What is your lens choice for photographing watches?

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Mattibro26

·Feb 11, 2021

Deafboy

I took this picture of my Vulcain Cricket at the Apple store using the iPhone 11 (Pro?).

- Handheld
- Store lighting
- I have some tremor
- Straight shot (no image post-processing)

I was stunned by the quality of the picture.

Wow, maybe the most beautiful vulcain cricket ever seen! Congrats.

I use a Canon 100D with the classic EFS 18-55mm.

Do you have some advice on getting a new macro camera lens?

Best!!

 

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swaini3

·Feb 21, 2021

This was shot using a Huawei mate 20, some basic editing obviously.

 

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Ness

·Feb 21, 2021

swaini3

obviously.

Super cool. Well done

 

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sgrenald

·Feb 21, 2021

S Shay

Hi All,

i have a Nikon d330 with a kit lenses 18-55. However that lense doesn’t focus and zoom well. Has anyone got experience with the camera and can recommend a suitable lense?

Best

I got a Tamron 90mm macro for my Nikon D70 back in the day. It worked great and was considered the "poor man's Micro-Nikkor" because it was a lot less expensive than Nikon's 60mm or 105mm lenses. It won't autofocus on a D3300, because it doesn't have a motor drive. Although the newer model might. You might look at upgrading your camera, too. If you want to stick with Nikon and crop sensors (I shoot Nikon & micro4/3) I'd suggest the Z50 two-lens kit, or wait for the Z70. Alternatively, the Fuji cameras are supposed to be excellent. I'd avoid the Canon M series and Sony cropped sensor cameras.

 

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felsby

·Mar 11, 2021·I don't see any option in settings or profile

- the one you got in the drawer. I got an AI-converted Micro-Nikkor-P 55/3.5 from a lot of five lenses and an F2 I got for 200$. It does the job excellently.

 

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Risto

·Mar 12, 2021

Just got Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x macro lens. Manual. I use it with Fuji X-T4. One sample I took another day. It can focus very closely.

 

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Alpha

·Mar 12, 2021·Kilt Owner, Beagle Parent, Omega Collector

Still getting by with the old iPhone XR

 

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wolfrichter

·Mar 22, 2021

What I can't recommend enough are reverse rings, allowing to attach the lens the "wrong way around". Takes some practice, a good tripod and tons of light, so nothing to do at night or in a hurry.
The photos were taken with a Canon 24mm 2.8 on either a 7D Mk. II or a 70D, can't quite recall.

 

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felsby

·Mar 22, 2021·I don't see any option in settings or profile

wolfrichter

What I can't recommend enough are reverse rings, allowing to attach the lens the "wrong way around". Takes some practice, a good tripod and tons of light, so nothing to do at night or in a hurry. (...)

I often use my 50/1.4 handheld and reverse-pointed as a high-resolution loupe. Very effective.

 

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wolfrichter

·Mar 22, 2021

@felsby I also do own that exact lens and also shot freehand before I got the reverse mount. It really is great as a loupe. For me the 15 bucks for the reverse mount really were worth it, as there are less distortions and, if you also want to take pictures, you can use a tripod. By the way if you have a more wide angle lens, the magnification will be even greater, though the depth of field way more shallow. That's the point where you really can't go without f/22 and a tripod 😁

(edit: typo)

Edited: Mar 22, 2021

 

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wolfrichter

·Mar 22, 2021

Mattibro26

I use a Canon 100D with the classic EFS 18-55mm.

Do you have some advice on getting a new macro camera lens?

With "only" a 100D (not trying to offend you) I wouldn't go full overkill buying a 100mm Canon Macro, as the camera probably won't be able to live up to the quality of the lenses. Instead I would recommend getting the Sigma 105mm or the second to latest Gen Tamron 90mm. Both should be available for around 250 bucks.
While they both have IS and autofocus I would recommend turning both off and using a tripod, as for macro shots the autofocus is often not 101% at the place you want it to be.

Or you could go for the reverse mount I mentioned in a prior post, way cheaper, though it will be less comfortable.

 

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Risto

·Mar 26, 2021

399 USD lens Laowa 65mm 2x is really good. Took this hand-held.

 

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Watchtime

·May 31, 2021

For my it’s a Canon 1Dx with 24-70mm f/2.8 L Lens and an extension tube. 😉

 

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Hans the Wolf

·Jul 20, 2021

I use an Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 60/2,8 Macro with my Olympus E-M1 Mark III. A nice thing with that camera is that it has built-in functionality for automatic focus stacking (Olympus calls it "focus bracketing") of up to 15 pictures. This picture is unfortunately not a focus stacked one as you all can see:

 

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KeyWestPaw

·Jul 20, 2021

I took this with my samsung galaxy s20...
my canon 100mm macro takes a better photo but this is pretty decent for macro...

 

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Vintage.View

·Feb 3, 2022

1970's Canon FD 100mm Macro on a SLR Sony body

 

DSC08138.jpg - 5.3 MB

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Alpha

·Feb 3, 2022·Kilt Owner, Beagle Parent, Omega Collector

Lazy yes but I have not used a camera in a long time and stick with my iPhone 12
Not for the purists but just fine for a snap, taken a few days ago.

 

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Bobcat Sig

·Feb 3, 2022

I'm glad this thread surfaced. I dusted off my Canon XSi (450D). While nothing fancy and over a decade old, I shot with it a great deal until it sat for the last five or six years. I'd like to use it again.

While my iPhone 12 Pro Max works great, there's something about the mechanics of shooting mechanical watches with a proper camera. I'm not ready to upgrade the camera just yet, but I would like to up my macro game. I see macro tubes mentioned as an affordable option to purchasing a macro lens. Which tubes does the collective recommend?

Conversely, if I did want to go with a macro lens; which units might be good?

 

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vacheroyale

·Feb 23, 2022

Probably the best lens that gives the vintage image is the Kern Macro Switar 50mm 1,9 or the 1,8 either one is fine. it's the fastest macro lens ever in 50mm. it was made for the Alpa cameras, and adapter rings are available to fit modern digital cameras

 

C

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ChiefMark

·Feb 23, 2022

I have a 16mm f2.8 and a 50mm f1.2 (primes). But today I tried something different and shot macro with the Canon RF 100-500 L. Using a telephoto that focuses (relatively) closely yields interesting results.

Edited: Feb 23, 2022