While capturing product photos, a lens is a crucial element in making those engaging and eye-catchy. Choosing a lens contributes a lot to making or breaking your success.
So, if you are in trouble choosing the perfect lens for your product photoshoot but can’t find the best lens for you, you are at the right place.
In this article, you will get reviews about
- Differences between lenses
- Importance of choosing the best lens for product photography
- What are the Features of Lenses, and Which of Them do you Need the Most?
- 10 Best Nikon lenses for product photography in 2022 including their features, pros, and cons.
So, without further talking, let’s dive right in.
What you’ll learn in this article
Why is it Important to Choose the Best Lens for Product Photography?
A lens is an essential part of a camera, and it determines the quality of your product photos. Without a lens, you cannot take compelling images. The optical function of a lens is to transmit light, focusing it on the retina.
A product photo must be clear, well-highlighted, and engaging. A high-quality lens will help you take great photos by providing the perfect camera setting,
A perfect camera lens takes sharp images with great detail and contrast.
Here are some important facts that a lens contains in photography.
- A quality lens offers quality images.
- The lens helps get closer or farther to the subject.
- A purpose-specific lens serves your purpose right.
- A good lens offers upgraded functionality and satisfactory performance
- A good lens ensures your workflow is seamless without interruption
- Lens settings like ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed play vital roles in capturing images.
- A good lens mounted on a normal camera can get you results better than a pricey camera in some cases.
Prime Lenses vs. Telephoto Lenses vs. Macro Lenses for Product Photography: Which is Best?
You already know that lenses are essential for product photography. But do you have a clear idea about what lens is best for product photoshoots?
Here’s a comprehensive discussion about various kinds of lenses and their deep relation with product photography.
Prime Lens
A prime lens is a standard camera lens with a single focal length and no zoom-in or zoom-out option. The prime lens usually provides a specific angle of view based on the exact focal length of the lens.
When making product photography, you can choose a prime lens because it tends to be sharper and has no moving part, which a zoom lens usually needs to change the focal length. So, there is no doubt that a prime lens can give you sharper images of your product.
Telephoto Lens
A telephoto lens is mainly used to make a subject appear closer than it actually is. It contains a focal length that is usually shorter than the physical length of the lens. There are usually two types of telephotos: Medium Telephoto: The one is medium telephoto which is about 70mm-200mm. And the other type is super telephoto which is about 300mm+.
A telephoto lens is perfect for adapting to different situations and quickly changing your composition style without physically moving closer or farther away from your product.
You can use a telephoto lens to do product photography. In this perspective, it would be better to use a telephoto lens of 85mm or higher with a good lens speed for depth of field.
Macro Lenses
A macro lens is specifically used to take extreme closeup or detail images, such as a detailed picture of an insect or a flower. The macro lens contains a much smaller minimum focusing distance that initially helps to get closer to the subject.
Moreover, an actual macro lens contains a small minimum focusing distance, allowing the subject to appear more significant on the sensor. To make successful product photography, a macro lens will help you gain greater detail of your subject compared to a standard lens.
What are the Features of Lenses, and Which of Them do I Need the Most?
A lens contains several features, and they are mainly used for different purposes. To make astonishing product photography, you need to know which feature of the lens you have to choose. Here’s a detail for that.
Focal length
Focal length is mainly the calculation of the optical distance between the image sensor and lens when you make an object in focus. It defines the angle of view, such as how much of the scene will be captured. Also, it determines the magnification, such as the size of each component in the image.
There is no specific rule for choosing focal lengths for product photography, but it needs lenses that can focus sharply at an aperture. That’s why using a 50-100 lens on a full-frame camera or a 35-60mm lens on a cropped-sensor camera will be best because it gives a natural look.
However, lenses with a focal length smaller than 50mm can force you to deal with wide-angle distortion. So, it would be best if you avoided it.
Minimum focusing distance
Every lens contains a focusing distance limitation, a minimal distance from which the lens focuses on the product. If the distance between the camera and the item is smaller than the lens specification, it cannot catch focus properly. And you should move the camera away from the product.
You have to manipulate the product if you cannot move the camera farther from your product, especially when using a fixed position. Otherwise, your lens will be useless to use.
Aperture
The aperture impacts how much light hits the image sensor of the lens. The aperture is mainly measured in f-stop and is stylized as f/2, f/4, f/8, and more. It defines how much light you let in and affects the depth of field.
To make engaging product photos, you should set the aperture between f/4.5 to f/7.1 while using a plain and white background for product photography. And you can also set f/2.8 or lower if don’t use a white background.
Depth of field
The depth of field mainly varies according to the type of lens. There are two types of depth of field: Shallow depth of field and deep depth of field. A shallow depth of field is used to focus on a tiny portion of the photo frame. On the other hand, a deep depth of field is used to imply most of the photo frame.
To make your engaging and high-impact product photos, you should ensure which depth of field depicts your product astonishingly.
Nikon Lens for Product Photography – Things to Know
Nikon lens gained extraordinary fame for its versatile features and categories. It ensures high-quality service with easy and flexible usage. Here’re the ten best Nikon lens reviews to help you select the perfect Lens for your product photoshoot.
- Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G
- Nikon AF-S 105mm f/2.8G VR Micro
- Nikon AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G
- Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED
- Nikon AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G ED VR
- Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED
- Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR
- Nikon AF-S DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
- Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens
- Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR
Let’s know a bit about them.
1. Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G
Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G is a compact FX-format prime lens. It’s a modern take on the classic 50mm focal length, giving a standard-angle field of view with a full-frame body. It’s perfect for use on FX digital, DX digital, and 35mm film.
You can use it for numerous product photoshoots like fashion photography, jewelry photography, close-up, and macro product photography.
Key Features
Angle of view: $47 degrees in 35-mm format
Focal Length: 50mm
Maximum Aperture: f/1.8
Format: FX/35mm
Focus Mode: Auto, Manual, Manual/Auto
Filter Size: 58mm
| Pros | Cons |
| Sharp and Compact with a Fast aperture | No vibration reduction or aperture ring. |
| Autofocus Performance and Accuracy | Lens not zoomable |
| Optimized for edge-to-edge sharpness on both fx and dx format DSLRs |
2. Nikon AF-S 105mm f/2.8G VR Micro
Nikon AF-S 105mm f/2.8G VR Micro is ideal for extreme close-up and portrait work with greater distance and AF from infinity to life-size. It’s versatile for all photographic situations.
It also contains a non-rotating front design convenient for use with circular polarizing filters. Its nano-crystal coat and ED glass elements enhance overall image quality by decreasing flare and chromatic aberrations.
Key Features
Focal Length: 105mm
Maximum Aperture: f/2.8 at infinity; f/4.8 at 1:1
Minimum Aperture: f/32 at infinity; f/57 at 1:1
Lens Type: Telephoto
Focus Mode: Auto, Manual, Auto/Manual
Filter Size: 62mm
| Pros | Cons |
| Very sharp and compact | The short working distance for 1:1 photography |
| 1:1 macro magnification | |
| No distortion | |
| Optically stabilized |
3. Nikon AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G
Nikon AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G is a close-up lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras. It’s a compact and lightweight Lens that gives high resolution and contrast from infinity to life-size to focus extra close on the subject. It provides sharp images from infinity to life-size (1x), with autofocus to 64 inches.
Key Features
Angle of view: 38 degrees 50 feet
Maximum reproduction ratio: 1.0x.
Focal length: 40 mm
Maximum Aperture: f/2.8
Minimum Aperture: f/22
Focus Mode: Auto, Manual, Auto/Manual
Filter Size: 52mm
| Pros | Cons |
| Reveals hidden beauty | Lacks stabilization |
| Isolate your subjects | Not a full-frame lens |
| Carry it with you everywhere | |
| More than just macro |
4. Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED
Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED is a vibration-reduction zoom lens with auto focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras. It contains a fast f/2.8 constant aperture with an electromagnetic diaphragm. It has the sensational image quality and sharpness with virtually no distortion.
Key Features
Angle of View: (DX-format)22°50′ to 61°
Focal Length: 24 – 70mm
Zoom Ratio: 2.9x
Maximum Aperture: f/ 2.8
Minimum Aperture: f/ 22
Format: FX/35mm
Filter Size: 82mm
| Pros | Cons |
| Stunning performance | Less Vibration Reduction |
| Steadier than ever | |
| Captures the shot regardless of the environment |
5. Nikon AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G ED VR
Nikon AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G ED VR is a versatile medium-telephoto macro lens that provides fantastic close-up macro portrait shooting with Vibration Reduction (VR). Its extra-low dispersion (ED) element provides superior sharpness and color correction.
Key Features
Maximum Angle of View: (DX-format)18°50′
Focal Length: 85mm
Maximum Aperture: f/ 3.5
Minimum Aperture: f/ 32
Magnification: 1:1
Minimum Focus: 11.3″
Focus Mode: Auto, Manual, Manual/Auto
Filter Size: 52mm
| Pros | Cons |
| Very sharp. | Lacks focus limiter switch. |
| Silent Wave Motor AF System | Some barrel distortion. |
| Optical stabilization system |
6. Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED is optimized to draw full potential from high-resolution DX-format image sensors. It provides ultra-sharp images with softly blurred backgrounds.
Its 7.8x zoom range is versatile and helps shoot everything from wide-angle family photos to telephoto close-up. It has VR image stabilization for sharper handheld photos in low-light situations and at telephoto distances.
Key Features
Focal Length Range: 18 – 140mm
Zoom Ratio: 7.8x
Maximum Aperture: f/ 3.5-5.6
Minimum Aperture: f/ 22-38
Maximum Angle of View: (DX-format)76°
Minimum Angle of View: (DX-format)11°30′
Filter Size: 67mm
Focus Mode: Auto, Manual, Auto/Manual
| Pros | Cons |
| Sharp through most of the range. | Loads of distortion. |
| 7.8x zoom range. | Edge performance could be better. |
| Optically stabilized. | The Hood is omitted. |
| View More |
7. Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR
Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR is an advanced lens that draws peak performance. It has a versatile focal length, which is excellent for everything from portraits to close-ups of nature and wildlife. You can use it for multiple product photoshoots like food, Jewelry, fashion, and others.
Key Features
Focal Length Range: 70-300mm
Maximum Aperture: f/4.5-5.6
Minimum Aperture: f/32-40
Zoom Ratio: 4.3x
Maximum Angle of View (DX-format): 22° 50′
Minimum Angle of View (DX-format): 5° 20′
Focus Mode: Auto / Manual, Manual / Auto, Manual
Filter Size: 67mm
| Pros | Cons |
| Quite sharp | Dim corners at wider apertures. |
| Solid zoom range | Limited light-gathering capability. |
| Optically stabilized | |
| Smooth, quiet autofocus | |
| Full-frame compatibility | |
| Lightweight |
8. Nikon AF-S DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
AF-S DX Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II is an advanced all-around lens with a compact optical design and image stabilization. It has three aspherical elements and two extra-low dispersion elements, which are used to maintain spherical and chromatic aberrations to produce sharpness and clarity.
Key Features
Focal Length Range: 18 – 200mm
Zoom Ratio: 11.1x
Maximum Aperture: f/ 3.5-5.6
Minimum Aperture: f/ 22
Maximum Angle of View: (DX-format)76°
Minimum Angle of View: (DX-format)8°
Filter Size: 72mm
Focus Mode: Auto, Manual, Manual/Auto
| Pros | Cons |
| Powerful zoom range | Chunkier than Sigma/Tamron equivalents |
| Compact, lightweight construction | Lacks the reach of an 18-300mm zoom |
| Refined handling |
9. Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens
Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens is designed for making macro photography. This lens is sufficient for any virtual photographic situation. It has a new VR II vibration reduction technology and it contains an internal focus to give fast and quiet auto-focusing.
Key Features
Maximum angle of view: (FX format) 23°20
Focal Length: 105mm
Maximum Aperture: f/2.8 at infinity; f/4.8 at 1:1
Minimum Aperture: f/32 at infinity; f/57 at 1:1
Filter Size: 62mm
Focus Mode: Auto/Manual
Special Elements: 1 ED glass element
| Pros | Cons |
| Very sharp | Incompatible with older SLRs |
| 1:1 macro magnification | The short working distance for 1:1 photography |
| No distortion | |
| Optically stabilized | |
| Compact |
10. Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR is designed for taking shots of landscapes, portraits, and more because its telephoto capability can bring everything close. Its SIC provides superior color quality and decreases ghosting and lens flare.
Key Features
Focal Length Range: 55 – 200mm
Zoom Ratio: 3.6x
Maximum Aperture: f/ 4-5.6
Minimum Aperture: f/ 22
Maximum Angle of View: (DX-format)28°50′
Minimum Angle of View: (DX-format)8°
Focus Mode: Auto and Manual
Filter Size: 52mm
| Pros | Cons |
| Vibration reduction | It costs high comparatively |
| Silent wave motor | The Hood is not included. |
| Tack-sharp images | |
| ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) glass |
FAQs
Which focal length is perfect for product photography?
The perfect focal length is considered between 50-100mm on a full-frame camera or a 35-60mm lens on a cropped-sensor camera to make the best product photography.
Should I use a macro lens for product photography?
It depends. But using a macro lens for product photography when the subject is small and complex will give you the edge though.
What size lens is best for product photography?
It depends on what kind of product you want to capture. For instance, if you make a tiny jewelry product, you need to use a macro lens. But for any average-size product, prime lenses are considered a good option.
Is a 24mm lens good for product photography?
Yes. Professional photographers consider the EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM as the best lens for product photography.
Sum Up
Without a perfect lens, your product photography will lose its worth. In this article, you got a vast idea about camera lenses, including the ten best Nikkon lenses for product photography in 2022, which will help you choose the best lens for product photography. So, go forth and conquer.
