Jewelry Photography With My First DSLR

[H8R]

Alright tards knock it off, thith is thserious business.

I don't think my camera has a soft focus issue, I just don't know what the hell I'm doing. But I are learning.

If you are doing macro and focusing manually, or using live view AF, it's a non issue.

What he's talking about is auto focus fine tuning. This adjustment makes up for slight inaccuracies of the AF system with various lenses, as matched to a particular camera. You can store banks of af tunings for multiple lenses in the D7000.

The AF sensor uses phase detection and it is located just forward and below the image sensor in the mirror box. Using AF fine tuning adjusts the settings on this AF sensor to a particular lens. Many lenses can be slightly soft in focus - back focusing or front focusing, even if within factory tolerances. This is most noticeable at close distances and shallow DOF.

Using live view AF, it focuses by measuring contrast on the image senor plane, so it's always dead on.


More:
http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answ...-slr-camera%3F

[AngryMetalsmith]

IIRC everything I shot under f32 had blurred edges on the piece. The same photographer who's been giving me tips suggested the f32 setting to gain the maximum depth of field. I can try a couple of f11 shots later tonight.

This is my macro lens:

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D

I ran across my notes from what the pro suggested for aperture which was f22 not f32. Oops. I guess that would put me right in the middle of f11 and f32. Could be a good balance between sharpness and depth of field. More testing...

[AngryMetalsmith]

H8R-

I'm mostly manual focusing when I use the macro lens. I wonder though if I have the diopter dial set right. I'm wearing no. 2 reading glasses for doing bench work but don't need them to read, just to see the detail of what I'm working on. How much could that dial throw off the focus ?

[binary visions]

The focus fine tune only affects autofocus. It just adds a pre-set offset to the AF system in case the AF is consistently off by a small amount.

If you can get apparent focus in the viewfinder, it's unlikely the diopter is wrong. The diopter usually will make the whole image fuzzy.

[H8R]

H8R-

I'm mostly manual focusing when I use the macro lens. I wonder though if I have the diopter dial set right

Adjust it till the green LCD info in the viewfinder is in focus. That's it.

After you've tested a lens for proper AF, (and fine tuned if needed) you can double check your manual focusing in the viewfinder with the focus indicator in the bottom left.

[AngryMetalsmith]

Update:

So I've been working on shooting my rings that have a mirror finish on the inside with matt texture on the outside. Pretty tricky stuff. The light set up is still the same, but I made a white foam-core box to produce even reflections. During all this I discovered a couple of things. The reason why I am not getting a white background has to do with the mylar diffuser I am using which causes it to be grey. This can be corrected with a gel filter. The other thing is sharpening in PS. Last night I was finally able to achieve the level of sharpness I was after. Very, very happy with the results.

As shot:



Final:

[binary visions]

Very nice. Focus stacked? What aperture did you settle on?

[AngryMetalsmith]

Thanks BV, the first image was shot at f25 which is what I use for most shots as it seems to give the best balance between sharpness and depth of field. The second one of the ring with a stone is focus stacked and stopped down to f18 since DOF was not a concern. I used four shots for that one. I find that if I start with the bottom of the subject then all I have to do is roll the focus ring counter clockwise a wee bit and take a shot until I reach the top. The four frames were developed in Lightroom and the focus stacked in Photoshop.

[Polandspring88]

Lookin good! That's some pretty cool work you've done there, the photography skills are coming along nicely to show it off.

[H8R]

The reason why I am not getting a white background has to do with the mylar diffuser I am using which causes it to be grey. This can be corrected with a gel filter.

Better and better!

Look into creating a custom white balance setting, then bump up your exposure a bit, or bracket the exposure upwards and see if you can get a "clean" white in your RAW files.

Get it as close to perfect with the exposure, then you have can make it even better in post.

[AngryMetalsmith]

Thanks ya'll.

Did a few test shots of just the background and found that I can get a white background if I do not use the mylar. But un-diffused light and jewelry tend not to get along too well. A theater instructor friend confirmed that the mylar does indeed cause the grayness. He recommended a frost gel and there is a local place to buy a few sheets. Side note; it's in the hood and you have to call ahead so they can come unlock the door.

I agree, getting it right in camera is the best way. For now I'll have to settle for some new diffuser material, but want to invest in a couple of good lights. Been looking at Alien Bees...gearitis.