So everybody knows that a Digital SLR is much better than a point and shoot. How much better though? I would compare it to Home Brand ice cream against Gelato Messina. No competition there.
If you were a loyal long term reader, then some of you might realise the significant improvement in picture quality ever since October 2010. That was when I got my sexy Canon EOS 550D.
A good'o comparison picture explains all.
Point and Shoot
DSLR
Same restaurant, same dish but totally different effect. You can see that the image is much sharper, macro effect is better and the image have a feeling of depth.
I bought the Canon 550D twin lens pack but once I started to tread waters into the world of DSLRs, I realised that the two lenses are crap and desperately needed an upgrade.
During the awesome lunch at Lotus, I hassled Mr. D about camera lenses. Comon, I'm not gonna miss out the opportunity to ask a photographer when I was sitting next to him!
Since there is an overwhelming amount of lenses and I'm a little dim witted in this area, I am now debating between 5 different lenses to use for food photography (I mainly shoot in restaurants with dim lighting).
This is where you guys come into play. Help me decide please!
Canon EF 24mm f2.8 $479.95
Canon EF 28mm f2.8 $319.95
Canon EF 50mm f2.5 Macro $449.95
Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II $149.95
Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM $499.95
Obviously, these lenses are all within my budget but I am really having a hard time deciding what I should get cause the descriptions pretty much sound the same to me! Photography forums all say different things and I am now more confused than ever. I would be greatly appreciated if you can share your opinions :)
The descriptions and specs are all written in the links so please click to see!
All images of the lenses are taken off of the Ted's Camera website.
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10 sugary comments:
Since you're mainly going to take photos of food... 50mm 1.8 is the best choice, and alot of food photographers use it too..
not only that it is a great portrait lens... good value for money! i definitely recommend it :)
the shorter lenses wont give you as much 'depth'.
i have the 1.4 its not bad, though quite expensive for a somewhat fragile lens... it 'broke' itself like 2x...somehow if you nudge it hard enough it screws the focusing up... and i've spent $300 fixing it :(
i'd rather save the $350 and put it towards a speedlight =))) or other lenses!
/ends photographer rant
wow! awesome rant though. didnt know the 1.4 was that fragile!
It kind of depends on whether your preference is being able to take in a wider view without having to stand up or move away from the table or whether you expect the lens to perform reasonably well in terrible low-light conditions. Go for the 24mm f/2.8 for the former and either of the 50mm lenses for the latter.
Using a 50mm lens on a smaller sensor as you have with your DSLR can be a little annoying if the food is right in front of you and you don't have room to move it back a little, but for low light performance it's the best of the lot.
I wouldn't worry about the macro unless you specifically prefer the types of shots you'd get from it.
One thing that I'd suggest to help with your decision is to bring your DSLR body into a camera store and try it out for yourself. Bring a model food item with you and take a number of test shots at varying angles/distances with each lens, take the images home, process and compare.
Whilst I don't want to scare you away from the 50mm f/1.4 I've also had one go bad on me just outside of warranty. It's a good enough lens that I got another one but something to bear in mind.
Hope that helps :)
hey hey! i use the 50mm 1.4 for all my food shots...its amazing! but reading the comments above - had no idea its that fragile..just gotta be extra careful then!
Agree with the 50mm 1.8
More than suitable for taking exceptionally sharp clear images of food and very affordable.
I'd lend you one to play with but I am in another city
if you had a 5D then go for the 50 mm 1.8 or 1.4. but since you have a 550D i think you might prefer to have a wider angle because you essentially will need to x1.6. so a 50 mm on a 550D will end up being an 80 mm lens which can be too close for dishes in front of you. have a look at the 28mm f/1.8 as well. this is the one i got after seeing it on pigged-out's camera. has been working well in low light and ends up being about a 45mm lens with the 1.6 crop factor. i have it on a 60D :-)
hon', I have a 50mm 1.4 and use it all the time - I never take it off my dslr...well now I can't because I just sold my other lens as I never used it anyway. Hope this helps!
thank you everyone for your suggestions!!
@Simon@the heart of food: that is an excellent idea! should bring in a model and play around with the lenses before buying
@Vivienne: julz said her 50mm f/1.8 broke too. both are quite fragile.
@Kev: awwwe, way to get my hopes up and then tell me you're not in Sydney :(
@Simon food favourites: ill check that lens out too!
@Ayana: ohhhh~ most people seem to have the 50mm f/1.4. which dslr do you have though?
i'd go for the 28mm f2.8. value for money. the extra you have to pay for the 24mm is not worth it... better off using that money u save towards a holiday... or more BB products...hehe....
the 50mm is great, but only for light... and if you shoot food at f1.4, you'd end up with shallow depth of field shots...which is not something you want for food shots...
with a wider lens (ie, one with a shorter focal length), you can hand hold at a slower shutter speed to compensate for your lack of "f1.4"
:)
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