Need advice on camera choice.

[Daniel82]

Hello

I need help choosing the right camera for photographing fossils and sites. 

Preferably cheaper.

Thanks for answers

 

 

 

 

sorry for the triple posting unfortunately my computer went crazy

 

 

 

Edited January 2 by Daniel82

[jpc]

how small are the fossils you want to photograph?

 

[Kohler Palaeontology]

Personally, I use an Olympus TG-5. I don't yet have a decent enough lens to photograph fossils for my cannon and Nikon cameras. I don't know if my Olympus is the best camera for the job, but it's what I use and I do get some great photos.

 

If you have time, feel free to take a look at this post of mine, these photos were taken on the TG-5.

https://www.thefossilforum.com/topic/144723-wear-facets-on-theropod-and-megalania-teeth/#comment-1513158

[C2fossils]

I use the Nikon coolpix aw100, but I Don’t really do microfossils.

[Daniel82]

Fotos from Kohlers paleontology looks really good, thanks for tips 

[Daniel82]

Sizes of my fossils are from 1 cm to 1 m

[minnbuckeye]

You need a camera that allows you to manually control depth of field. Relatively inexpensive camera / lens combos allow the photographer to keep the complete specimen in focus. Follow these suggestions from  "Depth of Field: The Essential Guide (+ Tips)"

Digital Photography School

 

Factors affecting DoF

There are three main factors that determine the depth of field in a photo. They are:

The lens’s aperture setting (f-stop)

The distance between your lens and your subject

The focal length of the lens

By understanding these variables and how they work, you can learn to produce a deep or shallow depth of field at will.

1. Aperture (f-stop)

Aperture refers to a hole in your lens through which light enters the camera. The larger the hole, the shallower the depth of field.

You may be familiar with f-stop values, which look like this: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, etc. The smallest f-numbers correspond to the widest apertures and therefore the shallowest DoFs. And the larger f-numbers correspond to the narrowest apertures and therefore the deepest DoFs.

In other words:

Large aperture = Small f-number = Shallow (small) DoF
Small aperture = Large f-number = Deep (large) DoF

Adjusting the aperture (f-stop) of your lens is the simplest way to control your depth of field while setting up your shot.

 

2. Distance between your lens and your subject

The closer your subject is to the camera, the shallower your depth of field becomes.

(Note that I’m using the terms “subject” and “point of focus” interchangeably here – if you accidentally focus behind your subject, then the DoF will be completely different.)

So if you get up close and personal when photographing a flower, the depth of field will shrink. 

 

3. Focal length

The longer your focal length, the shallower the depth of field. If all that sounds a bit technical, feel free to skip over the details. The key concept to understand here is that longer lenses produce shallow depth of field effects, whereas shorter lenses produce deep depth of field effects (assuming that the aperture and the distance from the subject remain the same).

 

 

 

 

[Kohler Palaeontology]

3 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

You need a camera that allows you to manually control depth of field. Relatively inexpensive camera / lens combos allow the photographer to keep the complete specimen in focus. Follow these suggestions from  "Depth of Field: The Essential Guide (+ Tips)"

Digital Photography School

 

Factors affecting DoF

There are three main factors that determine the depth of field in a photo. They are:

The lens’s aperture setting (f-stop)

The distance between your lens and your subject

The focal length of the lens

By understanding these variables and how they work, you can learn to produce a deep or shallow depth of field at will.

1. Aperture (f-stop)

Aperture refers to a hole in your lens through which light enters the camera. The larger the hole, the shallower the depth of field.

You may be familiar with f-stop values, which look like this: f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, etc. The smallest f-numbers correspond to the widest apertures and therefore the shallowest DoFs. And the larger f-numbers correspond to the narrowest apertures and therefore the deepest DoFs.

In other words:

Large aperture = Small f-number = Shallow (small) DoF
Small aperture = Large f-number = Deep (large) DoF

Adjusting the aperture (f-stop) of your lens is the simplest way to control your depth of field while setting up your shot.

 

2. Distance between your lens and your subject

The closer your subject is to the camera, the shallower your depth of field becomes.

(Note that I’m using the terms “subject” and “point of focus” interchangeably here – if you accidentally focus behind your subject, then the DoF will be completely different.)

So if you get up close and personal when photographing a flower, the depth of field will shrink. 

 

3. Focal length

The longer your focal length, the shallower the depth of field. If all that sounds a bit technical, feel free to skip over the details. The key concept to understand here is that longer lenses produce shallow depth of field effects, whereas shorter lenses produce deep depth of field effects (assuming that the aperture and the distance from the subject remain the same).

 

 

 

 

What do you think would be best for larger vs smaller fossils? (shallow or deep DoF)

 

I have lots of cameras but don't know the specifics like that.

[North]

Also worth of noticing. Check what is the closest focusing distance on your lens/camera.

 

And what kind of settings you are able to use. Basicly what minnbuckeye said, some cameras have limited settings and it might be frustating to get results you want without. Also if there is less light, manual settings might work better.

[Coco]

Hi,

 

2 hours ago, Kohler Palaeontology said:

What do you think would be best for larger vs smaller fossils? (shallow or deep DoF)

Depth of field is important for making macrophoto. If you photograph a flat surface it is not very important.

 

To give a very simplified explanation: the thicker your object is, the more you need a large depth of field in macrophoto. If you want to take a picture of a 50 cm long fossil you do it in normal mode and not in macro mode.

 

Coco

[LSG Lab]

If you want high-quality photos, you might want to start with a high-quality camera, but without spending too much on a very expensive model. You can buy a used one, as people change their cameras too frequently and sell their old for 1/5 of the new price. Just make sure you don`t get an abused/defective one. Then, if this model doesn`t suit your needs, you can sell it and avoid losing a lot of money (same if you use it for some time but then want to upgrade).

Last year I wanted to buy a camera for taking pictures of fossils, mainly small ones (2-50 mm). It was for posting them on my website, so I wanted the highest possible quality. I had 0 experience with photography, so I read some advice on the internet to make an idea of what was important. My requirements were: interchangeable lens camera, macro lens, all within 600 euros, and to be able to use my microscope ring light (so I needed at least 50 mm working distance on the highest mag). I picked the Olympus EM-5 II camera, which had some interesting features such as a smaller sensor yielding more depth of field, automatic focus stacking and pixel shift. The lens I chose is Olympus 60mm macro. Bought the camera and lens separately, both used, everything for around 500 euros. Works well for me. Some photos here: https://gallery.lsglab.org/index.php?/category/2

Don`t forget to consider two things which aren`t very obvious: lighting and working distance. Good light (with an even color) is hard to find and often expensive. Working distance is in relation with focal length. The longer the focal length (given in mm in the lens name), the longer the WD at the same magnification, but a shorter focal length gives a larger field of view. So a longer focal length is better for small fossils, but a short focal length is better for larger fossils, and maybe for fossil sites.

For 1cm-1m i would take something like a 60 mm lens for a full-frame camera, in a smaller sensor - a shorter one (the image is cropped so you gain mag but lose FOV). My 60 mm lens gives a FOV comparable to a 120 mm lens on a full-frame camera, because the sensor is 2x smaller.

Again, depends on what you want, point-and-shoot cameras and phones can give good results too.

[BirdsAreDinosaurs]

I use a Canon EOS M100 with a EF-M 28mm f/3.5 Macro IS STM lens to produce pictures like this: