When you are looking for the best lenses for product photography, keep in mind that there are only two features that you should be focusing on, sharpness and focal length.
There are lenses suited for each scenario and picking the right one can make a world of difference between a stunning product photo and a generic one.
In this article, we shall take a look at some of the best lenses for product photography and help you make the most suitable purchase for your needs.
Related: Â The Best Camera For Product Photography
Best Lenses for Product Photography: The Winners
How to Choose The Best Lenses for Product Photography: What to Look for?
Camera sensor
The first part of the process is finding out the kind of sensor your camera uses. There are two types of sensors; APS-C (crop sensor) and full-frame sensor. Having a crop sensor on your camera means that adding a lens will compound the camera’s focal length through the crop factor. Cameras with crop sensors are cheap and feature on the best entry-level DSLRs. The rule of thumb is the tighter the crop, the better the product image.Â
Lens Type
There are two variants of lenses that are widely used in product photography, namely the prime lens and the zoom lens. The former is the best option when you are shooting genres such as product and food as the picture tends to be sharper. The reason for this is because zoom lenses have moving parts and often result in images with more diffraction. A prime lens will offer you clearer images.
Lens speed
The aperture of the lens is also referred to as the lens speed and is described in F-stops. The smaller the f-stop, the better your camera can take in light. Having a lower aperture allows your camera to increase its shutter speed and be quicker. Product photography involves a lot of work in artificial light and there is a need for a faster lens to achieve a shallow depth of field effect.
Focal length
The focal length is the distance between the lens and the image sensor, so the shorter the distance the more the area you can capture. This aspect of a lens is very crucial when shooting close up or macro photography. Long lenses are not a common theme in product photography and you should look for a tighter crop.
Special lenses
There are also special kinds of lenses that are used in product photography. The two main ones are a macro lens and a tilt-shift lens. The macro lens allows you to get very close to an object, by giving you a magnification of 1x. This factor allows you to capture a life-sized image on your camera sensor. The tilt-shift lens is a more expensive lens that allows you to sharply focus on objects on the foreground while blurring the background. You can also change the angle of the image without changing the distance, allowing you to take pictures of objects from a more flattering angle. Â
Best Lenses for Product Photography: Summary Table
Best Lenses for Product Photography
Nikon 50mm f/1.8G
- Full Frame Prime Lens
- Aperture Range of /1.8 to f/16
- 7 Blade Diaphragm
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 17.7 inches
- Weighs 185g
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
- Ultrasonic Motor Auto Focus
- Aperture Range of f/1.4 to f/22
- 8 Blade Diaphragm
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 15 inches
- Weighs 290g
Sigma 24-105mm f/4.0 DG HSM Art
- Quick and Precise Auto Focus
- Aperture Range of f/4 to f/22
- 9 Blade Diaphragm
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 17.72 inches
- Weighs 885g
Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro
- Macro Full Frame Prime Lens
- Aperture Range of f/2.8 to f/22
- 9 Blade Rounded Diaphragm
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 11.02 inches
- Weighs 602g
Canon EF 100mm F/2.8L IS
- 15 Lens Elements in 12 Groups
- Silent and Precise Ultrasonic Autofocus
- 9 Blade Rounded Diaphragm
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 12 inches
- Weighs 625g
Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Macro
- 14 Lens Elements in 11 Groups
- Silent wave Motor Auto Focus System
- VR II Image Stabilization
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 11.8 inches
- Weighs 635g
Nikon AF-S 105 mm F/2.8G
- Medium Telephoto Full Frame Lens
- Dust and Moisture Resistant Composition
- Image Stabilization up to 3.5 stops
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 12.5 inches
- Weighs 720g
Nikon 85mm F/1.8G
- Medium Telephoto Full Frame Lens
- Silent wave Motor Auto Focus System
- Dedicated Ring M/A System for Quick Changes in Focusing
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 31.5 inches
- Weighs 350g
Tamron SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di
- Prime Wide Angle Zoom Lens
- Ultrasonic Moto for Silent Autofocus
- 9 Blade Rounded Diaphragm
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 11.02 inches
- Weighs 1110g
Sigma 35mm F/1.4 Art
- Wide Angle Full Frame Lens
- Hypersonic Motor for Silent Autofocus
- 9 Blade Rounded Diaphragm
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 11.81 inches
- Weighs 665g
Summing Up
If you’re looking to get into the world of product photography, these lenses are excellent choices for a professional!
Stefano Caioni is a photographer from Sydney, Australia. Founder and editor of Pixinfocus, his passion for photography helps him explore new places and live new adventures. Thanks to photography he reconnected with the outdoors and was able to travel the world and take photos of some of the most beautiful places on Earth.