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best Macro lens setup for Jewelry

Started Apr 17, 2014 | Questions
pbpawn New Member • Posts: 2
best Macro lens setup for Jewelry

Just wanted to start off by saying I have very little experience in photography, but I'm a quick learner.

I work for a pawn shop, and recently started posting jewelry online. The setup we have is a Canon Rebel XTi (DS126151) with a canon EFS 17-85mm lens. It says macro on the lens but the pictures for our jewelry just isn't coming out sharp enough. Is there a cheap variation, or bang for the buck lens I should buy? or maybe some adapters that would fix my issue?... any help is appreciated. Also we are using a light-box for the jewelry so lighting isn't an issue.

Thanks

Peter too Contributing Member • Posts: 909
Re: best Macro lens setup for Jewelry

The 60mm macro is very sharp and focusses quickly. My wife uses one to photograph wild flowers and insects. She also uses it for family portraits and landscape, so it is a very versatile lens. The longer macro lenses work better for nervous insects but will probably add little for jewellery.

hotdog321
hotdog321 Forum Pro • Posts: 21,141
Re: best Macro lens setup for Jewelry

Most of those zoom lenses that say "macro" aren't. They are simply close focusing and not very good.

I've used 50mm, 100mm, 105mm and 200mm macro lenses over they years. I'm quite fond of the 100mm f/2.8 macro lens because it lets me get far enough away from the subject that the lens doesn't block the lights, but is short enough that I don't drive the camera off the rail if I'm using a copy stand.

 hotdog321's gear list:hotdog321's gear list
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L II USM Canon EF 16-35mm F4L IS USM +3 more
R2D2 Forum Pro • Posts: 26,550
Re: best Macro lens setup for Jewelry

pbpawn wrote:

Just wanted to start off by saying I have very little experience in photography, but I'm a quick learner.

I work for a pawn shop, and recently started posting jewelry online. The setup we have is a Canon Rebel XTi (DS126151) with a canon EFS 17-85mm lens. It says macro on the lens but the pictures for our jewelry just isn't coming out sharp enough. Is there a cheap variation, or bang for the buck lens I should buy? or maybe some adapters that would fix my issue?... any help is appreciated. Also we are using a light-box for the jewelry so lighting isn't an issue.

Thanks

Raynox DCR-250 close up lens. Excellent quality.  Clips right on and off the lens.  Right up your alley...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002YBXBY/qid=1137642964/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-0558605-1475857?n=507846&s=electronics&v=glance

Have fun!

R2

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Experience comes from bad judgment.
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 R2D2's gear list:R2D2's gear list
Canon EOS M6 Canon EOS M6 II Canon EOS R5 Canon EOS R6 Canon EOS R7 +1 more
photonius Veteran Member • Posts: 6,895
Re: best Macro lens setup for Jewelry

pbpawn wrote:

Just wanted to start off by saying I have very little experience in photography, but I'm a quick learner.

I work for a pawn shop, and recently started posting jewelry online. The setup we have is a Canon Rebel XTi (DS126151) with a canon EFS 17-85mm lens. It says macro on the lens but the pictures for our jewelry just isn't coming out sharp enough. Is there a cheap variation, or bang for the buck lens I should buy? or maybe some adapters that would fix my issue?... any help is appreciated. Also we are using a light-box for the jewelry so lighting isn't an issue.

Thanks

One point to consider, you don't specify how the images are not coming out sharp enough. At high magnification, the depth of field (DOF) is getting very narrow (doesn't matter what lens you use), so perhaps the reason for some of the unsharpness you observe is that not everything is in focus? Alternatively, if you stop down the lens a lot to get a lot of DOF, (say f32), you are actually running into diffraction problems, any lens will get unsharp when the aperture is too small. A cut-off point for APS-C is around f16, see http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/513-canon60f28apsc?start=1

the canon 60mm macro is probably the best bet. The Raynox lenses are good, but perhaps give you more magnification than you need, and make things a bit more difficult to arrange, as the focus range is limited.

Anyway, given you are producing them for the web, super high resolution is not necessary.

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 photonius's gear list:photonius's gear list
Canon EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II
OP pbpawn New Member • Posts: 2
Re: best Macro lens setup for Jewelry

Thanks guys, looks like I'm going to go for the raynox Lens.

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