Shooting for Success: Sony Lens Guide for Product Photography

5 Factors to Consider When Choosing the Best Sony Lens for Product Photography

Full-frame or Crop Sensor Camera

The first thing you need to consider when choosing a product photography lens is whether you have a full-frame or a crop sensor Sony camera. This is critical because the way a lens works will vary depending on your camera’s sensor.

If you have a cropped sensor camera, you will need to multiply the focal length of the lens by the crop factor of your camera to get the equivalent focal length on a full-frame camera. For example, if you have a 50mm lens on a Sony mirrorless camera with a crop factor of x1.5, the equivalent focal length would be 75mm (50mm x 1.5).

Make sure you take this factor into consideration when choosing a lens for your digital camera.

Focal Length

The focal length of a lens is the distance (in millimeters) from the center of the lens to the sensor. The focal length of a lens is indicated by its name, and you can discover this information on the barrel of the lens. A 50mm lens, for example, has a focal length of 50mm.

For product photography, it is recommended to use lenses with a focal length between 50mm and 120mm on a full-frame camera, or a 35-60mm lens on a cropped-sensor camera. This focal length range is ideal for product photography because it best describes the product as we as humans see it.

Wide-angle lenses (less than 30mm in full-frame cameras) aren’t very useful for product photography, because wide-angle lenses make the product look distorted. If you’re looking to capture a product with a wide-angle lens, you’ll need to get your camera up really close to the thing (to avoid other elements in the product photo). As a result, all of the components behind the main item will appear tiny compared to it, making the image seem unrealistic.

Telephoto focal range lenses may also be used for product photography, although they are considerably bigger and bulkier than standard zoom lenses. They frequently aren’t able to focus close to the subject because of their long telephoto focal length.

Prime Lens vs. Zoom Lens

When choosing a lens for product photography, it is also important to consider the type of lens: prime or a zoom lens.

A prime lens is a fixed focal length lens, which means that it can’t zoom in or out. Prime lenses are typically smaller and lighter than zoom lenses because they have fewer elements inside the lens.

A zoom lens is a variable focal length lens, which means that you can change its focal length by zooming in or out. Zoom lenses are typically bigger and heavier than prime lenses because they have more elements inside the lens. Zoom lenses provide you a wider focal length which can be useful at times, especially if you consider using your lens not only for your professional work but also for traveling and other scenarios.

For product photography, it is recommended to use a prime lens because in general, they have a better optical quality (sharper images) compared to the zoom lenses. Prime lenses also have a wider maximum aperture, which allows more light to enter the camera and produces a shallow depth of field, which allows a better separation of the subject from the background. This is might be important for you if you plan to shoot a lot of lifestyle product photography with natural light.

The best Sony prime lenses for product photography:

• Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G (SEL90M28G)
• Sony 85mm F/1.8-22 (SEL85F18)
• Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM (SEL85F14GM)
• Sony FE 50mm F1.8 (SEL50F18F)
• Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA (SEL55F18Z)

The best Sony zoom lenses for product photography:

• Sony FE 24-105mm f/4G OSS (SEL24105G/2)
• Sony FE 24-70 mm F2.8 G Master (SEL2470GM)

Close Focusing Capabilities

Another important factor to consider when choosing a lens for product photography is the close focusing capabilities of the lens. This is especially important if you plan to do a lot of macro product photography.

For macro product photography, you will need a macro lens with a very low minimum focal distance (MFD). The MFD is the shortest distance between the lens and the subject that you can focus on. For example, the Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G has an MFD of 0.91 feet (0.28 meters). This means that you can place your camera just 28 cm away from your subject and still be able to focus on it.

For close-up product photography, you will need a lens with a low minimum focal distance (MFD) but not as low as macro lenses. A standard zoom or prime lens with an MFD of around 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) should be sufficient.

However, if you plan to shoot a lot of very small products such as jewelry in which case you will definitely need a macro lens to allow you to shoot very close-up photos and product details.

Price

Last, but not least is the price of the lens. The lens prices vary significantly, from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. If you are just starting out in product photography, we recommend you pick a very inexpensive Sony FE 50mm F1.8 lens, which retails at approximately $250 (check the latest price on Amazon).

As we mentioned previously Sony FE 50mm F1.8 is a great all-around lens, which is suitable not only for product photography but also for portrait and street photography.

If the price isn’t an issue for you, we recommend you pick Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro G or Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM (a truly great product photography lens for Sony cameras). Both lenses are great for product photography, but they also come with a hefty price tag.

When it comes to product photography, the price of the lens shouldn’t be your main concern. Instead, you should focus on getting a lens that will produce great results.

Do You Need a Macro Lens for Product Photography?