Canon 85mm lens

[rollingrockmom]

I sell doll clothes online and am looking for a lens that would give me crisp clear product photos. A party suggested the 85mm telephoto f/1.8, or a 50mm f/1.8
Does anyone have an idea what they would use?

[OsmosisStudios]

50mm f/1.8 on a tripod, set to f/5.6, lowest possible ISO.

[inkista]

IMHO, what you probably want is the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM Macro or EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro (the non-L). Both are in the $400-$500 range.

Doll clothes are small, and even if you're doing Dollfie stuff, you're going to want to show detail shots. The 85/1.8 USM is a good lens, but its minimum focus distance is 2'8". The 50/1.8 won't let you get particularly close, either.

You're also probably going to want to think about lighting gear, and at least a DIY light tent.

[rollingrockmom]

Osmosis: thanks for the reply. I have another question since I am new to all of this. Would I use AV or TV settings? Sorry if this sounds stupid, but I really would like to get this worked out, and understand a bit better.

[Canon Bob]

Originally Posted by inkista

IMHO, what you probably want is the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM Macro

Are you sure that RRM has a crop sensored body?

My personal recommendation would be an EF50/2.5 compact macro. It'll get you close enough and capture all the detail.
I'd use AV at around f/8 if your clothes are on model dolls (ie, 3 dimensional) but you could get away with f/4 if you intend to shoot them flat.

Sorry to add to the confusion.

Bob

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Canon Bob

Are you sure that RRM has a crop sensored body?

Well, that's why I also said "... or the EF 100mm f/2.8 USM".

My personal recommendation would be an EF50/2.5 compact macro. It'll get you close enough and capture all the detail.

But it only goes to 1:2 magnification, not 1:1.

I may be overthinking this, given how often my Takara Jenny collector friend makes me admire tiny little plastic shoes and purses and doll jewelry and...

[OsmosisStudios]

Ah: Doll clothes. then yes, something in the macro range would be best.

As far as AV or TV: use AV, set to f/5.6. The camera will choose the shutterspeed it needs. For best results, use a 2s timer as well.

[inkista]

Since we're talking Canon, a tripod, cable release, and mirror lock-up wouldn't go amiss either. You can turn on mirror lock-up in the camera's custom functions. Don't forget to turn it off when you're done, though, otherwise you'll be wondering why you have to keep pressing the shutter twice to take any shot and why your viewfinder keeps going black.

The tripod lets you use slower shutter speeds without introducing camera shake. Make sure you get a good sturdy one. You should expect to pay three figures for a good tripod. Cheaper ones might work, though.

A cable release and mirror lock-up are to eliminate tiny amounts of shake that can be caused by pushing the shutter button and the mirror box "slap" when you take the shot. This is more important with macro photography because when you shoot at a smaller scale the shake can get exaggerated and affect your image more than with non-macro shots.

[daft_biker]

Originally Posted by inkista

A cable release and mirror lock-up are to eliminate tiny amounts of shake that can be caused by pushing the shutter button and the mirror box "slap" when you take the shot. This is more important with macro photography because when you shoot at a smaller scale the shake can get exaggerated and affect your image more than with non-macro shots.

Totally agree....when shooting macro it makes little difference how long the lens is as to what shutter speed you can get away with. Even short lenses need high shutter speeds up close. In exteme macro you can't even rely on flash to combat camera shake.

In short the closer you go the steadier you need to be.

PS. has anybody mentioned a focus rail yet? Very handy for shooting macro on a tripod.

[daft_biker]

Originally Posted by rollingrockmom

Does anyone have an idea what they would use?

I'd use my 90mm tilt/shift lens and some extension tubes but that's a lot more expensive than a regular macro lens like the 100mm. It's also a lot more complicated to use. It is very, very good though

PS for the benefit of those that would point out that the it only does quarter lifesize and isn't a macro lens it gets pretty close to 1:1 with a full set of Kenko tubes on and the quality still surprises me, especially well stopped down.