non-II f1.8 model is just a little faster at focussing but a little noiser and also a great option.

The autofocus is quite a bit faster in the 1.4, but since you're photographing food, I don't think this is going to be a problem...

[BlueTsunami]

Looking at Cloud's pics, yeah the 50f/1.8 probably is the way to go. With a Macro lens, you'll be getting really close to the food or whatever subject. If your taking pictures from a far of the plating and whatnot (as exhibited) then a non macro lens would definitely fit.

Use natural window lighting when taking pictures of food. Looks so much more appealing with natural lighting.