Whats the best camera to photograph jewellery?

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Whats the best camera to photograph jewellery?

by Gerard
(Sydney)

What is the best camera to photograph jewellery, specially rings? I have a light box but still can't come up with good photos.

Gerard

Comments for
Whats the best camera to photograph jewellery?

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Macro and manual
by: Lisa W.

Any camera with a macro capability and manual settings will do it. Super macro is even better!
use a self-timer and tripod or other steadying device; at that level of close-up, any movement makes a huge difference. Use lots of indirect light, go into manual mode, and set the white balance by clicking the set button while aimed at a piece of white paper you drop on top of your jewelry. Remove the paper and you're good to go. Try different manual settings for each shot until you begin to find out what is working for you.

I use a Panasonic Lumix, recommended by jewelry friends. It does a great job, and slightly older models can save some $$ without sacrificing quality.

I use a Fujicolor
by: Barbara

Great idea to use white paper for white balance. I'll try it next time. I have good results (at least I think so) with my Fujicolor (3rd camera) which has macro, super macro and manual settings, as well as automatic. It's not a reflex though. I still have to learn to use the manual settings though and need some coaching on that. Also, getting some difficult stones to photograph well. My advice is that you don't always need a terribly pricey camera to get good results.
Barbara
http://en.dawanda.com/shop/barbarajacquin

Super Macro and Custom White Balance
by: MmeMagpie

Super macro will let you get up close and personal with your jewelry. I've even gotten a few nice shots of gemstone inclusions with this feature. Use it to showcase special details, too.

Custom white balance will go a long way toward correcting for so-so lighting and significantly minimize the amount of color correction needed at photo editing time.

Some colors, particularly purple, is hard to photograph. Be prepared to take 20 to 50 pictures to capture the color you want. Amethyst, in particular, is dichroic. It displays both magenta and violet depending on the viewing angle.

My little Nikon point-and-shoot camera has a tendency to punch up red values. I know other people with Nikon cameras that have the same problem.

Andrea Robinson
mmemagpie.com

Good advice
by: Michelle B.

I agree with those above and how testing out different settings may get you some different and better results.

I too have a Panasonic Lumix - my 2nd one - and I find the macro setting invaluable! It wasn't as expensive as some camera's but it wasn't the least expensive either - pretty much mid to lower range in price.

The advice someone gave me was to just keep practicing and trying different things w/my light box set up and my camera until I came up with what worked best for my jewelry style.

There are some great articles over on Etsy (sorry, I don't have the links off hand right now) and there's some good YouTube videos for this as well - just google 'jewelry photography' or something similar to that until you find some information that you feel works for you.

Two cents ...
by: Chelsea

I'm not an expert at this, but the one thing I have picked up is this: If you have a camera you're only using for jewelry, it doesn't actually have to be fantastic for anything BUT jewelry. Shoot for a high number of megapixels; if it comes with a preset for closeup subjects, even "food" or "text," that's a good indication that it can handle jewelry.

Beyond this? Learning the best lighting for your materials, figuring out which settings work best, and developing steady hands or using a tripod are far more important than camera expense.

photo tips...
by: Shannon

Over the past 5 years (and 3 cameras) I have figured out that these 3 essentials are crucial for good jewelry photographs:
1. A decent camera with white balance control and macro/super macro settings. If you can get one with a programable custom setting (saves a custom set-up) then you'll feel like you've won the lottery - in my opinion.
2. Lighting, lighting, lighting... ok, one more time, say it with me... lighting! If you are photographing jewelry (shiny things), you'll want to supress the flash on your camera to reduce glare. The better your lighting - the better your pictures. Oh, and don't mix light sources. You don't want a spot light with an incandescent (reg light bulb) which burns an amber color, and an overhead flurescent light which burns blue. Even with most whitebalance compensations, these photos won't turn out so well. 2-3 bright difussed lights triangulated over/around the object will wash it with light while reducing shadows. Take several photos using different exposure settings and you'll do just fine.
3. Photo editing software - important to crop, enhance and resize.

I've used a Kodak easyshare point&shoot but it didnt' have a whitebalance function. Then I bought a really nice Fuji (refurbished model) which didn't last but 1-1/2 yrs before something in the camera computer went nutzo. Then I "settled" for a decent Canon. When my Fuji went on the fritz and couldn't be repaired for less than buying a new one I bought a Canon Powershot G12. I paid around $400-450 for it (half what I paid for the Fuji), but it's been the best investment I've ever made. It's easy to use, has a large LCD screen, lots of manual controls if you need them and the "I won the lottery setting": custom memory modes. I can fully set up my camera for photo shoot settings and save them. Now when I go to take pictures, I turn my camera from 'auto' to 'Custom 1' and I'm ready to go. I don't have to remember what the previous settings were when I took those great pictures!! It's a fabulous camera for other uses as well!! (Bonus!)

Hope this helps!!

Shannon
www.rosewindstudio.etsy.com
www.rosewindstudio.com

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