help with shooting small item


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hptay

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Dec 12, 2002
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Just wondering if anyone has had experience with photographing small items like coins, stamp, gem stones.. what your setup like?

I read that some people will use etender tubes to reduce the working distance and also to enlarge the item. Anyone tried using a extender + macro lens before? I am curious because macro lens already has a very short focusing distancing.. will it be an overkill to use the entension tubes or is it very norm? say.. i wan a 5 cent coin to fill up the entire frame...

:dunno:
 

hptay said:
Just wondering if anyone has had experience with photographing small items like coins, stamp, gem stones.. what your setup like?

I read that some people will use etender tubes to reduce the working distance and also to enlarge the item. Anyone tried using a extender + macro lens before? I am curious because macro lens already has a very short focusing distancing.. will it be an overkill to use the entension tubes or is it very norm? say.. i wan a 5 cent coin to fill up the entire frame...

:dunno:
Hiee...looks like you are doing a more than life size magnification.
Well, with digital, you could crop to achieve full frame. Where
image quality still maintained for higher megapixels.

For FIlm, it kinda similar too.....crop to size and blow up to your needs.

A 1:1 (usually the 100mm,50mm or 200mm) macro lens would be a good start point. A 1:2 (half life size) may be okay though a little smaller.

Rgds,
sulhan
 

hptay said:
canon 50mm macro + sigma 500DG

you can shoot with one flash but it will limit your light setups a little, i suggest to get white boards and reflectors to bounce more light.

for 50mm, i tried to add a 25mm extender but the working range is very close too close to really work (a few cm), that will block off your flash light somehow.
sorry not that expert in this, dunno a 12mm extender will work better or try to get a 100mm and above lens with extender, the 100mm need not be a macro lens, i use a 28-135 and work with 100-135mm +25mm extension tube to get sufficent space for my lights with 2 550ex.

otherwise you can crop with using the 50mm macro.
 

Thanks belle&sebastian, sulhan.

Seems like cropping would be the most economical as I do not currently own a extender set. Read that extender/magnifiers reduce the light intake .. guess that means will prob need longer time for exposure..

from previous experience.. i usually use ambient light to take macros instead of with flash. At f11 or f16, the exposure will take a while. Tried a few times with flash but wasnt successful (more so with gems). Even with bouncing off a white surface produced very unpleasant reflections resulting in lost of details...

Currently waiting for eastgear to bring in their studio lights.. den gonna try the macro shots again.. this time with multiple flash source + softboxes.. perhaps the pro-line tents may help?

hmmm :)
 

hptay said:
Thanks belle&sebastian, sulhan.

Seems like cropping would be the most economical as I do not currently own a extender set. Read that extender/magnifiers reduce the light intake .. guess that means will prob need longer time for exposure..

from previous experience.. i usually use ambient light to take macros instead of with flash. At f11 or f16, the exposure will take a while. Tried a few times with flash but wasnt successful (more so with gems). Even with bouncing off a white surface produced very unpleasant reflections resulting in lost of details...

Currently waiting for eastgear to bring in their studio lights.. den gonna try the macro shots again.. this time with multiple flash source + softboxes.. perhaps the pro-line tents may help?

hmmm :)

if you shoot gems, better get a black matt box that covers everything to prevent additonal/stray lights, my style of shooting does not yet require me to use a tripod for this style of setups, so flashes are more of use to me. that i manual the light for it. not yet shot with gems, working on shoes, toys, food at the moment.
 

i actually use the pro line tent to diffuse the flashlights for my toys, the shiny plastic will be overexpose if i use the lights directly. vinyls are sweet to shoot.
 

I guess that you are not using camera mounted flash?
Gonna try some food photos this weekend. any tips?
would luv to hear about your experience
 

hptay said:
I guess that you are not using camera mounted flash?
Gonna try some food photos this weekend. any tips?
would luv to hear about your experience


i like Wallpaper magazine kind of food shots, i use one 550EX, flashhead 90 degree with a A4 white cardboard to bounce down to the food from the top of the food.

i add a side light on my left as my master (550EX, 0 degree with a4 bounce card) with the off shoe cord and a white board infornt of me to difuse the shadows if i'm shooting with plates.

i sometimes use bulblight too, no tripod so i bum to iso800.
 

sounds like fun. I am short of the off shoe cord, do u think an IR transmitter will serve the same function?

Do u use a light meter to check the various area for exposure? Thanks.
 

hptay said:
sounds like fun. I am short of the off shoe cord, do u think an IR transmitter will serve the same function?

Do u use a light meter to check the various area for exposure? Thanks.


not sure about the IR transmitter thingie,

i use DSLR historgram to check for exposure and experience with learning. :)
 

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