Okay I’ll admit it. I’m abusing my blog to sell my 2 sigma lenses. But I am using that to share something with you as well, and it was a good excuse for me to play around with my new toys.
Business first, I’m selling my 24-70mm f2.8 EX and 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS, both lenses are in great shape and they perform as expected. More info on pricing can be found in this forumtopic.
The 24-70 has been my trusty companion for about 90% of my photos and as you can see from the last pictures I took, she is still in great shape. She comes with a sexy lens pouch, a UV-filter (82mm) and a sleek lens hood to accentuate her shape. The 18-200 OS is a nice walk-around lens for outdoor usage for the beginning photographer. *waves to uncle bob* He is a sturdy fellow equipped with a lens hood and as you can see from this picture, he can get pretty excited. He also features a OS stabilizing mode to reduce handshake. Both lenses are less than a year old.
Now on to the fun part !!!
So I needed product shots, our newly painted room would make for an excellent background color. I had a white unused shelf board in the basement, the board happened to have a varnished paint coating that brings out reflections so that was an added bonus. First I used just one flash through a medium softbox on camera left. I brought in the softbox very close to the subject to fill in the specular highlights as best as possible. I could have done a better job on the front of the lens. One simple solution would have been to set up a big white sheet and shoot trough that. Other options included moving my softbox to the other side to reduce reflections. (A different angle on the lens would have hidden the side with the focus ring) I didn’t plan on using the front shots anyway so I didn’t pay much attention to fixing this problem. (I still have a neck issue)
The background with just one light was okay but I wanted it to have something extra so I added another flash with a DIY gridsnoot (new word?) aimed at the background. I don’t remember the exact power settings on the flashes, I believe 1/16th for the main, and a bit more for the gridsnoot (it eats some light). Shutter speed kept at 1/250th, F stop between 4.5 & 8 (I played with the ISO to compensate, lazy me).
The setup
The complete set with the product shots can be found here.
From setup to cleanup it took less than an hour to complete the job. It doesn’t have to be more complicated to get results.
Even if you are not buying, I hope you find it helpful.
Thanks for sharing the setup, it’s always interesting to learn something!
Enjoy your new toys. And thanks for the info!
Nice upgrades. I had the Sigma 24-70 and didn’t like for a few reasons. I should have just saved my pennies for the Canon flavor. I’d like to have those two lenses featured in your excellent shot.
Canon is selling a Lot of L’s these days.
Good luck with yours!
Nicely done!
Mooi! Mijn lievelingskleur als achtergrond.
Heb onlangs dezelfde telezoom van Canon gekocht. Amai! Superlens.
Ben wel een beetje jaloers op die pocket wizards hoewel ik nog niet zeker weet of ik voor die PW dan wel radiopoppers ga sparen.
Voorlopig zit ik vast aan de Poverty Wizards.