Photography Brehs - I Wan't To Take Food Porn, What's the Cheapest Camera and Lens I Need?

[observe]

Since the iphone age every fakkit is taking pics of their food like nikkas give a fukk

 

[Remote]

You could also get a decent shot with great bokeh if you have a high zoom lens...like a cheap 300mm lens.

If you're fair away enough and zoom in...and if there's great lighting...you can achieve the same effect.

 

[Tunez]

I nutted a lil staring at that pizza

 

[tater]

Here's some of the pics I've taken with my P&S. They are not going to be as impressive as a DSLR, but if you're on a budget…

Okay…that was a lot, but I just wanted you to get an idea. I really like my camera, it's actually the second I've bought of the Canon Sx models. If you are strictly shooting food, I think you should play around with some different models. A P&S may suit your needs!

 

[froggle]

Are you a paid photographer or just shooting for personal use? If for personal use, a kit lens should be sufficient. These lens are cheaper but not really used by pros but good for the everyday person who's just taking pictures.

Well it is really for a travel website I want to start, but it would also have food heavily in it. So I was trying to kill two birds with one stone, but I also dont want to look crappy as I know the images are a big selling point.

The lenses that cost the most money (generally) are the ones with the biggest apertures (the smaller the number).

So (f = aperture), a lens that can open up to f/1.4 is a bigger aperture (the hole opens bigger in the lens to allow more light to go through) than a lens that is open to...say f/11.

When you have a lens that costs $2,000...like the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8...what that means is that it doesn't matter what focal length you're zoomed to (70mm or 200mm), you can still have an aperture of 2.8. What this does is it allows more light to reach the censor...so the shutter doesn't have to be open as long...and thus avoiding camera shake and blur. It also has the added benefit of giving you a shallow depth of field...which is a nice way of saying "bokeh" ...or "that nice blur around the photo".

Making a lens like that costs a lot of money.

When you buy a camera kit...like one that comes with your typical 18-55mm lens...those lenses are typically f/3.5 - 5.6. Which means that when you zoom out to 18mm, the biggest aperture you can use is 3.5. And when you zoom out to 55mm, the biggest aperture you can use is 5.6.

Make sense?

So if you have never used a DSLR and you have one of these high end lenses. The pictures will still come out looking ( i know there is an art to photography as well)

 

[Remote]

Well it is really for a travel website I want to start, but it would also have food heavily in it. So I was trying to kill two birds with one stone, but I also dont want to look crappy as I know the images are a big selling point.



So if you have never used a DSLR and you have one of these high end lenses. The pictures will still come out looking ( i know there is an art to photography as well)

The problem is this...and it's very frustrating to anyone who is trying to learn about photography....

Equipment doesn't make you take amazing pictures. It's really just up to you.
Lots and lots of trial and error, breh. Nobody wants to hear that but it's the truth.

There have been amazing pictures taken with basic level cameras and lenses.

If you just want to get started, hit up craigslist...find yourself a cheap used DSLR...I'm almost certain you won't pay more than $400 (probably less if it's a few years old).
Get a cheap lens...the 18-55 zoom lens is fine as an all-around lens.
But get a 35mm or 50mm f/1.8 or 1.4 if you can find one.

And go to work.

It's digital these days so you don't have to worry about making mistakes and paying for rolls upon rolls of film.

Doesn't matter if you want to shoot Nikon or Canon or Pentax or Sony...
Until you get into higher levels of photography, it's all more or less the same shyt.