Need a DSLR for macro photography

[50]

Hello,

I need a DSLR with a lense that can take closeup pictures of electrical components by very amateur photographers. Ideally it would be nice to be able to use one lense to do our macros as well as normal photos about 2 or 3 feet away. Anyone have any suggestions for a budget of $2000?

 

[dougp]

That's a huge budget, and you could do decent macro's with an S95.

Do you plan on using a lightbox? And how close for macro, are you talking a few cm or what?

 

[twistedlogic]

As dougp says, even a Canon S95 can do decent macros.

How much resolution do you need?

 

[Krioni]

Is that the total budget for camera, lens and all? You could get a darn good camera, lens and some macro extension tubes to get that done.

 

[50]

Maybe I should give more information. The people that will be using the camera are insistent it is a DSLR. Also, in my original post, by amateur I meant complete n00b with very little camera experience, so easy setup and auto-focus are very important features to have. No plans on using lightbox. This is the total budget for the camera with lense. I realize that the S95 is probably ideal for these people but they have their mind set on a DSLR, so I must accommodate with their request.

 

[Sp12]

There's no reason at all for it to be a DSLR. I'd venture that's probably a bad thing if they're not photo-literate.

Seeing as these will be stationary electronics, just get a decent tripod and S95.

 

[50]

Like I said, not gonna happen...has to be DSLR

 

[Maximus96]

canon 100mm 2.8 macro and any recent Rebel bodies.

 

[Lemon law]

canon 100mm 2.8 macro and any recent Rebel bodies.

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Ding ding ding we have an easy winner, but it still does not mean you won't need a tripod, a light box, and gasp ascend the the photo knowledge learning curve to make usable photo's.

For that matter you could probably do it for half the budget by using the 35-80mm lens mod method. I too droll over ever getting that $1000 100 mm f2.8 macro lens, but when it 50% of your budget, and the rebel body is a good part of the other half, it does not leave much for other required macro equipment.

The other thing to mention, when you get to close up distance, your main problem is not lens quality, its in the loss of any depth of field. What good does it do you to have a sharp image of only part of an electronic part, when lack of depth of field renders the rest of it as blurry and out of focus?

 

[CptObvious]

Get an entry-level DSLR like the D3100 or T1i - ~$600
Get a decent macro lens like the Tamron 90mm - ~$410 after rebate
Dolica tripod from Amazon - $40
Nikon SB400 or Canon 270EX flash - $120 or $150
Diffuser $20
Party with the rest

 

[Maximus96]

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Ding ding ding we have an easy winner, but it still does not mean you won't need a tripod, a light box, and gasp ascend the the photo knowledge learning curve to make usable photo's.

For that matter you could probably do it for half the budget by using the 35-80mm lens mod method. I too droll over ever getting that $1000 100 mm f2.8 macro lens, but when it 50% of your budget, and the rebel body is a good part of the other half, it does not leave much for other required macro equipment.

well the old 100mm macro, the non-L version, goes for $425 used...$600 for a used rebel, that leaves you close to $1k for everything else which is easily do-able.

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The other thing to mention, when you get to close up distance, your main problem is not lens quality, its in the loss of any depth of field. What good does it do you to have a sharp image of only part of an electronic part, when lack of depth of field renders the rest of it as blurry and out of focus?

you deal with the loss od depth of field by shooting at f/22 and tripod and lights! the $1k should cover it

 

[alexruiz]

Pentax K-5 / Pentax K-r

with

smc PENTAX D FA 50mm F2.8 Macro / smc PENTAX D FA 100mm F2.8 Macro / smc PENTAX DA 35mm F2.8 Macro Limited

 

[elitejp]

first things first the lens is defineately more important than the dslr and next if you (the op) need to be taking macro shots of something over two feet away I would dare to say that you need something more than 100mm lens. The longer the lens the better, i would think 180mm and above would be a good start.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

Hello,

I need a DSLR with a lense that can take closeup pictures of electrical components by very amateur photographers. Ideally it would be nice to be able to use one lense to do our macros as well as normal photos about 2 or 3 feet away. Anyone have any suggestions for a budget of $2000?

AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED $950ish
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022103nikonafsvr105.asp

Nikon D5100 16.2 Megapixel DX-Format Digital SLR Camera Body $800
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d5100/pdf/d5100_16p.pdf

ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control for D5100 $14

Just enough left for a tripod.

JR

 

[50]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to go with either the d3100 w/105mm f2.8 or Rebel t3i and 100mm f/2.8. Can anyone recommend a tripod? I think getting a diffuser or light box might be too much (in terms of skill set) for these people. Will I still be able to take decent pics without?

 

[Anubis]

what was that macro lens Wally used to use? I thought it was a canon, was a special lens that could do something silly like 6:1 macro

 

[Krioni]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to go with either the d3100 w/105mm f2.8 or Rebel t3i and 100mm f/2.8. Can anyone recommend a tripod? I think getting a diffuser or light box might be too much (in terms of skill set) for these people. Will I still be able to take decent pics without?

Tripod: go with a midrange bogen/manfrotto tripod and ball head.

Should be able to get the legs and ball head for around $200-250 for the set.

 

[Silenus]

If you go Nikon you do NOT need to get the 105 2.8 macro. Unnecessary expense. Get the newer Nikon 85mm VR macro since you will have DX camera. Or the Tamron 90mm 2.8 with BIM.

 

[Anubis]

ID get a 150/180 over a shorter one even on a DX camera. larger working distance is soo much easier

i have the older nikon 105 (non VR) its a great lens but having used the Tamron 180 and the godlike nikon 200 the extra working range is great

 

[JohnnyRebel]

If you go Nikon you do NOT need to get the 105 2.8 macro. Unnecessary expense. Get the newer Nikon 85mm VR macro since you will have DX camera. Or the Tamron 90mm 2.8 with BIM.

The 105 f/2.8 is on my wish list as I put together my stuff for freelance work. It is a great lens and within budget. I never minded having a great lens.

I want to be able to get away from my subject a bit so my lighting is a lot easier. The 105 is about half the price of the 200 I'd really want.

JR

 

[Lemon law]

To 50,

A few things to point out----------

1. Electronic components, because they don't move around, are ideal macro subjects.

2. As Maximus pointed out, the only real way, is to have light, more light, and more light, so you can use F22 or an even a slower F stop. A light box may be ideal for evenly distributed light, but very slow shutter speeds are easily permitted as long as nothing moves and your tripod is sturdy.

3. An autofocus lens in your macro case is worthless, simply because you don't focus with the lens, its best to move the Camera closer or further to the object to achieve sharp focus, ideally with some rack and pinion mechanism mounted on your tripod.

4. Then this forum has ignored the the real question, in what formatting how are the resultant photo's going to be viewed by the end user? If they will be published in some catalog in say 3"x5" format or smaller, a super high megapixel count will not be needed, because no one will see the difference. But if they are going to be viewed blown up to 11"x14" size or larger, sharp detail then becomes critical and you better make sure, the result image covers every square millimeter of the camera sensor because cropping will then become human eye visible.

5. Then we somewhat ignore the human factor, you are probably going to be adjusting your focus with your own eye looking through the Camera view finder. If your own human body can comfortable look through the viewfinder you can take many photos of various components in almost an assembly line method, but if you have contort your body in a twisted uncomfortable fashion, it not only going to really slow you down, after some period of time your whole body will hurt. In my case the only way I get my el cheapo tripod to have rack and pion focus is to view straight up and down. But its probably better for human comfort to have about a 45 degree down angle while sitting in a chair.

 

[50]

These pictures will not be blown up, so high megapixel sensor will not be needed. I don't know much about f stops. I assume the higher the number the slower the shutter speeds therefore the less need for more light? Is the t3i overkill?

There seems to be varying opinion about the 100mm lens. Some are recommending 150mm or 180mm, while others have recommended <100mm. Is there a definitive answer?

 

[Lotheron]

These pictures will not be blown up, so high megapixel sensor will not be needed. I don't know much about f stops. I assume the higher the number the slower the shutter speeds therefore the less need for more light? Is the t3i overkill?

There seems to be varying opinion about the 100mm lens. Some are recommending 150mm or 180mm, while others have recommended <100mm. Is there a definitive answer?

1. Please read up about basic photography before you begin spending any money on gear. The F/ stops, or Aperture actually control the amount of light that is allowed to hit the sensor. It also affects DOF (Depth of Field)... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture

2. As said before, it depends on what you are planning on shooting. There is no one trick pony when it comes to camera lenses. There's a reason they make so many different ones, each one has it's place to the right photog.

 

[50]

1. Please read up about basic photography before you begin spending any money on gear. The F/ stops, or Aperture actually control the amount of light that is allowed to hit the sensor. It also affects DOF (Depth of Field)... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture

2. As said before, it depends on what you are planning on shooting. There is no one trick pony when it comes to camera lenses. There's a reason they make so many different ones, each one has it's place to the right photog.

1. Thanks for the link.

2. I thought I was very clear in my posts what would be shot with the camera...

 

[yhelothar]

How closeup do you need these pictures to be?

In macro photography, how closeup a photo will be is measured with a factor called magnification.
Magnification is how big an object will be on the sensor. For example, 1:1 magnification means a quarter will be captured on the sensor the same size as real life.
Keep in mind that a sensor on a DSLR is 24x16mm

So an actual poster sized image is going to blow it up hundreds of times more.

Based on this, what kind of magnification do you think you need? 1x is tremendously close up. It may be possible that any regular lens will work fine for you, especially if your photo resolution size requirements isn't high and that would allow for cropping.

You may be fine with the kit lens and just using the on camera flash.

You also shouldn't need a tripod when you're using a flash.

Here's a shot taken with the kit lens. This is uncropped so you can crop 1/4th of the pic and get the same image quality.