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View Full Version : Which SLR camera for shooting oil paintings?


Bowlin
June 12th, 2011, 08:32 AM
Any suggestions for buying a SLR camera for shooting oil paintings? Also what types of lenses would you suggest for oil paintings (I'm assuming macro lenses) but also for reference shooting (figures with a lighting kit, and general outside referencing).
iMigraine
June 13th, 2011, 09:21 PM
Most any SLR will do the job, the bigger question is where or in what type of lighting environment will you be photographing? In a museum setting they tend to be dark and worse most all museums don't allow flash photography.

So a fast aperture lens (i.e. f/2 or f/4) would be required to bring in more light since a flash would be banned.

I don't think a Macro lens would be a good choice, they require lots of light and a tripod. Besides do you want to see the fine brush strokes magnified in a small section?

I recommend these two photography forums.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

Just remember glass (lenses) is more important than the box (bodies).

Good Luck!
Bowlin
June 14th, 2011, 06:20 PM
Thanks for the reply, iMigraine! Well, I was referring to photographing my own paintings, with a Light Kit. Not sure which lenses would give me the most professional photos I need. I'm surprised that no one else has asked that question in this new section yet. :P Thanks for the links.
iMigraine
June 15th, 2011, 02:33 AM
Thanks for the reply, iMigraine! Well, I was referring to photographing my own paintings, with a Light Kit. Not sure which lenses would give me the most professional photos I need. I'm surprised that I can't find anyone else that's ever asked this question here before. Thanks for the links.

Heck a nifty fifty would work for you! They offer a normal view - no lens distortion at the edges. And a 50mm lenses tend to have fast f-stops and cheap too! Lighting will be more important and I haven't done any type of studio shooting which you will be doing. Read up on those forums for lighting options. Also get a tripod so you can shoot razor sharp at higher f-stops and bring the whole image in focus (if that's what you want).