I love pens. Love photography. Seems like a match made in heaven, n’est ce pas? Got a dSLR (Nikon D70) last Christmas with a 18-70mm Nikkor lens. Can do some nice things with it, either using it in Auto mode or like an old manual SLR. Reading after market manual... about ½ way through, but still a long way to go to really understand all the features.

I have tried to take pix of pens and nibs and come up with mediocre results. I have seen some STUPENDOUS pictures here and on some of the other pen sites, so I know I can do better. For the time being let’s forget about color, composition, post-shooting manipulation with software, etc.

Am I correct to deduce that in order to take a truly GOOD picture of a pen/nib I will need a macro lens? Or, are any of you using tele-converters? Or cheaper zoom lenses with longer telephoto, say 300 mm? Other solutions? A decent Nikkor macro lens, the 105mm 105 F/2.8 D Macro Lens, costs over $500, so I am looking for alternative (read: less expensive) options.

BTW, it would be so nice if some of you accomplished artists would publish some of the variables in your favorite pix. Personally I would be interested in the camera, lens(es), aperture, focal length/depth of field, shutter speed, etc. Do you use a camera stand? Special lights?

I know this is not a photography forum, but maybe y’all can teach us amateurs to take better pictures of our common subject: fountain pens. I, for one, would be very appreciative.

I'll be quite honest and say that I prefer to use my little Practika or the work Canon to take pen photos because they have decent macros. I just don't find the D70 with 18-70 to be a good camera for taking pen photos. The pen photos I have posted on here taken with the D70 have been with a Sigma 28-300 lens. I prefer to photograph my pens in natural daylight, using a tripod if necessary to keep the camera steady without the use of flash. Nothing fancy about the facilities I have available to me for taking photos.

The photos in this topic were taken with the Practica, which is a 5 megapixel point and shoot which cost 80 quid. Macro setting with flash.

The photos in this topic were with the D70, natural daylight, ISO 400, Sigma 28-300 lens.

Some of the very best pictures I have seen are those that lanatir posted in this forum. In this thread he gives some details about what he uses and his setup.

Wow, must you use a SLR to take pictures like lantair?

I have a point and shoot Canon S400 camera. Whenever I take pictures too close (even with macro settings), it seems like the flast is too strong & shiny. My pictures end up with a light.

I use a handheld Canon Ixus 40 (Powershot SD300 in the US). On my desk its just the halogeen spots, and the image correction for that in the Canon. But my best pictures have been taken in the daylight on the window sill (is that the right word?).
-Hans.

Hi Andrew,

The following pictures:



Link to full size pic


Link to full size pic

I shot with a Canon EF-S 60 m macro (the first one) and a Canon TS-E 90 mm lens (the 2nd and 3rd one), all at F11, on my new toy, a Canon 350D. The first one on a piece of dark pink card board, and the other two in a light tent of 2 by 2 by 2 ft, the inverno on a blue piece of perspex, and the majestic on a black/dark grey piece of perspex. For all photographs I used the camera on a very sturdy tripod, and 3 flash units, the main one to the side front left, fitted with a difuser and bounce panel, the second one to the back (hence the slight halo around parts of the pens), and the third one to the upper right front, slightly from above. The two extra flash units are cheap slave units with low guide numbers.

Ideally I'd like to use an extra, fourth flash unit, but I don't have any budget left right now .

The trick is really to practice a lot, change the lighting, the layout, etc., but only change one parameter at a time, and see what the results are. One of the great things of digital photography is that you can see the results straight away, and try again if it isn't up to scratch. For the last two pics, I experimented with the setup for a total of about 150 photographs...

Using the in-built flash unit of a camera generally isn't a great idea, because the lighting tends to be harsh, as it lights up from the front. What I used to do with my old digicam, a Canon G5, is to use a piece of white paper in front of the flash (a little cellotape does just fine to attach it) to soften the light.

Alternatively, use daylight, either outside on a nice day with not too harsh light, or on a window sill, like Hans, who got spectacular results that way.

Some digicams don't easily focus up close enough. In that case I would try to use a close-up lens, provided you camera will fit one. Normally you need an adapter ring or two to fit it, but the results can be quite good:







Sorry these aren't pens, but these are just hand-held pics, outside, fairly long shutter times (but try and try again) with a close-up lens mounted to my old G5. Note that the berries are about 4-5 mm in diameter, the small blue flower with the seed cases next to it about 8-9 mm, and the star shaped flower is about 2 cm in diameter. And I know from experience you can achieve good pictures with even smaller cameras, like those of the pens in the nib smoothing article. Those were done with a Canon S45, handheld, natural (day)light, close to a window, nothing else.

One more thing: to use a close-up lens, you generally need to be able to focus manually, which is something I prefer to do when shooting macro anyway. At close-up distances, it is very easy for the camera autofocus system to get confused and focus on an area different to what you had in mind yourself.

HTH, warm regards, Wim

I am no expert, though I am working to improve my tabletop photography.

For my Taccia Doric review pictures, I used a Nikon D70 and a Nikkor 105mm macro on a tripod. For some of the pictures, like the closeups of the nibs, I added on some Kenko extension tubes to the macro lens. The extension tubes are inexpensive and may be useful with regular lenses to allow focusing more closely. If getting/using a macro lens is not possible, maybe a closeup filter will help. Some non-SLR digital cameras have a closeup add-on lens that can be used. However, the most important technical part is using a diffuser for the lights instead of using a direct on-camera flash. Direct flash can cause shadows with a hard edge. Diffusing the light softens the edges of shadows.

My light tent/diffuser setup is an EZCube from http://www.tabletopstudio.com/. As lanatir's thread shows, it is possible to get good photographs with an inexpensive diffuser. In between, and relatively inexpensive, are simple diffusor discs, diffusion material in a collapsible metal ring. In my case, I wanted something that could help control the dust, that could zip in the front around the lens to help control reflections, that would have some flexibility for shooting from the front or the top, and that could be collapsed and put away easily. That led me to the cube shape of this diffuser. The thin wire frame allows it to collapse into a little fat disc. Having always on lights allows for easily viewing shadows and highlights without having to take a picture. But, leaving incandescent lights on can make it quite warm. So, I also wanted the flourescent flood lights. So, that's my setup: an EZCube and two tabletop daylight flourescent flood lights, D70, macro lens, extension tubes, and a tripod.

One more thing I do: As I did not buy a remote shutter for the D70, I use the self-timer feature. Since I am not using a flash, the exposure time can be slightly longer. Using the combination of a tripod and the self-timer helps me to reduce vibration in the camera.

Many modern digital cameras actually have a reasonably decent close-focusing feature. I am using a Canon G2, (an older 4 mp digicam.) I've been able to achive some passable close-up shots by moving in as close as possible, and then enlarging certain areas of the frame using a Photoshop-like program.



TMann

There was an article on Slashdot today that seems relevant. It is about making a Macro lens from a Pringles can. Enjoy.

Article link
http://www.photocritic.org/2005/macro-phot...hy-on-a-budget/

Slashdot commentary link
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/12/1725209

Absolutely breath taking, Dutchman. You rekindled a long-lost love in my heart. Have not been able to keep up with the technology or technique since I left graduate school (busy, busy, busy) so I have forgotten what a wonderful art and pleasurable pastime photography can be. Thank you, Wim.

Tim got straight to the point and, in fact, I’ll probably just imitate (sincerest form of flattery, eh?) his set-up. Thank you, Tim, for the pointer to tabletopstudio.com. It's a treasure trove of ideas and solutions.

And to the rest of you who responded so quickly, so graciously and so cogently, I offer my heartfelt thanks. You represent the best the Internet has to offer. You have all helped me think and now I know exactly what I have to do. First of all, I must learn to use my camera properly, of course. ;-)

I will dig out my old manual Minolta T-100 (it's 1.4 lens will allow me a nice shallow depth of field)and will have to stick with D70, since it's by far the most extravagant piece of photography equipment I have ever owned and I think it can do more than I will ever need. Besides, it's my wife's gift to me and I treasure it. What a nice lady she is!

My Christmas/Father’s Day/Birthday wish list has the following additions:

Nikkor 70-300mm/4-5.6G Lens
Nikon 5T Close-up Adaptor
Small Copy Stand CS-12
3-4 Lights with daylight-balanced bulbs
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight Flash
SU-4 Wireless Slave Flash Controller
EZcube Light Tent

THANK YOU ALL, dear FPNites (FPNers?).

I'm not a photographer but I am going to point my husband to this page so he can get to using his new digital SLR camera on my pens.
Thanks, everyone, for the posts and the wonderful photos!

~Maja

I've recently built my own light tent using plastic rods and facial tissues; for a cheap solution, the results were very impressive -- just on my aging point-and-shoot 2.2MP digital camera with a closeup lens. I'm planning on posting my results from a shoot I did a while back soon.

For shooting pens, especially reflective surfaces thereon, the light tent is essential for avoiding glare.

By all means, Jeff, do post your pix. Clearly, we all love them.

Hi Andrew, Thank you for your extremely kind words! Wow! Indeed!

I had a look at your choices of materials/wishes etc. , and just couldn't help myself looking up things .

Great choice of lens! After this one you only need to save up for a nice Micro-Nikkor .

Very good choice with the 70-300 IMO. You will be able to get image filling flower (and pen ) shots with that combination!

Couldn't find this one, so I am very curious to know what exactly it is .

Great to experiment with. I have some, but unfortunately never took the time to create a frame to hang them from for ideal lighting purposes, as I couldn't find the right lamp fittings (they just don't seem to sell them anymore over here). Which is why I just use flash lights now.

Ooooohhhh.... Great flash unit. Of course one of the big advantages of a Nikon over a Canon is how it handles its dedicated flash units. Proper TTL metering...

Yes! That'll make the flash unit even better!

ANother great choice! Do yourself a favour and get one of the "cubes" with an extra removable flap. That way you can use it for outside macro photography as well (put it over a flower, or whatever , and still have the side with the lens openings for taking a photograph through. Ideal! Oh, and take one that is big enough. I am really glad the one I got is 2 by 2 by 2 ft. I thought it was going to be too big, but slightly bigger is even better, IMO!

Other things you might consider are a DR-6 (angle finder), and a very sturdy tripod, preferably one with round tubes and screw clamps on the legs (they don't wear out like the turn-over clamps on square legs).

I must say I haven't really used slrs a lot since about 1985, as by then I got very seriously into computers, and didn't have much time for anyhting else . Almost 5 years ago I sold all of my analog slr stuff, as I saw the digital revolution coming, and the kind of pictures I was taking over all those years didn't require any sophisticated cameras anyway. I had the opportunity to buy a G5 at a very good price about 2 years ago, and that in combination with my rekindled interest in pens, and my little stash of funds for photography equipment (hey... I'm stronger than some of you may think, when it comes to buying things ), triggered the recent interest into slrs and macro photography again , especially seeing the great pen photography here and on PT.

Anyway, please do show us some of your pics when you create some, I just love looking at photographs, especially of pens .

Warm regards, Wim

Hi Jeff,
Looking forward to your pics!

BTW, if you could do a little write-up on your successful attempt to create a low-budget and very effective light tent, I think that would be appreciated very much, too. Preferably illustrated with pictures, maybe .

TIA, warm regards, Wim

It's less than $100!!


It’s only $39.95 and I am used to using one from the days when I made a lot of copying. It’s available at the TableTopStudio.Com


Thank you for the pointers.


I already have the DR-6 Rectangular Right Angle Viewfinder listed, but it's $185, so I will need to see how my set-up is working out. I am switching my office downstairs from Library/Music Room (books and CDs) to Pen Collecting & Repair/ Watch collecting/ Home Theater/Exercise room. There is a workbench in the garage, which I may bring in, an actually use it as a workbench instead of storage for old monitors, computer books, printers, computers, etc. :-/ If I do, then I may also use it as a repair bench and photography desktop.


Got a couple, one of them is 30 years old and works just as well as it did the day I bought it. It’s steel.


Yes, yes. Absolutely wonderful art.


Definitely will. It's the least I can do for all these neat people who are so willing to help.


Me, too. "Stole" a few and made them wallpapers on my monitors. ;-D

Thank you, again, for the help and the terrific pointers.

Wao... Wao... WAO !

I see you have been secretly working to shame us all, Wim. Outstanding pictures !

Denis... slurping on hot apple cider left over from the reading room grand opening party. I should ask our Division Chief if we have funds to make that available every night

Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy taking photographs and looking at those created by others. If I can help others grow in their appreciation of fountain pens and fine pics, so much the better. It is definitely a learning experience. Enjoy the journey.

One of the best macro lenses make by Nikkor is the 105mm Macro lens. you can really get the pores of a tick up close. Nikon makes fantastic optics along with Zeiss, Schneider Kreuznach and Pentax/Mamiya (industrial lenses)

For what I shoot at work, the 105mm Nikkor is about the most used lens in my kit. For launches, I use the Schneider Kreuznach for 16mm motion picture film up to 150mm.

If you have the money and want the best optics with very little to no distortion, it is best to concentrate on a faster lens with less elements.

For an example 35-200mm lens at F4 or something like that has way too many elements and is not very good for low light conditions especially when flash is unacceptable. There is more distortion in the edges of the frame and there are issues with these lenses not being as durable.

Lenses that are in my Camera Kit at work for still conventional film and digital are:

15mm rectilinear fisheye Nikkor lens with very little distortion and bending.
17mm-35mm Nikkor lens
35mm-70mm Nikkor Lens
80mm-200mm Nikkor Lens
300mm Nikkor lens
and a 105mm Macro Nikkor lens

I wish I can afford to buy my own but you are looking at a small fortune. But these are my Bread and Butter lenses when it comes to my work.

TNS

and a 105mm Macro Nikkor lens


- Is this a Nikon lens or is it Nikkor? I did a search on amazon with no results.

Yes.

Nikon manufactures the lens, but calls it Nikkor.

Here is a link to the lens: 105mm f/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor

Betty,

This is pro/sumer/fessional grade stuff made by Nikon (Nikkor is their brand name for lenses). If you are interested.... The lens' MSP is $850 and the best price I have seen is $459.00 at:
http://bestpricecameras.com/prodetails.asp?prodid=193480

ha ha, no way can I afford a $450 lens right now. I'm still at the stage where if I pay $450, then I should get the entire camera, not just some lens.

I am however ready to pay $1000 for an SLR camera with lens kit to play around first though.

I hear ya...

It will come down to:

EOS Digital Rebel XT SLR Camera with 18-55 mm Lens - Silver
$742-$1008

Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D Digital SLR Camera with 28-100 mm AF Lens
$889-$1689

Nikon D70s Digital SLR Camera w/ 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
$800-$1000

Which you choose will depend on your style. ALL are superb prosumer cameras.

In either case make sure you also get an after-market manual... unless you already had a dSLR you will be just as amazed as I was.

You will have oodles of fun, no matter which you pick.

Hi Denis, Nah, just that I finally got around to making a final choice on cam and lenses, after almost 5 years on no slrs and 20 of just snap-shots, and then tried to get up to speed again on old skills . I'll try some more around Christmas . Thank you kindly!
Hey, never thought about that. We do warm red wine with cloves and oranges over here, but nothing like hot apple cider. Sounds good!

Warm regards, Wim

Hi Andrew, I agree with you, and there are a few more. Olympus and Pentax come to mind.
However, I hope you don't mind, but I would like to add one note here: currently, Nikon and Canon are really the market leaders when it comes to digital slrs, and that is not likely to change any time soon. Between them they have > 80 % of the market. Therefore I would recommend either the Nikon or the Canon, because it is much easier to find additional equipment for cameras of these brands, including lenses etc, than of any of the others.

Oh, yes! Lots and lots of fun!

Warm regards, Wim

Hi Andrew, That doesn't matter at all. Optically, it is very good, stopped down 2 or 3 stops, like all lenses of the major manufacturers.

Thanks for that reference, I have saved it on my shopping list .

It isn't cheap, indeed. You may find a used one. For soem reason I always en up working in cramped spaces, or extremely close to the floor or ground. In those cases it is a godsend! That sounds very nice! Just make sure you allow for enough room to walk around, even when the camera is set up. I tumbled ove my tripod a few times already .
Well, mine is slightly younger, only by 3 or 4 years!
Thank you! Looking forward to your pics!
If one of mine is amongst them I feel very honoured!

No thanks required. Talking about one of my other hobbies is always great...

Warm regards, Wim

And I've come down to finally choosing.....*drumroll, horns, banner...* the Canon Rebel XT in Black body only & a 17-85mm f/4-5.6 lens. Hope this is a good choice, lens wise. I already know the body is great, but I wonder if the lens I am choosing is good to justify its pricey $500.00.

You really can't go wrong. This stuff is amazing. Personally, for a first lens I prefer one that extends into the telephoto range, even if only a little bit.

Some excellent reviews:

Two lenses compared
http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/300D/...00D_lenses.html

Nice technical review
http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/lense...22_3128crx.aspx

This one has 29 amazon shoppers offering their opinions and experiences with the lens:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002Y5WX...=photo&v=glance

Hope this helps

Andrew, I know stuff all about cameras however a friend of mine purchased a Canon EOS 350D a few days ago. Just now I snapped a pic of the nib of my VP. It was taken indoors under fluro tubes with a flash so not the best but the result is damn good. Imagine good daylight without flash and not compressed to a small jpeg.
I'm goona get one that's for sure.

Very nice. You got yourself a camera. Have fun. :->