Best DSLR Camera for taking product shots?

[dropdedfwed]

i like pin's suggestion - D3000 (3.5k) plus SB600 (2k) then i'd suggest the tamron 90mm macro (2.5k). bit more than your budget... then go to apliu st and grab some el cheapo macro softboxes ofr a couple of hundred, and you're on the roll.

[jgl]

If you are a geek, there is also a cheap way to do it: You can reverse-mount a 50mm manual focus lens onto a body by means of a macro adaptor ring. Google "reverse macro ring" and you'll get some pointers.

Old manual focus 50mm lenses are incredibly cheap, very high quality and easy to find.

The downside to this approach is that it'll take a little more trial and error to figure out what sort of shooting settings you're going to need, and you have to manually focus. If you are shooting from the same perspective each time, this is no big deal. You're far more likely to go through a steeper learning curve if you want to get your lighting perfect.

[pin]

i like pin's suggestion - D3000 (3.5k) plus SB600 (2k) then i'd suggest the tamron 90mm macro (2.5k). bit more than your budget... then go to apliu st and grab some el cheapo macro softboxes ofr a couple of hundred, and you're on the roll.

you can probably pick up a nikon 3000 body for about $3.2k and the SB600 for about 1.8k, and the tamron for about 2.6k, based on the prices quoted in YG Billy's website.

another option on the camera is try and pick up a Nikon D40 second hand......

[dropdedfwed]

Huh, I only just noticed your budget. If you're thinking 6k max, then a DSLR setup is pushing the edges of that. There's some guy's pricelist here so you can check yourself: Welcome to YG Billy's World of Photography

If anyone could explain what the two price columns mean, that'd be great as I don't read Chinese.

i can't read canto either, but the first column is the RRP or list price, the second is an actual street price. if you go to his guest book, you will see people email him with the latest prices they have scored so he can keep it updated. often the street price is much better than the list price.

[dropdedfwed]

you can probably pick up a nikon 3000 body for about $3.2k and the SB600 for about 1.8k, and the tamron for about 2.6k, based on the prices quoted in YG Billy's website.

another option on the camera is try and pick up a Nikon D40 second hand......

i know, it is one of my bookmarks too billy's bible...

I have also contributed a few street prices for him, however, often it is hard to get that price, so i always overbudget 10% just in case.

[dot.zen]

The first thing I would do is to get in touch with these guys...
Flickr: Hong Kong Strobist
Regardless of what camera you end up with, for good product photography you will need good lighting, and these guys can help you with that. They can also give you good advice on camera/lens combo as well.
You can end up spending $K's, but you can get away with a lot less with some good advice.

dot.zen

[jgl]

i can't read canto either, but the first column is the RRP or list price, the second is an actual street price. if you go to his guest book, you will see people email him with the latest prices they have scored so he can keep it updated. often the street price is much better than the list price.

Ah, that's what I suspected it to be, though some of the RRPs and street prices were so far off that I wasn't sure.

[mrpies]

Agree with the strobist comments - here's a couple of the David Hobby (Mr Strobist) blogs that are relevant to this:

These two talk about how easy it is to set up a cheap (as in almost free) lightbox:

Strobist: How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio

Strobist: On Assignment: Shoot Your Shiny New Gizmo Like a Pro

And the final one he talks about using his Canon G9 point and shoot for an assignment - the macro on a good P&S is pretty damn good:

Strobist: On Assignment: Teeny Tiny Halophiles

I am by no means a professional (or indeed necessarily even a) photographer, but I hacked up a cardboard box as described, and took this the other night.