D3200 for taking shots of jewelry

larry12

Is the D3200 a good camera for taking shots of jewelry? Is the 18-55mm the right lens for it? If not, then which one?

I have no photography experience but I need to take nice photos of jewelry, so I'm going to get that table top studio from mystudio. Also, I want to go with a DSLR over a point and shoot because the image quality is important to me. Is there any other camera that is better than the D3200 that you would recommend for me?

ohyeahar

The D3200 is a great camera. Pair it with a suitable lens and you can shoot anything. Are there better cameras? Sure. After all, the D3200 is just Nikon’s entry level offering. In terms of price/performance ratio, this is an excellent choice.

The 18-55mm may be just fine for your purpose. It just needs good lighting for it to shine. Since you’re using the MyStudio thing, you should have sufficient lighting. If you feel like you need better details in your shots later on, then get a macro lens. Try it with the kit lens first to see if you’re happy with the results.

bruto

I think if you have enough light and your interest is product photography, the kit lens will probably be fine. It goes close, if not truly macro, and you probably won't need the bonus of a faster lens with its shallower depth of field.

Stick to RAW mode to get the sharpest results and to be able to fine-tune white balance and exposure after the fact without loss or compromise.

Remember too that if you're doing fairly static work, with time to set up and figure things out, the D3200 will accept nearly every lens Nikon ever made. Nothing but an AFS lens will auto focus on it and nothing but an AF lens will meter, but if you are willing to experiment with exposure and to manually focus a huge number of interesting and sometimes cheap lenses will fit. This may not be your cup of tea, but I just figured I'd mention that bonus.

larry12

Ok, thank you for your answers. So I actually found the D3200 on Amazon for cheaper, but it doesn't include any lens, just the camera. So do you think I should get that and the macro lens? Is there anything I should know about the macro lens? Is it hard to use? Do I have to learn how to use it? Can I just use it easily?

larry12

I'm a little bit confused. Here is this the piece that I need. Will this piece makes the lens macro?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/52MM-0-43x-Soft-Fisheye-Wide-Angle-Macro-Lens-for-Nikon-D3200-D3100-D5200-D5100-/350747350419?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item51aa2bd593

larry12

In this listing the 52mm wide angle lens adapter in the picture says macro on it. Is this what I need?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-D3200-Digital-SLR-Camera-w-18-55mm-Lens-16GB-Full-Kit-/191012251627?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item2c7937a7eb

ohyeahar

No, don’t get a lens adapter. Those tend to be very gimmicky; you won’t be happy with the results.

There are 2 Nikon-branded macro lenses that are priced reasonably for this camera:
Nikon AF-S DX Micro-Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G
Nikon AF-S DX Micro-Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G VR

Here’s a problem that I can foresee. You mentioned that you’re new to photography. If you get the camera body with just one of these macro lenses (especially the 85mm), you’re stuck with a lens that was designed for a very specific purpose. You’re not going to want to take your camera out to shoot anything else other than jewelry and other product shoots.

That’s why it may be a good choice to pick up a normal lens. You’d be able to use it for your jewelry or product shoots. You won’t be able to get super close like you would with a dedicated macro lens, but it should be sufficient. And you’d be able to take it out with you for day-to-day use so you can learn more about photography. Then, later on, if you still feel you want a macro lens, go for it.

So what are some good inexpensive normal lenses you can pair with your camera given your circumstances?

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II
This is the kit lens and it's the least expensive. If you’re not comfortable investing so much money into photography at this point, get this.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G DX
This is the prime lens that all Nikon DX users love. It has the same field of view as your eyes so you shoot what you see. The maximum aperture of f/1.8 makes it a great low-light performer.

Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM
Very similar focal length range as to the kit lens. Only difference is that this has a constant maximum aperture of f/2.8 throughout the range.

larry12

So does this have everything that I need to get started?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-D3200-Digital-SLR-Camera-w-18-55mm-Lens-16GB-Full-Kit-/191012251627?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item2c7937a7eb

bruto

The fisheye above is not at all what you need. It is made purposely to produce linear distortion to simulate a true fisheye, which in reality is a super duper wide angle lens (of mind boggling cost); so wide it cannot produce straight lines. The one here is a mildly amusing gadget for special effects, not serious.

I would not get the kit in the second link either. Most of the stuff there would be better acquired separately. You're not likely to find the tripod very good, and the lens adapters are dubious too. The tiny table tripod is unsuitable for the camera size (I have one of those, and it's marginal for a point and shoot pocket camera), and other accessories are not likely the best either. The vendor makes money on these bundles.

It is pretty certain that the camera in that link above is a gray market camera. That means that the only warranty you get will be from the vendor, and that Nikon USA will NEVER touch it for repair, in or out of warranty. Nikon has gotten rather sticky about even providing parts to non-Nikon repair facilities. This means that if the camera breaks or is defective, you may find repairs very difficult, and very slow if possible at all. Read the fine print on that ad. It's a gray market camera, and although you may end up with what was in the kit, the kit has been opened and reassembled. You cannot even completely guarantee that it has the original Nikon battery in it. You can assume nothing.

It is legal for vendors to import cameras directly and sell them. For some accessories or pro gear it can be a bargain, but for a lower end digital SLR and for a complex zoom lens with a plastic mount, it's a big risk. When I say Nikon will not repair it, I mean this literally. In or out of warranty, Nikon USA will refuse to touch a gray market camera. US models have unique serial numbers.

Even retail stores can sell you a D3200 kit at a fairly reasonable price. If you're going with mail order, I'd stick with the best retailers such as B&H or Adorama, who will tell you exactly what you are getting. You'll get a US model in the boxes it came in. They sell gray market too, but they will give you a choice and tell you up front. You can get the US model D3200 with the 18-55mm kit lens and a couple of add-ons for only a bit more than the Amazon deal above, from B&H. They also have a couple of accessory kit packages, probably not needed, but I see that at least in theirs they include a spare battery and an infrared remote, both of which are very useful. You can get by without a spare battery at home, and you can buy your own memory cards, of course, and the remote only costs about ten dollars at Target (they are handy to have). The best vendors have free shipping and are very efficient.

If I were you, I'd get the basic camera kit, or perhaps the package with remote and extra battery and see how the kit lens performs before going ahead with anything. The kit lens alone goes close enough that a wedding ring fills about half the frame. If you need to get any closer than that, a front-of-lens diopter of reasonable quality can be had that will get you true macro, or you can get a true macro lens that will give you really fine quality. Nikon makes, for example, a 40 mm. macro that is close to normal perspective as a regular lens, and it gives very good macro quality. Too close for bugs and butterflies, but no worry for jewelry that rarely flies away under its own power!

If you find the basic kit lacking, you will be in a better position to decide what you need and what you are willing to spend to get it.

Edit to add: I see a couple of posts have come by while I was typing the above.

The latest link is, again, to a gray market opened kit. I would avoid this. I don't want to sound like a shill, but I have had excellent luck with B&H, and I think their reputation and reliability are worth an extra few bucks.

I would dispute one small detail of Ohyeahar's post above. The 35 millimeter "normal" lens does not give the field of view that we normally get with our eyes if they're both open. We have a very wide field of view. What it does give is normal perspective. What a normal lens shows on the film will look like what you see, in the sense that distances will be neither accentuated nor foreshortened. Our actual field of view is much wider, even with one eye closed, but the picture a normal lens delivers will be comfortably similar to what you were looking at.

larry12

bruto, thank you for your answers. Does this have the lens that I need? Does this come with the right macro lens?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-D3200-Digital-SLR-Camera-w-18-55mm-Lens-16GB-Full-Kit-/191012251627?pt=Digital_Cameras&hash=item2c7937a7eb

ohyeahar

Read the section about “Item specifics” to know what you’re getting.
You’re getting the D3200 body with the “bundled items” which are “Case or Bag, Lens, Lens Cleaning Kit, Memory Card, Memory Reader, Tripod”.
There’s no macro lens. The lens included is the 18-55mm.

@bruto, haha, I need to get my eyes checked!

larry12

In the kit overview it says 52mm wide angle lens adapter
and has this picture that says macro?

http://images.6ave.com/ebay/i/MainImage/General_Brand--52mm_Wide_Angle_Lens_Adapter--1560290004.jpg

larry12

What is this 52mm wide angle lens adapter used for?

http://images.6ave.com/ebay/i/MainImage/General_Brand--52mm_Wide_Angle_Lens_Adapter--1560290004.jpg

bruto

It is unclear what the lens shown does, and what lenses it will work well with. If you do not know what you're going to need, I suggest you do not speculate.

You say you need to do product photography of jewelry. If what you intend to show is no smaller than a wedding ring, I believe you will find the 18-55mm kit lens which comes with the D3200 to be within range. Adding an unknown element to the front of this lens is almost sure to make your job more difficult and to add distortion.

While it is true that you can add macro capability with a "diopter" lens on the front of your regular lens, there is some loss of linearity and of clarity at the edges. This is fine if you have a lens that does not go close enough for natural objects like bugs, where you will likely ignore all but the central image, but it is no substitute for a proper macro lens.

Diopter add-ons also tend to narrow the range of acceptable focus to a very small area. Again, if you need to get right in on something tiny, fine, but otherwise, you're best off with a lens that allows you to move around.

Before you go too much further, think hard about what size objects you want to shoot. The kit zoom, though not a true macro lens, is a pretty good pseudo-macro.

I did a quick shot with my D3200 and kit lens, and here is the closest I could get to a ring. That's pretty close.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1000x665q90/540/y4KndF.jpg

By the way, that ring sure does take a beating, doesn't it? It's about half the thickness it was 25 years ago, and it's been crushed a few times too. I had a near fatal bike accident a couple of years ago, and my wife had to bring a pair of pliers to the hospital to get it round enough to take off again!

larry12

So which 18-55mm kit lens do I need if I were to buy the D3200 body only? Can you post a link to the right one I need?

By the way, I probably wouldn't need to photograph anything smaller than a ring anytime soon so I guess the 18-55mm kit lens is what I need.

bruto

I think if you buy the lens separately it's unlikely you can get as good a deal as buying the kit. I am not sure it is possible to buy the US model of this camera separately anyway. The provenance of the lens may be less important than that of the camera since used examples can be gotten so cheaply, that it may be better to replace than repair if it is dropped or broken.

This is the OEM lens for the D3200:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/532521-USA/Nikon_2176_18_55mm_f_3_5_5_6G_VR_AF_S.html

If you do find a suitable body only, you might try KEH.com for a used copy of this lens. They sell them pretty cheaply and are very reputable with a warranty and a free return policy, and their quality grading is reliable.

The D3300, successor to the D3200, has a similar lens that retracts, has VRII (better vibration reduction), and I think also a front which does not rotate when focusing (an advantage if you use a polarizing filter), but it's more expensive, and said to be no better optically.

I really think you'll be better off buying the kit with the correct Nikon US warranty and known contents.

larry12

Which kit are you talking about? The one I posted? Do you have a link?

ohyeahar

"Kit" refers to the body plus the 18-55mm which is known as the kit lens. It's the link you provided. As mentioned, buying the local retail version (from Adorama or B&H, etc) is preferable to getting the grey market import (which is the eBay link you are provided).

bruto

Clarifying above, Nikon USA offers the USA version of this camera as a kit with the camera, lens, battery, manual, charger, USB cord, and software (which includes a longer version of the manual). It all comes in a single box. The Nikon kit does not include a memory card. If you are going to shoot video for any length of time, my local store says you should have a #8 or better memory card (they are numbered for speed). If you are shooting only stills, just about any speed will do unless you are shooting multi-shot bursts.

If you have a "Big Lots" store near you, they often have screaming deals on memory cards. They are often a generation or two behind the latest, but quite serviceable. They also have cheap memory card readers if your computer does not read them. Last time I was there, they had an 8GB PNY card and matched reader for $12, and 16 GB cards of appropriate speed for a D3200 for $12.

B&H sells this kit along with some added bonuses such as a bag and a memory card of the correct speed, but the base kit is the Nikon USA product, unopened, with the USA warranty.

B&H (and Adorama too, I think) provides a clear label somewhere in the web description to tell you whether the product is "USA" or "Imported " (gray market).

The business selling the gray market items cited here on Amazon explicitly tell you that they have opened the kit and dispersed the contents, and resell the individual items. They may reassemble a kit, but it is not "the kit", and there is no guarantee either that the items are correctly matched, or that all the contents will be original.

If you want to see what the correct kit contains, go to either Nikon, B&H or Adorama, and look up the D3200 there. B&H has the most informative website, I think.

Here's the link to theirs:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/856049-REG/Nikon_25492_D3200_DSLR_Camera_With.html

larry12

Alright, so your saying it's worth it to pay $100 more to get it from B&H rather than Ebay or Amazon?

larry12

I think I'll get it from B&H from the link you just posted.