Photo by Erik Brolin on Unsplash
In product photography, you need to be meticulous with what you are doing, especially when taking pictures, as this may make or break your product sales.
Your product photos leave an impression on potential customers, reflect your brand, and represent your product's quality.
To help you get the best pictures you can use for advertisements, we have provided you with some cameras to choose from to help you get started with your product photography.
What is a DSLR camera?
A DSLR Camera is a digital camera body that lets light to enter a single lens where it strikes a mirror that indicates the light either upwards or downward into the camera’s viewfinder.
When you push the shutter to take the photo, the mirror flips up out of the path. The shutter then slides open, and glow coming from the lens has a straight shot to the imaging sensor where a photograph is listed. This explains the “SLR” part of the acronym. Digital means to the digital sensor, as an alternative of using 35mm film.
To understand SLR vs. DSLR is to understand that the mechanism is the same, but SLRs use real film, and DSLRs are digital. This gives quite a few advantages.
What is a mirrorless camera?
A mirrorless camera is a digital camera that does not have a reflex mirror (the major component of the DSLR, which reflects the light up to the viewfinder). In a mirrorless, there is not an optical viewfinder and the imaging sensor is always exposed to light.
It provides you a preview of the image on the electronic viewfinder (EVF), which is habitually an LCD screen on the back of the camera.
What is a point-and-shoot camera?
Point-and-shoot cameras are cheaper and smaller than DSLRs. A point-and-shoot system allows you to point it at something and shoot automatically. The key advantage is in street, documentary, or travel photography. It means the camera does not have to be stuck to your eye.
Newer DSLRs have movable LCD screens that permit you to do this. But you still lose out on the size of your device. A small camera permits you to take better candid images than a bigger one.
DSLRs need you to conquer manual control of each button to bring the most out of them. A P&S is developed on a different philosophy. It is ready to go from opening the packaging. They are also much cheaper. But some developed models have image quality, controls, and price amounts like mid-range DSLR cameras.
They desire even shoot in RAW format, such as the Ricoh GR II Digital.
Best Cameras for Product Photography
Product photographers make the most in the world of product photography. Apart from their skills and experience, they also use costly gear available to get the best results.
So, what is the most popular camera for professional photographers? Well, the answer depends. Some of the cameras that product photographers use can go above $40,000. Now that is way ahead of the budget of even the most passionate enthusiast.
So, for this list, we included the best options for all kind of product photographers. That way, you can choose the perfect camera for you no matter your skill level or your budget.
Sony Alpha 7R IV
A lot of photographers switched when Sony released mirrorless cameras for professionals. Why? Because mirrorless options are not only smaller, but they often pack more features than regular DSLRs. A lot has changed since Sony first introduced its professional line. And the Alpha 7R IV is the culmination of all those years of research and development.
What makes the Alpha 7R IV unique is that it features a 61MP sensor. That alone blows Canon’s EOS 5DS and Nikon’s D850 out of the water. This camera also has a built-in image stabilizer that eliminates the tiniest motion blur. That is crucial, especially since your work involves capturing the smallest details. And at 3,000USD, it is affordable for most professional photographers.
Nikon D850
The Nikon D850 has a full-frame sensor and 45.7 megapixels, which capture minute details of your products. The tilting touchscreen also helps you play around with angles, which is especially important to showcase products from all points of view.
The EXPEED 5 feature quickly processes the 45.7 megapixels of data resulting in lower noise, a wider range, and richer details. This camera also has 4K and 8K (with third-party software) recording capabilities and the lowest ISO of any DSLR or mirrorless camera, so there is not much else to ask for.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Photo by Luther Bottrill on Unsplash
This full-frame digital camera houses a respectable 30.4-megapixel sensor. Whilst not the highest pixel count of the best product photography cameras covered here, the 5D Mark IV still produces excellent image quality and video output. For studio work or shooting outdoors, this sensor and the Canon processor will capture all the necessary details.
Weighing in at 890gm, the 5D Mark IV is the heaviest of the product photographer cameras in this guide. While it still comes in at under 1kg, when handholding and shooting with this camera all day, fatigue is going to be a factor.
Like Nikon, Canon has been in the business of producing cameras and lenses for many decades. In fact, Canon has been developing cameras since the 1930s.
Fujifilm GFX 100
In 2019, Fujifilm declared their first medium format mirrorless camera GFX 100. What made it stand out was that its design was unique from its medium format counterparts. Instead, it looked more like a supersize mirrorless camera.
Despite being bigger than a regular mirrorless camera, the GFX 100 is quite compact for a medium format. That is why it is perfect for both outdoor projects and indoor shoots. Sure, the body alone costs 10,000USD. But as a medium format camera with a 100MP sensor, it is quite a deal. Especially since its competitors cost about 40 to 50,000USD.
Fujifilm GFX 50R
Cannot afford the 10,000USD GFX100 quite yet? Then try the GFX 50R, Fujifilm’s 5,000USD 50MP version. Sure, it is still quite expensive. But if you think about it, it is just about the same price of many flagship DSLRs these days. That is why it is an excellent entry-point for those who want to try medium format.
So, what do you get with the GFX 50R? First, you get to enjoy expert-level image quality at a fraction of the price. The 50R’s medium format sensor gives you depth and resolution that even the best full-frame sensor cannot replicate. It also has smaller file sizes compared to the GFX 100. And finally, it has a compact body that is perfect for both lifestyle product shots and studio photography.
