Beginners Product Photography Camera

Hi all

Would really appreciate some help! I've been looking at some cameras for product photography but as a beginner I am quickly over whelmed!

1)What matters the most when picking a camera for product photography?
2) does crop frame vs full frame really make a difference - should I lean more towards full frame camera?
3) can you suggest any cameras that have good video quality too?
4) DSLR or Mirrorless - does it matter which one/will it make a difference?

Thanks so much!

What is the product size and shape and where will the shoot take place?

In most cases this dictates what you will need. If the product is a car, for example, and doesn't fit the studio, then the outside location, time of day, and additional expensive lighting will likely be needed. If the product shoot will be indoors and fit on a table, then more reasonably priced lighting, maybe a nice table cloth and fabric background may be all that is needed and a suitable place large enough for the shoot and props and out of human traffic areas should do fine. A truly dedicated photo studio is not necessary, but may be beneficial depending on what you plan to photograph and how often you will be doing this.
 
The lighting and the background become most important for both of these situations, and the choice of camera and lens are of lesser importance, as long as they have the control options for the shot and lighting. For good shots this will exclude cell phone and point-and-shoot cameras. Lighting can be constant or flash and usually multiple light sources are required. 

In either case and in my opinion any 20 megapixel or more changeable lens and reasonably new semi professional or larger camera is very capable of this with great results in either case. Then it becomes the choice of lens for the subject shoot. Maybe a macro lens will be needed for the table shot, but a larger zoom lens would be my choice for the car shoot. Their size will depend on the distance to the camera and how much background needs to be included in the shots.

Many years ago, my part time studio was our living room. Before that I was the stage manager of an off Broadway theater, and several times I used the empty stage and lighting with all of the curtains closed, for a few photo shoots. My present studio is in a former 2nd Master Bedroom Suite upstairs in my home. The shooting room (former bedroom) is 19 X 26', but for 34 to 48" square table shots a room or space half this size should be sufficient. I even do short videos in my present studio, because it is set up for still, video, and table sized product shooting, and can be quickly changed around in less than an hour from one to another to allow doing each of these.

So tell us more about your plans and we should be able to help you further. Again, what you will be shooting, it's size, and where this will be done is most important.

Charley

kiki_p wrote: Hi all

Would really appreciate some help! I've been looking at some cameras for product photography but as a beginner I am quickly over whelmed!
1)What matters the most when picking a camera for product photography?
2) does crop frame vs full frame really make a difference - should I lean more towards full frame camera?
3) can you suggest any cameras that have good video quality too?
4) DSLR or Mirrorless - does it matter which one/will it make a difference? Thanks so much!

1) The end use of the images is near (or at) the top of the list.
2) Depends on #1. I personally prefer FX or larger, but smaller is often sufficient.
3) Sorry, I'm not a videographer, but again, the quality you need depends on the end use.
4) No, for all intents and purposes, with similar quality lenses you won't see a difference.

kiki_p wrote: 1)What matters the most when picking a camera for product photography?

The final use of the image. Magazines and billboards require a higher resolution image than webpages.

kiki_p wrote: 2) does crop frame vs full frame really make a difference - should I lean more towards full frame camera?

'Full Frame' bodies only provide an extra stop or two advantage in image noise and dynamic range. You'll always be shooting in controlled environments, so that difference doesn't come into play. The fact that APS-C gear costs half what 'Full Frame' gear costs means you'll be up and running quicker and cheaper with APC-C gear.

kiki_p wrote: 4) DSLR or Mirrorless - does it matter which one/will it make a difference?

The shorter flange focal distance (the distance from the back of the lens to the image sensor) of mirrorless cameras means they have a greater propensity for vignetting, distortion, chromatic aberration and field curvature (soft corners.) To counter some of these, mirrorless cameras use a feature called "Lens Compensation" which often fixes one problem while inducing another, compromising the quality of the final result. BTW, there is no compensation for field curvature, and the compensation for distortion makes the corners softer.

DSLRs don't have that problem.