is a 50mm good for product/food photography?

[GreenEggs_n_Ham]

considering of buying lens, is 50mm good for product photography?

cuz at events, there's low light problems, was thinking of getting canon 50mm 1.8.

but not sure if it'll affect DOF

[zac08]

Originally Posted by GreenEggs_n_Ham considering of buying lens, is 50mm good for product photography? cuz at events, there's low light problems, was thinking of getting canon 50mm 1.8. but not sure if it'll affect DOF

It may be a starting point. But you may also want to consider a macro lens for selective DOF.

[SnapJaX]

50mm is more of a portrait lens, cos of it's 0.45m Min focusing distance
so unless you're shooting medium sized objects most of the time, do consider the macro lenses IMHO

hmm, you may even want to try reversing the 50mm lens for macro too
but you'll have to work with very very close distances, less then 5 cm or even closer..

like what zac08 said, consider getting macro lens
Canon's 100mm F2.8 around 700 plus IIRC
3rd party 90mm macros around 500 plus IIRC

Check the price list over at the canon lens thread

[cantaresg]

Or consider using either extension tube or teleconverter.

[casey4355]

macro lens + teleconvertor + extension tube.
diff between macro n non macro lens, macro lenses are optically optimised for close distances. Macro lenses give u more minumum distance and magnification options than normal 50mm + TC or ext tubes alone.

[GreenEggs_n_Ham]

hey thanks y'all for the advice!

but i'm seriously just wondering if everyone misunderstood my purpose.. cuz i'm taking food/product photography... all the lenses everyone mentioned seemed to be overkill cuz i see these lenses mentioned being used for subjects like insects and small itty bitty critters.

haha.. actually my real question is if 50mm good enough i suppose...

thanks again everyone!

[catchlights]

Originally Posted by GreenEggs_n_Ham hey thanks y'all for the advice! but i'm seriously just wondering if everyone misunderstood my purpose.. cuz i'm taking food/product photography... all the lenses everyone mentioned seemed to be overkill cuz i see these lenses mentioned being used for subjects like insects and small itty bitty critters. haha.. actually my real question is if 50mm good enough i suppose... thanks again everyone!

simple answer: Yes, it is good enough.

[Artosoft]

Originally Posted by GreenEggs_n_Ham hey thanks y'all for the advice! but i'm seriously just wondering if everyone misunderstood my purpose.. cuz i'm taking food/product photography... all the lenses everyone mentioned seemed to be overkill cuz i see these lenses mentioned being used for subjects like insects and small itty bitty critters. haha.. actually my real question is if 50mm good enough i suppose... thanks again everyone!

50mm can be done. It is cheap compare to macro lens.

Macro lens, while it is mentioned macro, it is not only good for macro, but for your purpose as well. Especially it is very sharp.

Regards,
Arto

[catchlights]

PS: if your products are not to small, a short extension tube will help if you need to shoot some smaller products.

[ming9866]

Originally Posted by catchlights PS: if your products are not to small, a short extension tube will help if you need to shoot some smaller products.

hi , i am sony alpha user , any recommended lens for product shoot ? fine dishes , raw vege & great seafood from japan . be it macro or 50mm ? , please do at least do a recommendation so that i can start the search for more details . thank you .

[Dream Merchant]

Not familiar with your cam, but generally, anything that would give you an AOV from 80-150mm thereabouts would be ideal for food or products.

A dedicated macro lens, while slower and more expensive, is 'the ultimate choice' you can make as it will likely deliver much higher quality results, and you don't have to fiddle with extension tubes or close-up filters. (no offense to Catchlights ah) Your final choice really all depends on you usage, and budget.