Ideal Lens For Food Photographs Of Food

I need some assistance. What Nikon lens would you recommend for a Nikon D7100 camera for taking food photos on board a cruise? I'm thinking either a 35 mm or 50 mm lens but not sure if that is right and if it was right which would be the ideal choice.

Thanks,

Keith

You could honestly go with either, but if I were using a D7100 which is a DX format lens, I would go with the 35mm. I would also base your decision around what other applications you plan on using the lens for on your trip and of course which is a sharper lens, though you could micro adjust them.

You could honestly go with either, but if I were using a D7100 which is a DX format lens, I would go with the 35mm. I would also base your decision around what other applications you plan on using the lens for on your trip and of course which is a sharper lens, though you could micro adjust them.

Appreciate this good question by Keith. Agree with above by Wuwho. For a our Australia-NZ trip (connected by a link below), I got a Nikon 35mm, f1.8 lens that worked well with my new Nikon D7100. Below are a few examples for how things worked on these food porn pix's, etc. Plus, this lens also worked well in capturing ship entertainment visuals where that higher speed was important. These were shot at 800 ISO. That helps, too! Like??

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 65,514 views for this fun posting.

For dining in Tuscan Grille on the Solstice in January while sailing from Australia to New Zealand, we started with a nice glass of sparkling Italian wine (Prosecco Spumanti). The best is always saved for last . . . a nicely designed and super tasting of this Italian favorite, Tiramisu.:

For dessert, the choice was Grand Marnier soufflé. The sauce? Crème Anglaise á la Gousse Tahitienne.:

Here is a photo highlight from our ship's production show called "Ghostlight--The Spirit of Broadway" done with the Nikkor 35mm F1.4 lens. Lots of great tunes, including many from the Four Seasons as done on Broadway with Jersey Boys. Nice lighting, staging, sets, etc.:

I'm not sure ther is a "perfect" lens for food. Below is a link to the Food and Venues gallery from our sailing on the Reflection last year. They were taken with everything from an 8mm fisheye to the long end of my kit zoom.

http://galleries.pptphoto.com/caribbean201309

More important than focal length would be a steady hand and stabilization for the generally poor light in the dining venues. A wide aperture is good for some things, but you will need at least f/5.6 to avoid having half the dish or drink outside of the depth of field.

F/8 at 1/6s - Kit lens at 22mm

f/5.6 at .4s - kit lens at 39mm (f/1.8 would have had half a berry in focus)

F5.6 at 1/200 - 8mm fisheye

Composition, angle and just holding the darned camera still will have a greater impact on your food photos than lens choice.

Enjoy your cruise and of course, the food!

Dave

I'm not sure ther is a "perfect" lens for food. Composition, angle and just holding the darned camera still will have a greater impact on your food photos than lens choice. Dave

Appreciate the excellent points and great photos from Dave. Yes, a combination of factors!! Not just the equipment. Plus, patience, taking several pictures, etc., all are a part of the "luck" to improve your odds for getting good food and cruise pictures.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 148,414 views. Nice to be hitting this high of a level for viewership. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

wuhu, Dave and Terry thank you for your input on this.

Some wonderful photos that you shared and I appreciate all of the input.

Keith

It depends how close you want to go

eg: these are probably too close

DoF issue

Above were with a 60mm Nikon macro - Im thinking not the best tool for the job

After that I've moved to my 24-70 (which so far is my favorite walk about lens as well) or more often using my phone or Nikon AW110

as people tend to stare if I pull a DSLR out in the middle of dinner.

Emperor Norton, thanks for your thoughts and the photos.

Keith

It really comes down how you use it. I shoot food primarily with a 24-70 however you could shoot with either the 35 or the 50. I rarely shoot wide open unless the light is really low. Your depth of field with be determined not only by your aperture but also by the distance you are away from your subject. I usually shoot between f/5.6-9 to try to get the desired depth. Another important factor in shooting food is to shoot in RAW so that you can adjust color in post since lighting in restaurants is always tricky.

Thanks GoofyontheSeas.

Keith

Thank you all who have responded.

I take a lot of photos on our cruise both on and off the ship as I do an extensive blog.

I am always looking for ways to improve and this board always has a wealth of information.

It is truly one of the best boards on Cruise Critic.

Lots of great ideas.

Again, my thanks for those who posted their thoughts and if anyone has any additional recommendations I appreciate any and all thoughts.

Keith

I took these with a 17 to 55 f2.8 zoom on a D7000. A zoom works best for me.

I took these with a 17 to 55 f2.8 zoom on a D7000. A zoom works best for me.

 

Here are other non food and food images from our cruise last year.

When I go on a cruise I take a lot of images too. With digital why not?

Here are other non food and food images from our cruise last year.

When I go on a cruise I take a lot of images too. With digital why not?

Appreciate the pictures and fine postings done by our "neighbor" to the west in Indianapolis. Really great job with the pictures on the ship and especially with the people/staff, etc. Well put together!!!

And, you are 100% correct that in today's digital world, it makes it so much easy to shoot lots and only pick the "best of the best"!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

If Venice is one of your future desires or past favorites, you might look at this earlier posting that I did on the Italy board that shows many options and visual potentials for this city that is so great for "walking around", personally sampling the great history and architecture. This posting is now at 40,598 views and I appreciate those who have dropped by and tuned in.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

You probably don't want to shoot with a flash unless you're bouncing it, so you want a lens with a big aperture. That said, you don't want too small of a depth of field so a wider angle lens would be preferable to a zoom.

Sigma has an 18-35mm F/1.8 lens that gets high marks for sharpness. You could be closer to the food as you shoot (more unobtrusive) and shoot with natural light without using a super-high ISO.

I'm bringing my brother's Nikon and this Sigma on our upcoming cruise and he and I were just discussing this kind of use for the trip.

I'm a food photographer, and looking forward to our next cruise. I take my 35mm and my 50mm macro for my D7000. Also try and get some natural light, but if you can't, pump up the iso and check the white balance for different lighting situations

Karen

It really comes down how you use it. I shoot food primarily with a 24-70 however you could shoot with either the 35 or the 50. I rarely shoot wide open unless the light is really low. Your depth of field with be determined not only by your aperture but also by the distance you are away from your subject. I usually shoot between f/5.6-9 to try to get the desired depth. Another important factor in shooting food is to shoot in RAW so that you can adjust color in post since lighting in restaurants is always tricky.

 

The photos look great. I don't know how to shoot i n the raw. I guess I have to take a class.

I need some assistance. What Nikon lens would you recommend for a Nikon D7100 camera for taking food photos on board a cruise? I'm thinking either a 35 mm or 50 mm lens but not sure if that is right and if it was right which would be the ideal choice.

 

Thanks,

 

Keith

G'day Kieth

Are you shooting full frame or crop.

On a Canon crop I'm a bt partial to the EF-S 60mm Macro. On a full frame the EF 50 mm Macro's pretty handy.

Or any of the zooms in the 18- or 24- make a good all rounder and will probably serve you well while being useful for other work so you aren't carrying too much gear.

It really comes down how you use it. I shoot food primarily with a 24-70 however you could shoot with either the 35 or the 50. I rarely shoot wide open unless the light is really low. Your depth of field with be determined not only by your aperture but also by the distance you are away from your subject. I usually shoot between f/5.6-9 to try to get the desired depth. Another important factor in shooting food is to shoot in RAW so that you can adjust color in post since lighting in restaurants is always tricky.

 

That burger looks good enough to eat.

G'day Kieth

 

Are you shooting full frame or crop.

 

On a Canon crop I'm a bt partial to the EF-S 60mm Macro. On a full frame the EF 50 mm Macro's pretty handy.

 

Or any of the zooms in the 18- or 24- make a good all rounder and will probably serve you well while being useful for other work so you aren't carrying too much gear.

I would be shorting full frame.

Thank you for the suggestions.

Keith

I'm a food photographer, and looking forward to our next cruise. I take my 35mm and my 50mm macro for my D7000. Also try and get some natural light, but if you can't, pump up the iso and check the white balance for different lighting situations

 

Karen

Karen, may I ask which model lenses you use?

Also, if you only could use one which one it would be?

Thanks,

Keith

If I were to only take one lens for food shots, it would be my 16-50 kit lens. Quality on kit lenses is vastly improved over previous generations and with advances in ISO sensitivity and stabilization, you can get terrific photos with a little effort.

A lot of "real photographers" sneer at kit lenses and while it's true that expensive glass is expensive for good reason, for 95% of the photos taken on a trip you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a shot taken with a modern kit lens and one taken with a $1200 "pro" lens. They are light, compact and a tremendous bargain considering their price/performance value.

I have my share of fast primes, f/2.8 zooms and a much-loved 100mm macro but that darned kit lens has earned my respect and is a go-to favorite for general photography.

Dave

I would be shorting full frame.

 

Thank you for the suggestions.

 

Keith

If you're shooting with a D7100, you are shooting crop. Confusing I realize because the D7100 has an actual "crop mode" tat shoots 1.3x rather than "normal" which is 1.5x for any Nikon DX camera

I'm a bit of a "lazy photographer" most of my food pics are taken from my seat in front of my meal. All of my pics are below 50mm (so 35mm on a DX D7100). Between the two I'd choose the 35mm DX, I wouldn;t want to get up and back up to fit a whole plate in my shot. But at the same time I would just use my 16-85.

On the assumption you have a lens for the D7100 right now, why not just go do some practice pics in your kitchen with a plate. Any kit lens that came with it will cover both 35mm and 50mm (unless you bought just the body of course)

Dave and CT_Sean thank you both so much for the additional input.

Keith

If you're shooting with a D7100, you are shooting crop. Confusing I realize because the D7100 has an actual "crop mode" tat shoots 1.3x rather than "normal" which is 1.5x for any Nikon DX camera.

How does the camera mimic the crop factor of a larger sensor? I can understand a "digital" zoom cropping smaller than the 1.5x of the APS-C but 1.3x would require capturing some of the image circle outside the edge of the APS-C sensor.

Dave