Good low light camera upgrade?

[R-evans]

I'll start by saying I am very amateur with photography. I have a Nikon D3200 which is basic but fine for me, or maybe not.

I use it for Holiday pics and a walk around the local parks but mainly use it indoors for beer photos (I drink and rate them on Instagram) and food (my wife makes and shares it on Instagram)

I've got the stock lens but also bought a Nikkor af 50mm 1.8d from MM which I know doesn't work perfect with my camera (manual focus only) but I find is better in low light. I also have a wireless flash I use.

Question is, I want a bit better quality in low light, what would be the best upgrade? It's my birthday this week and I usually get cash so will have a little money to spend but wouldn't want to spend a fortune.

Couple of sample images to get an idea... (which all seem out of focus since I uploaded them to Flickr)

Spoiler

New camera, new lens, better lighting equipment?

Cheers

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The D is a screw mount lens and needs a dSLR with an AF motor which the D3200 lacks,so perhaps look at a lens with an AF motor??

The D3200 is not the best Nikon in low light,but I think improving the lenses would be a first step.

If you like the focal length of the 50MM,I would invest in the Nikon 50MM/F1.8 AF-S G.

Edit!!

My mate has a rather lopsided setup as he upgraded his D3300 setup with a Sigma ART 18-35MM/F1.8 but having said that its a cracking(if not expensive) lens.

Second Edit!!

If you want a more inexpensive upgrade to your standard zoom - the Nikon 18-105MM/F3.5-5.6G ED VR can be had reasonably cheaply secondhand and is quite sharp for a budget lens.

 

[R-evans]

Thanks for the info.

I think for what I would like to spend, the Nikon 50mm is the only one I'd consider at this moment. What would be the positives to that over the 50mm I already have? Just the AF or better quality overall?

I don't mind the manual focus on the lens I have but I know as it is not completely compatible with my camera it has to be locked constantly at 1.8, not sure if that would have a massive impact on quality? Or does that just effect Depth of Field?

As said, I'm still a novice with all this but it was a cheap lens and I like it

Cheers

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for the info.

I think for what I would like to spend, the Nikon 50mm is the only one I'd consider at this moment. What would be the positives to that over the 50mm I already have? Just the AF or better quality overall?

I don't mind the manual focus on the lens I have but I know as it is not completely compatible with my camera it has to be locked constantly at 1.8, not sure if that would have a massive impact on quality? Or does that just effect Depth of Field?

As said, I'm still a novice with all this but it was a cheap lens and I like it

Cheers

At F1.8 critical focus even with focus assist is going to be hard especially with a pentamirror camera like the D3200,and stopping down a bit can help sharpness.

The G is also meant to be sharper at F1.8 too.

A few places have it for £169 delivered:

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Nikon/Nikon-FX-Lenses/Nikon-AF-S-50mm-f1.8-G-Lens

 

[havocideuk]

Honest answer from me looking at the photos is better lighting, for product photography 90% of it is lighting and "dressing" the product, google "beer product photography" and youll see how much of it is dressing the scene.

More detail:

Invest in a tripod if indoors a cheapy one with a ballhead is fine dont waste money on expensive ones since there will be no outside factors causing movement, keep your ISO low, aperture to taste and increase the shutter speed to get the correct exposure.

Shoot in raw and adjust your white balance to the desired look in lightroom.

Use a wireless trigger or your cameras timer mode to take the shots so you pressing buttons doesnt introduce movement in the shot for sharper results.

If you feel the lens is too soft wide open, stop it down to f4 or 5.6 and see how it looks.

Check youtube for product photography tutorials, thatll teach you lighting and dressing, its honestly 90% of the end result i kid you not.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

He can't autofocus since he is using a screw drive AF-D lens on a D3000 series body and being one of the pentamirror bodies,I am not sure I would trust focus confirm entirely although they could try the "rangefinder" function:
http://www.dummies.com/photography/...ocusing-with-rangefinder-on-your-nikon-d3200/

AFAIK,the D3200 does not do any sort of focus peaking you find in some cameras in live view.

BTW,forgot to tell you OP - you need to set the camera on its smallest aperture and you should be able to stop down using the body.

Having said that I probably would ditch the lens and get the 50MM/F1.8 G anyway as its sharper and you will need less mucking about,as trying to manual focus through a pentamirror viewfinder would probably annoy me!!

Its not so bad on the higher end models with their pentaprisms as they are far brighter and far larger.

 

[R-evans]

Cheers guys, I'll have a little mess around with the settings and see how it works out.

I'm planning on getting a tripod and remote anyway but might grab the G lens too for easier use.

 

[D.P.]

For product photography the camera's kow light ability is pretty meaningless. you want to use a tripod and decent head, lowest ISO and you want to stop the lens right down. Mirror up and remote shutter.

The old screw drive 50 is very soft wide open and lacks contrast. Plus has ugly bokeh. However, for product photography that doesn't matter as you are stopped down, and stopped down that lens is amazing. Sharper than the newer G lens. I always recommend people to ditch the old D version for the new G, or better still get the35mm DC lens, but that is only if they are shooting wide open and want shallow DoF. For product photography you want the opposite.

You do have to manually focus which for most things with a DSLR is a pain, but since your scene is static you can use live view to ensure accurate manual focus.

The main thing to help image quality will be decent light box/tent and lighting suction. This can be done relatively cheap.