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Cannabis photography question

Started 6 months ago | Discussions
theshnob New Member • Posts: 3
Cannabis photography question

hey guys. new york is now a legal cannabis state and i want to start shooting cannabis photos and more specifically macro/trichomes/close up photos. What is a good camera you guys recommend? my buddy has a canon rebel t3 i think it was and it shot some pretty nice photos. now with mirrorless cameras i dont know which way to go. my main goal is crystal clear photos for 360 degree photos but i also wouldnt mind having a camera that also shoots very good videos. any info you guys could share with me would be amazing. appreciate you guys

some examples

360 - https://stream.iconasys.com/temp/3d5318d98458e6251a0dc98e13d33a3e7a44777efeb333537effb0d7324a101cec26e43b41adace5c6540c3e03429dce4c987604255415b7d54b39a5126548a4/index.html

Canon EOS 1100D (EOS Rebel T3 / EOS Kiss X50)
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Dik2 Junior Member • Posts: 45
Re: Cannabis photography question

Trichomes?

How close you wanna get?

Here's 10X in camera, stack focused:

Willies's Tour Bus grown by Grass Roots (MD Medicinal Cannabis Grower) 10X in Camera

And here's the top of the fresh picked flower:

Willies's Tour Bus grown by Grass Roots (MD Medicinal Cannabis Grower)  .75X in Camera

 Dik2's gear list:Dik2's gear list
Canon EOS 6D Canon EOS 5DS R Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EOS R Canon EOS R5 +3 more
Dik2 Junior Member • Posts: 45
Re: Cannabis photography question
1

Most any recent interchangeable camera body will do the job. If you want new, and can find the body only in stock somewhere, Canon R7 is only $1500 and has 32 megapixels on a 1.6 crop sensor.

Focus stacking should be used for anything near 1:1 or greater.

I would recommend a Laowa 100 mm 2X Macro lens and a motorized rail.

Beyond 2X, I use a 2.5-5X Ultra Macro, or a Mituyo 10X + Raynox Tube Lens.

I mount Camera, Focus Rail, Subject Stage, Lighting Globe and Lights on a single frame.

To cope with traffic induced vibrations, the whole rig is hung from 4 long bungee cords.

 Dik2's gear list:Dik2's gear list
Canon EOS 6D Canon EOS 5DS R Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EOS R Canon EOS R5 +3 more
OP theshnob New Member • Posts: 3
Re: Cannabis photography question

holy moly.  Yeah thats a little more of a set up then i was planning on lol.  those pictures are gorgeous.  its a been couple weeks since i posted this and realized what goes into beautiful photography like this.  im a complete beginner.  2 days ago i ended up gettin a basically brand new rebel t7 with a 18-55 lens and a 75-300mm lens for a few hundred bucks.  now im just looking for the right lens.  i was actually shocked at how good a picture came out just buy turning it on and snapping a picture.  im now learning about iso and apeture and all that good stuff.  Any lens you can recommend for beginner like myself.  my buddy reccomended a 80-100mm macro.  i appreciate the reply man and beautiful trichomes and photos.  im also learning about focus stacking also.  this pic was just me opening the camera and click.   thanks again man

c h u n k
c h u n k Senior Member • Posts: 2,042
Re: Cannabis photography question

theshnob wrote:

holy moly. Yeah thats a little more of a set up then i was planning on lol. those pictures are gorgeous. its a been couple weeks since i posted this and realized what goes into beautiful photography like this. im a complete beginner. 2 days ago i ended up gettin a basically brand new rebel t7 with a 18-55 lens and a 75-300mm lens for a few hundred bucks. now im just looking for the right lens. i was actually shocked at how good a picture came out just buy turning it on and snapping a picture. im now learning about iso and apeture and all that good stuff. Any lens you can recommend for beginner like myself. my buddy reccomended a 80-100mm macro. i appreciate the reply man and beautiful trichomes and photos. im also learning about focus stacking also. this pic was just me opening the camera and click. thanks again man

1x macro lenses are probably the best starting point. You will not get extremely high magnifications with them, but there is a much steeper learning curve at magnifications over 2x.

The Canon EF100mm 2.8 L if its not too far out of budget. You can find used Canon 100mm 2.8 USM macro lenses in the $350 range. Its actually very close in image quality to the L. It just doesnt have image stabilisation and may have slightly more aberations in some scenarios, but its virtually unnoticeable. Both of Canons 100mm macros double as an excellend portrait lens. The Canon 60mm macro is also really good.

If all of those lenses are out of budget, the good news is, virtually all 3rd party lenses in the 100mm range are very good. Tamron, Sigma and Tokina all make pretty sharp macro lenses for your mount. If ya narrow down and are still unsure, post which ones you are choosing.

PS, when asking for gear advice, its helpful to include budget

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“You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!” --Dr. Seuss

 c h u n k's gear list:c h u n k's gear list
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Dik2 Junior Member • Posts: 45
Re: Cannabis photography question

theshnob wrote:

holy moly. Yeah thats a little more of a set up then i was planning on lol. those pictures are gorgeous. its a been couple weeks since i posted this and realized what goes into beautiful photography like this. im a complete beginner. 2 days ago i ended up gettin a basically brand new rebel t7 with a 18-55 lens and a 75-300mm lens for a few hundred bucks. now im just looking for the right lens. i was actually shocked at how good a picture came out just buy turning it on and snapping a picture. im now learning about iso and apeture and all that good stuff. Any lens you can recommend for beginner like myself. my buddy reccomended a 80-100mm macro. i appreciate the reply man and beautiful trichomes and photos. im also learning about focus stacking also. this pic was just me opening the camera and click. thanks again man

If you don't want to do high magnification, any autofocus Macro lens will work. Focus stacking using lens focus rather than camera movement. The longer the focal length, the more working distance you will have.

More important is the lighting! I like to have rim light from behind and soft light fill from the front. Strips of Waveform 99 CRI LEDs with dimmers are what I use. An acrylic lighting globe with lens and rear access holes, (melted with a soldering iron), provides diffusion and clean reflections.

 Dik2's gear list:Dik2's gear list
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c h u n k
c h u n k Senior Member • Posts: 2,042
Re: Cannabis photography question

Dik2 wrote:

Trichomes?

How close you wanna get?

Here's 10X in camera, stack focused:

Willies's Tour Bus grown by Grass Roots (MD Medicinal Cannabis Grower) 10X in Camera

And here's the top of the fresh picked flower:

Willies's Tour Bus grown by Grass Roots (MD Medicinal Cannabis Grower) .75X in Camera

Link to any more weed shots? I lived in Humboldt for a bunch of years and had PLENTY of opportunity to photograph it, but was before I got into photography so I just have some 25 yr old shots I took of a grow closet with a disposable camera lol. We have medical in PA so I have opportunity to shoot buds that have already been cured and packaged, but that has virtually no interest for me. I wish I had access to fresh buds/plants still. Beautiful shot. I do like the rim lighting.

What is that big globe made from? Ive seen ping pong balls for high mag shots but you have a beach ball sized ping pong ball

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**********-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**********
Some of my photos here: https://flic.kr/ps/2i6XL3
“You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!” --Dr. Seuss

 c h u n k's gear list:c h u n k's gear list
Canon EOS 70D Canon 6D Mark II Canon EF 85mm F1.8 USM Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Tamron AF 28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) +7 more
OP theshnob New Member • Posts: 3
Re: Cannabis photography question

budget for a lense id say 5-600.  i appreciate all the info man really do!

Dik2 Junior Member • Posts: 45
Re: Cannabis photography question

c h u n k wrote:

Dik2 wrote:

Trichomes?

How close you wanna get?

Here's 10X in camera, stack focused:

Willies's Tour Bus grown by Grass Roots (MD Medicinal Cannabis Grower) 10X in Camera

And here's the top of the fresh picked flower:

Willies's Tour Bus grown by Grass Roots (MD Medicinal Cannabis Grower) .75X in Camera

Link to any more weed shots? I lived in Humboldt for a bunch of years and had PLENTY of opportunity to photograph it, but was before I got into photography so I just have some 25 yr old shots I took of a grow closet with a disposable camera lol. We have medical in PA so I have opportunity to shoot buds that have already been cured and packaged, but that has virtually no interest for me. I wish I had access to fresh buds/plants still. Beautiful shot. I do like the rim lighting.

What is that big globe made from? Ive seen ping pong balls for high mag shots but you have a beach ball sized ping pong ball

The lighting globes are acrylic household light globes, usually used as hanging or flush mounted lighting, available at Home Depot, Amazon, etc. The one pictured is 8", I also have a 12" that I use for work around 1:1.

I have a custom machined aluminum mounting ring, but you can easily make one from a flush mount light globe fixture.

 Dik2's gear list:Dik2's gear list
Canon EOS 6D Canon EOS 5DS R Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EOS R Canon EOS R5 +3 more
Dik2 Junior Member • Posts: 45
Access to flowers

c h u n k wrote:

Dik2 wrote:

Trichomes?

How close you wanna get?

Here's 10X in camera, stack focused:

Willies's Tour Bus grown by Grass Roots (MD Medicinal Cannabis Grower) 10X in Camera

And here's the top of the fresh picked flower:

Willies's Tour Bus grown by Grass Roots (MD Medicinal Cannabis Grower) .75X in Camera

Link to any more weed shots? I lived in Humboldt for a bunch of years and had PLENTY of opportunity to photograph it, but was before I got into photography so I just have some 25 yr old shots I took of a grow closet with a disposable camera lol. We have medical in PA so I have opportunity to shoot buds that have already been cured and packaged, but that has virtually no interest for me. I wish I had access to fresh buds/plants still. Beautiful shot. I do like the rim lighting.

What is that big globe made from? Ive seen ping pong balls for high mag shots but you have a beach ball sized ping pong ball

I was invited to join a group tour of Grass Roots' new ten million dollar Cannabis Growing Facility, here in Maryland. After the boss spoke to the group at the end of the tour, I gave him my commercial photography business card and sought permission to return next day and photograph a flower.

I suggest you refine your lighting and setup in your studio, pick the nearest grower facility, buy one of their top 1/8ths , photograph it, have a large print made, and take it to the top guy at the grower. Offer one like it of a fresh picked, mature flower, if he'll let you set up in the facility to shoot it. Then sell him usage license for use in marketing.

 Dik2's gear list:Dik2's gear list
Canon EOS 6D Canon EOS 5DS R Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EOS R Canon EOS R5 +3 more
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