Need professional advise for product photography lens for Canon 7D

Question

I am a graphic designer with a lot of experience in the studio but I now find myself needing to do my own product shots in my home studio space of 12' x 12.' I am looking hard at the Canon 7D moving up from 40D and I need to know the best lens or lenses to shoot items such as rifles, glassware, china, and small housewares, etc. I will also need to purchase either soft boxes or umbrellas and am looking for advise on this issue as well. Photos will be used for e-commerce and possibly for catalogs. All comments appreciated!

Answer 1

Amscot56 wrote:
I am a graphic designer with a lot of experience in the studio but I now find myself needing to do my own product shots in my home studio space of 12' x 12.' I am looking hard at the Canon 7D moving up from 40D and I need to know the best lens or lenses to shoot items such as rifles, glassware, china, and small housewares, etc. I will also need to purchase either soft boxes or umbrellas and am looking for advise on this issue as well. Photos will be used for e-commerce and possibly for catalogs. All comments appreciated!
Hi,
This is not an easy question that can be answered with a short reply, but here there are some items you might find helpful:
LENSES:
Considering the 1.6x crop factor of your EOS 7D, I think a Canon 50mm 1.4 USM should be fine for many of your shots, assuming you have enough space in your room and the item is not too large, otherwise you should go wider to EF 35mm f/2.0 IS USM or the more expensive EF 35mm f/1.4L USM
Of course, if you want a wider range of focal lengths to work with and lot more versatility, then you might want a Caon EF 24-70 2.8L II USM (our favorite) which has excellent sharpness and IQ, but it's more expensive. It's not so "fast" compared to the above, but in studio conditions you'll probably won't use faster apertures than f/2.8 or f/4
The advantage of these lenses compared to EF-S ones, is that if you switch to a full frame camera in future, you will be able to use them as well without any issues. Good investments in our opinion.
LIGHT STANDS & ACCESSORIES:
These are some cheap but very nice built quality stands & accessories that won't hurt your budget:
- Impact - Air-Cushioned Heavy Duty Light Stand - Black,9.5' (2.9m)
- Impact - Telescopic Collapsible Reflector Holder
- Impact - Umbrella Bracket with Adjustable Shoe
- Impact - Umbrella - White Translucent (43")
- Impact - Convertible Umbrella - White Satin with Removable Black Backing - 45"
Of course there are lot of other options, but these ones have worked pretty good for us, considering their price.
You can also attach softbox, etc.
Hope this helps!
Regards
HD Cam Team
Group of photographers and filmmakers using Canon cameras for serious purposes.
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