Photographing cartridges

[Peterbean]

I’m about to start photographing my cartridges and w ondering about appropriate lenses . I have a Nikon dslr and a canon  mirrorless 

[aussievintage]

6 minutes ago, Peterbean said:

I’m about to start photographing my cartridges and w ondering about appropriate lenses . I have a Nikon dslr and a canon  mirrorless 

 

If you want nice closeups, you need a macro (or near macro) lens.   Many telephoto/zooms have a macro function that is probably strong enough for a cartridge photo.  Use as small an aperture as you can (given light levels) to increase depth of field.  

[mkaramazov]

7 hours ago, Peterbean said:

I’m about to start photographing my cartridges and w ondering about appropriate lenses . I have a Nikon dslr and a canon  mirrorless 

 

I have found a 50mm 1:1 macro lens is pretty good. Other than that, the photography basics apply - ensure there is appropriate light, narrow down the aperture to get everything in focus (as @aussievintage advises), and then use a tripod or similar so that you can keep things stable, particularly if you use a slow shutter speed. On modern DSLRs focus peaking (or similar manual focus assist functions) and in built lens / sensor stabilisation are both very useful. 

 

If you want close up photos of the stylus, you will need a more powerful set up , such as a USB microscope. 

[theophile]

Taken with my mobile phone.

Edited January 14, 2024 by theophile

[aussievintage]

58 minutes ago, theophile said:

Taken with my mobile phone.

 

Yep, phones can do a useful job up close i.e. macro.  Where they fail is in the quality of the glass and sensor size.  They also sometimes do weird things when the inbuilt AI tries to combine the multiple cameras into one decent shot.  But as I said, they do quite well considering.

 

The OP has a dslr and a mirrorless camera, so with the appropriate lens, should be able to do even better.

[audiofeline]

When I had a film SLR camera I used extension tubes for macro photography, cheaper than buying a macro lens.

Some info is here: https://www.camerasdirect.com.au/camera-accessories/extension-tubes

[aussievintage]

50 minutes ago, audiofeline said:

When I had a film SLR camera I used extension tubes for macro photography, cheaper than buying a macro lens.

Some info is here: https://www.camerasdirect.com.au/camera-accessories/extension-tubes

 

Extension rings (especially those that support the automatic functions) are a better choice than magnifying lenses that go on the front of the existing lens.  No glass quality problems.   Shelling out for a real macro lens is still the far better choice though.   

 

Ever tried reversing a lens?   That will also get you macro ability.