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Canon 650D - Best Food Photography Lens?

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tekton23

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Hi,

I would like to start getting more serious about food photography. My wife is a chef and has her own business; we need photos for her website but do not want to employ a professional photographer just yet. We also really enjoy the process ourselves.

I have the Canon 650D with a 50mm 1.8 EF. We are considering buying a macro lens, as I have often found this lens does not allow me to get too close to the subject, or fit what I would like to see within the frame.

I have looked at the 100mm EF 2.8 and also the 60mm EFS 2.8 both by Canon. Which one should I go for, or is there another I should be considering?

Thanks!

T23
 
100mm is too long on crop for food.
 
tekton23 said:
Hi,

I would like to start getting more serious about food photography. My wife is a chef and has her own business; we need photos for her website but do not want to employ a professional photographer just yet. We also really enjoy the process ourselves.

I have the Canon 650D with a 50mm 1.8 EF. We are considering buying a macro lens, as I have often found this lens does not allow me to get too close to the subject, or fit what I would like to see within the frame.

I have looked at the 100mm EF 2.8 and also the 60mm EFS 2.8 both by Canon. Which one should I go for, or is there another I should be considering?

Thanks!

T23
Click to expand...
If this is just for the website, you don't need many pixels unless you are planning to post incredibly large photos. I think that cropping will give you plenty of pixels for website use, so filling the frame doesn't strike me as a needed goal.
So what do you want in your photos that you aren't getting now that a different lens will achieve?

James
 
tekton23 said:
Hi,

I would like to start getting more serious about food photography. My wife is a chef and has her own business; we need photos for her website but do not want to employ a professional photographer just yet. We also really enjoy the process ourselves.

I have the Canon 650D with a 50mm 1.8 EF. We are considering buying a macro lens, as I have often found this lens does not allow me to get too close to the subject, or fit what I would like to see within the frame.

I have looked at the 100mm EF 2.8 and also the 60mm EFS 2.8 both by Canon. Which one should I go for, or is there another I should be considering?

Thanks!

T23
Click to expand...
If you want to get serious about food photography then consider a TS (Tilt and Shift) lens. The tilt movements will allow you far greater depth of field than is achievable by just stopping down. For a 650D perhaps the TS 24mm would be most useful, although if you ever upgrade to FF you would probably find the TS 45mm or even the TS 90mm more appropriate.
 
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The 100L and the EF-S 60mm macro are both amazing lenses. They have such great colors, contrast and resolution (the first two being helpful for food. Less post-processing).

As a previous poster said, the 100mm will be too long for food on a crop sensor. So that leaves you with the 60mm.
 
Also have a look at the 50mm f2.5 Not true macro but maybe the most affordable option.
 
tekton23 said:
Hi,

I would like to start getting more serious about food photography. My wife is a chef and has her own business; we need photos for her website but do not want to employ a professional photographer just yet. We also really enjoy the process ourselves.

I have the Canon 650D with a 50mm 1.8 EF. We are considering buying a macro lens, as I have often found this lens does not allow me to get too close to the subject, or fit what I would like to see within the frame.

I have looked at the 100mm EF 2.8 and also the 60mm EFS 2.8 both by Canon. Which one should I go for, or is there another I should be considering?

Thanks!

T23
Click to expand...
for the web, the 18-55 IS kit lens would actually do. it focuses close (1:3), and usually you don't need thin DOF (like f1.8), but you want to stop down to keep the food reasonably sharp. tripod, off camera flash would be useful.

for real pro use, the tilt shift might be interesting, as mentioned.
 
As others have said, you can crop like crazy and still have great web images.

Focal length aside (and I'm NOT a food photog) have you considered focus stacking ? Guess it depends on what dish, but might be of some use to you.
 
Member said:
If you want to get serious about food photography then consider a TS (Tilt and Shift) lens. The tilt movements will allow you far greater depth of field than is achievable by just stopping down. For a 650D perhaps the TS 24mm would be most useful, although if you ever upgrade to FF you would probably find the TS 45mm or even the TS 90mm more appropriate.
Click to expand...
+1

R2
 
My last crop cameras were the Canon 40D & 50D; I loved the EFS 60mm - an inexpensive sharp lens, low distortion. It is sharper on crop cameras than the 100mm L according to photozone review so if the distance is not an issue it is worth considering. I found the EFS 60mm f2.8 sharper than the pervious 100mm USM with my 40D.
 
You should also consider the Sigma 50 or 70 mm macro lenses. For food, I would be looking at a shorter macro lens For a crop.
 
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