Photographing paintings

[slsl6]

I've been searching around for what artists are using--a number have recommended the D3500 as a more affordable option. Would this be a reasonable choice?

 

[lucien]

Are you going used or new? And what is your budget. I can speak for the D5500, it has the same sensor as the D7200. And an articulating screen. I think B and H or Adorama are places to check out for used gear. Might even have an add on warranty.

https://www.adorama.com/l/Used/Photography/Cameras/Nikon~Digital-SLR-Cameras?startAt=25

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=D3500&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma

and you can get the model down ie D3400 or D5400

Good luck

 

[slsl6]

I would prefer to buy new, if I can. Used can be tricky. I do have to keep the cost down, especially since I'll no doubt have to buy additional lenses. I've read that the 18-55 kit lens with the D3500 is very good (not pro, of course)--I need something sharper and clearer than what I have.

I'll check out the others--thanks!

 

[slsl6]

What I need is something that will give me solid, sharp images for a website, so the paintings are represented well.

 

[lucien]

Other's with more experience will chime in I'm sure. I use Tamron 17-50mm 1 2:8 (if) A16, you can find them cheap on ebay. I would try out the kit lens and if it doesn't work out for you upgrade. I like the kit lens esp. version 2 that becomes smaller with the push of a button. Another lens I would recommend is 35mm f 1.8

https://www.henrys.com/57810-USED-NIKON-DX-35-1-8-LENS--8-Plus-.aspx



that's the used price. Again ebay cheaper than retail


https://www.henrys.com/24040-NIKON-DX-NIKKOR-AF-S-35MM-F1-8G-LENS.aspx

new price. Mind you this in cdn funds

 

[lucien]

The Nikkor 60mm 2.8D would be the quintessential lens for what you want to do. It was Nikon's solution for manuscript photography and gives a perfect 1:1 image with as good as you can get lens performance from edge to edge... YOUR problem is going to be lighting. In a studio type environment, you can control all aspects of the lighting and positioning... In a museum setting, all bets are off... In fact, many museums get anxious if they even see you with a camera...

This is also a stellar lens, but no zoom, your feet will have to do the zooming lolz

 

[slsl6]

I was just listening to an well-known artist describe his process. He uses a Canon M50 with a 15-45 kit lens.

 

[lucien]

Enjoy your journey with the camera body and lens and please be kind enough to check when you have acquired new products. I would love to see your latest samples.

take care,

 

[slsl6]

Thanks for your help, Lucien!

I'm still in the dark about all this--way too many choices out there!

Currently I'm thinking about the D3500 or D5600 (pretty much the same camera but the 3500 is cheaper) with the kit 18-55 for use with photographing art; plus a used NIKKOR 18-105 for my general use (I like to take photos in forest preserves). I may wind up having to get a prime for the paintings.

What do you think?

 

[BF Hammer]

I know I'm jumping in late to the discussion here. As someone who used a D80 for a significant amount of time and have upgraded since 2 times, I think I can understand your challenges.

You likely have been thinking higher resolution sensors with much higher ISO performance to be overrated. I can assure you they are not and this is critical to this style of photography. With natural light you need to step up the exposure by a lot. ISO noise is working against you big time. That is why your B&W images seem to work out better.

I would have to recommend a camera with higher resolution for starters. You might be surprised by how much more detail you will see. Think 16-24MP resolution and this is pretty much low to average pixel count now. The newer the DSLR body you choose, the better the ISO noise performance gets. My D80 images versus my D7000 versus my D750 just get progressively lower in noise and higher in detail. And I can work in much higher ISO normally. D80, I considered ISO 400 to be getting a bit noisy and gets much worse from there. On my D750 I will let auto-ISO be on and the image might record at ISO 3200. I hardly notice the noise.

Then there is the issue of the lens, and I'm sure you know better glass will only help more. I won't make specific recommendations as I believe any camera body made in the last 5-6 years (from any manufacturer really) will outperform that D70 from 15 years ago. Outperform it by a lot really.

 

[lucien]

 

[lucien]

 

[lucien]

 

[lucien]

 

[lucien]

 

[lucien]

These are all indoors, again I don't thing the students will mind regarding copyright. A lot can be done with software as well and all were handheld. I hope I launch someone's career with these posts.

Enjoy and good luck,

 

[slsl6]

Nice photos!

Here's another question--if I buy a newer body like the D5600, will my D70s 28-105 kit lens fit on it?

 

[Fred Kingston_RIP]

Nice photos!

Here's another question--if I buy a newer body like the D5600, will my D70s 28-105 kit lens fit on it?

The answer to your question is, "Yes" the 28-105 will work with most any Nikon DSLR made within the last 20 years. But your issue isn't YOUR camera body. Your issue is understanding the exposure triangle, and when to add additional lighting to your scene. And how to compensate between camera settings and lighting to achieve what you want.

 

[slsl6]

I do understand the exposure triangle and yes, I do need to work on more proper lighting. So my question is--is it really necessary tp upgrade my equipment (faster sensor, better lens, etc.) or not?

 

[Fred Kingston_RIP]

No...Not to take the pictures of paintings. They stand still and don't move. You use a tripod, and add flash/lighting. Under those conditions, a 1901 Kodak Brownie will do what you want to do. Everything you need to control is external to the sensor and dynamic range of that camera. For less than $20 you can buy software to fix the camera's shortcomings in sensor and range in post-processing.