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best lens for food photography with available light?

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ignatius kristian

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Hi all,

I need a recommendation on the best lens for food photography. There won't be fancy lighting equipments involved, since there's no dedicated shooting setup or something.

All brands are welcome, and some samples would be very nice.

Thanks,
Kristian
 
ignatius kristian said:
Hi all,

I need a recommendation on the best lens for food photography. There won't be fancy lighting equipments involved, since there's no dedicated shooting setup or something.

All brands are welcome, and some samples would be very nice.
Click to expand...
Available light meaning - low light? That will be tricky due to very shallow depth of field.

If the available light is sunlight, try the 60mm Micro (Iassume you don't want to fork over $2K for a shift lens which is what you really need for this).

Have fun
--
She-ying
 
The old Sigma 24mm F2.8 Macro SuperWide II (AF or MF variants). It is my food lens (you want to shoot close, you want more of the food in focus, you want to avoid tripods and you won't need dedicated lighting set up). I use the MF but I am aware of the existence of an AF variant. (I always prefer MF in macro though).
 
Hmm, low light, still subject, dof more than nothing wanted, sound like a VR lens would be perfect for you. You gain ability to handhold at great shutter speeds, and not lose dof
--
When you turn your camera on, does it return the
favor?
 
A tilt/shift lens is what you really need.

Or, you could use the onOne - focal point software plugin to get sorta similar results.

http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=35

I do use my regular 17-55 2.8 for food shots - just coz the small zoom makes it real easy for composition.

Here's a few food/drink samples with it:

http://kvincentphotography.ca/p394212103/h365c5d49#h365c5d49

http://kvincentphotography.ca/p394212103/h365c5d49#h3005cc73

http://kvincentphotography.ca/p394212103/h365c5d49#hb7f32bf

http://kvincentphotography.ca/p394212103/h365c5d49#h210a2962

I also use the 105m 2.8 VR Micro....altho IF you have a Dx body you will have to shoot about 6-8 feet back from the subject IF it's a regular sized plate of food etc coz of the 157m working focal length.

KEV
 
KEVZPHOTOS said:
A tilt/shift lens is what you really need.

Or, you could use the onOne - focal point software plugin to get sorta similar results.

http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=35

I do use my regular 17-55 2.8 for food shots - just coz the small zoom makes it real easy for composition.

Here's a few food/drink samples with it:

http://kvincentphotography.ca/p394212103/h365c5d49#h365c5d49

http://kvincentphotography.ca/p394212103/h365c5d49#h3005cc73

http://kvincentphotography.ca/p394212103/h365c5d49#hb7f32bf

http://kvincentphotography.ca/p394212103/h365c5d49#h210a2962

I also use the 105m 2.8 VR Micro....altho IF you have a Dx body you will have to shoot about 6-8 feet back from the subject IF it's a regular sized plate of food etc coz of the 157m working focal length.

KEV
Click to expand...
Great shots...
 
I mostly use the 105VR rarely the 24-70. Sometimes a flash or a white paper to reflect window light.
My blog address is in my signature for some examples (sure not all are nice).

Francesco

****************
webpage: http://www.thefoodtraveller.com/blog
 
The best lens for food photography in available light is - seriously - a tripod ;-) . That's because with food photography you'll often want all of the plate to be in focus and therefore need to stop down the lens, and this calls for long exposure times.

That said, I think a lot of different lenses can be used for food photography. On my own shelf, I could grab a 10.5/2.8 fisheye, a 17-35/2.8, a 18-200, a 24-70/2.8, a 35/2.0, a 50/1.2, a 85/1.8 and even a 105/2.5 - and get good results with them all.
 
Hi,

I've seen great food photos with a simple 50mm f/1.8. A 50mm f/1.4 would be even better. The 1.8 is really one of the cheapest lenses (about $100); the 1.4 is less that $400.
They are great also for portraits.

Nice shallow depth of field makes the shots quite artistic. Careful where you focus.
ignatius kristian said:
Hi all,

I need a recommendation on the best lens for food photography. There won't be fancy lighting equipments involved, since there's no dedicated shooting setup or something.

All brands are welcome, and some samples would be very nice.

Thanks,
Kristian
Click to expand...
--
Paul Vairo
http://www.pbase.com/pvairo
 
Some form of macro lens like the 105VR Micro. This will not bend the photo like wideangle lenses do.

--
'Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.'
===============
Nikon D300 - MB-D10 - SB800 - TC-14EII TC-17EII TC-20EII
Nikon 24-70(2.8), 105VR(2.8), 70-200 VR(2.8), 300VR(2.8)
http://wretchedradio.com
 
ignatius kristian said:
great pictures.. do you use other light source?
Click to expand...
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "other" light source...other than what?

With all of my studio still-life or designer floral shots I use a series of low-source 'diffused' lighting. Sometimes a soft-box is used, depending upon the subject matter size, etc.

Plus a tripod & shutter release is aways a must - of course.

KEV
 
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