I'd also like to mention that one of the most frequent questions I am asked is what camera I use. I almost always reply that it is the wrong question to ask, because I have found lighting to be the most important factor, combined with an appropriate exposure. Equipment is important, but technique trumps equipment.
I use a Nikon D200, and have a D300 on pre-order, which I am expecting in a month or so. I have come to prefer the Nikkor 60mm Micro lens for taking these types of photos. It is a genuine macro lens. Some think that "macro" simply means the ability to focus closely. Not true. Macro lenses also ensure correct perspective, meaning that objects with straight lines or edges will appear straight, not slightly curved. And, macro lenses generally offer smaller apertures, for increased depth-of-field.
for me, there are 2 elements of equipment that are important, outside of set up. The sensor quality at a given iso, and the maximum apertures and sharpness of the lens. certain pictures I've seen on here have been taken at 400+iso, and the grain is very visible, where as with a higher end canon or (any other brand), the grain would not have been visible until 800+, especially in a tripod set up.
and it's always interesting to know how far away the person is from the subject
if your using a 24mm macro your going to be pretty close in there to get a full frame image, and your subject is more likely to suffer from some level of perspective distortion (the back is smaller then the front), where as with a 300mm macro lens - your gonna be across the room
, but it will suffer from almost no visual distortion from front to back on a tilted object.
as far as pin cushioning or barrel distortion - it's worth noting that photoshop cs2 or higher has fantastic lens distortion correction. you can figure out what the perfect + or - number for your lens is to correct for the distortion, set a keyboard marcro for it and bam, with the press of 2 buttons the distortion from your photo is gone.
I've found that for art photography that is mostly hand held, the camera used is not that important, its the artistic vision and eye of the person using the camera that really determines the quality of the photo.
but with product photography, the other elements of your equipment begin to become more important, like your lighting set up, your lens, and the positioning/ settings you use for a given product.
the hardest thing to over come that I've seen and experienced is captureing the extremes of the dynamic range, essentially leveling out everything so that information is not lost across the board. bussecollector is doing good, but his lighting is to severe, leaving shadowed area's that lack information, or bright area's that are blown out. (but definitely getting there
:thumbup: )
your photography is pretty much crisp and visible from head to toe. so ya, hats off to you for it! :thumbup:
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