Photographing grow tent / small room - what kind of lens?

[goingrey]

So my dream is to stand at the door, take a shot, and have it look something like what my eyes are seeing. For documenting grows...

What kind of lens would be suitable for this? Ultra wide angle like Sony 14mm f1.8 GM for example? This is my thinking but an expensive thought if wrong..

 

[Elrond]

What kind of camera do you have? For a full frame sensor a 50 mm lens would have about the magnification that the human eye has. But not the angle, so maybe 35 or 24 mm would be better. A 14 mm lens is very distorted.

 

[goingrey]

What kind of camera do you have? For a full frame sensor a 50 mm lens would have about the magnification that the human eye has. But not the angle, so maybe 35 or 24 mm would be better. A 14 mm lens is very distorted.

Sony a7 III, old camera but new to me.

50mm is the lens I have (Sony FE 1.8/50). It's passable for the tent actually as the door is about full width. But for a room that widens beyond the doors it doesn't work.

The 14mm GM hasn't looked too distorted in the Youtube reviews, but not sure how that would be in this application and in the real world not Youtube reviews.

Sigma 14-24mm f2.8 lens would be about the same price as the Sony 14mm f1.8 GM. You think it would be better?

Another thing to consider is the light. Plants are lit heavily from the growlight direction and shadowed heavily from the other.. so the 1.8 is maybe better?

 

[goingrey]

Or even Sigma 14mm f1.4?

 

[goingrey]

Neither is in exactly photogenic condition right now but as an example to what I want to shoot.

The tent, maybe ok with the 50mm.. Will have to see when I have some bigger plants.

The room.. yeah no, no idea what is going on, if you don't know..

 

[pop_rocks]

What kind of camera do you have? For a full frame sensor a 50 mm lens would have about the magnification that the human eye has. But not the angle, so maybe 35 or 24 mm would be better. A 14 mm lens is very distorted.

this all the way!
i actually like a 35-40* focal length for just general view
14mm/f1.4 sounds like a sweet lens but a little wide view, i would use that for landscapes outdoors
if you want to get in close you want to get a macro lens

 

[goingrey]

this all the way!
i actually like a 35-40* focal length for just general view
14mm/f1.4 sounds like a sweet lens but a little wide view, i would use that for landscapes outdoors
if you want to get in close you want to get a macro lens

Hmm 35-40mm fo general view... but is this general.

What would you use if you were selling your house and wanted to take a shot of your bathroom?

 

[pop_rocks]

Hmm 35-40mm fo general view... but is this general.

What would you use if you were selling your house and wanted to take a shot of your bathroom?

you are right, 50mm is the typical view of the human eye
depending on the space maybe he need a 35mm

i just like a broader angle for a walking around lens or general field of human eye view
this would be my general all purpose lens

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/ef-17-40-f-4l-usm

 

[goingrey]

Hehe I watched some how to photograph small rooms video and the guy said that "the only option" is ... 12mm.

 

[pop_rocks]

Hehe I watched some how to photograph small rooms video and the guy said that "the only option" is ... 12mm.

a 12mm a crazy wide angle but hey man if thats the only option
the 17-40 i reverenced is a great close up, what you see lens
that and a good macro and you will get all the shots
i like the 100mm macro myself but i can dig the 60mm macro for a more all purpose lens
/the 100 is also a great portrait lens

 

[goingrey]

a 12mm a crazy wide angle but hey man if thats the only option
the 17-40 i reverenced is a great close up, what you see lens
that and a good macro and you will get all the shots
i like the 100mm macro myself but i can dig the 60mm macro for a more all purpose lens
/the 100 is also a great portrait lens

Hehe only problem is Sony doesn't even make a 12mm.

Though a Samyang 12mm for Sony would be about a fifth of the price of the 14mm lenses. But not full frame, and possibly not quite up to par in the optics.

The 17-40 seems like a neat option for Canons.

 

[Elrond]

I would go for a 24-70mm. With 12 or 14mm your plants will all look lanky like sativas, the proportions will just be completely off. However, you don’t need to buy an expensive lens to start with, try a cheap vintage japanese lens of 24 or 35 mm with an adapter. Or buy an old Canon EF 24-70/2.8. Once you found the perfect focal lenght, you can buy the Sony equivalent.
Many shops also offer rentals.

 

[goingrey]

I would go for a 24-70mm. With 12 or 14mm your plants will all look lanky like sativas, the proportions will just be completely off. However, you don’t need to buy an expensive lens to start with, try a cheap vintage japanese lens of 24 or 35 mm with an adapter. Or buy an old Canon EF 24-70/2.8. Once you found the perfect focal lenght, you can buy the Sony equivalent.
Many shops also offer rentals.

Rental could be an interesting option.

An EF - FE adapter costs almost as much as those Samyang lenses like the 12mm.

 

[pop_rocks]

I would go for a 24-70mm. With 12 or 14mm your plants will all look lanky like sativas, the proportions will just be completely off. However, you don’t need to buy an expensive lens to start with, try a cheap vintage japanese lens of 24 or 35 mm with an adapter. Or buy an old Canon EF 24-70/2.8. Once you found the perfect focal lenght, you can buy the Sony equivalent.
Many shops also offer rentals.

Rental could be an interesting option.

An EF - FE adapter costs almost as much as those Samyang lenses like the 12mm.

thats a great idea, and maybe you could rent a lens to try
but it depends on what you want to invest into this hoby
@12mm you are going to have distortion at the edges you are almost in the fisheye category
i would look for something 35mm and above

have fun and work with what you have for now i guess

 

[goingrey]

Full frame 14mm could be a better option than the 12mm APS-C.

Like this cheap one, they do talk about the corner distortion but it doesn't look that bad. 50 more than just the EF adapter on sale.



But yeah what do I want to invest in the hobby. Because this next one isn't just a little bit more, it's 6 times the price. But less distortion according to the reviews, and I wonder how much of a difference the f-number going down to 1.8 from 2.8 makes...



I'm kinda ok in "investing" in the hobby, in a way I invest everything every day as I could end up in jail for it, and would lose a lot more than just time if that happens (knock on wood). And I would prefer to get a good one straight away instead of trying to make do with a crappier one. I've spent enough time with a cheap camera and the "it's not the camera it's the photographer" mantra to know that.. it's also the camera.

It's just that I don't want to spend a lot of money for imagined performance and then be disappointed if it turns out to be the wrong tool for the job. So yeah I'll have to look into the rentals.

 

[pop_rocks]

Full frame 14mm could be a better option than the 12mm APS-C.

Like this cheap one, they do talk about the corner distortion but it doesn't look that bad. 50 more than just the EF adapter on sale.



But yeah what do I want to invest in the hobby. Because this next one isn't just a little bit more, it's 6 times the price. But less distortion according to the reviews, and I wonder how much of a difference the f-number going down to 1.8 from 2.8 makes...



I'm kinda ok in "investing" in the hobby, in a way I invest everything every day as I could end up in jail for it, and would lose a lot more than just time if that happens (knock on wood). And I would prefer to get a good one straight away instead of trying to make do with a crappier one. I've spent enough time with a cheap camera and the "it's not the camera it's the photographer" mantra to know that.. it's also the camera.

It's just that I don't want to spend a lot of money for imagined performance and then be disappointed if it turns out to be the wrong tool for the job. So yeah I'll have to look into the rentals.

or just make the most of what you have! there are a lot of things you can do to take better pictures with your current set up
do you have a tripod?
no matter what camera you buy a good tripod is solid*

*pun intended

 

[goingrey]

or just make the most of what you have! there are a lot of things you can do to take better pictures with your current set up
do you have a tripod?

I do have a tripod yeah. Those shots from earlier weren't shot with it, they were just to give an idea of the situation.. If that's what made you ask.

 

[goingrey]

I think this is the best I can do with the current gear for a "full view". On a tripod, growlight off.

I want to move closer so I'm at the door and can see the whole room and get a better idea of what's going on..

 

[pop_rocks]

this is with your 50mm? what f stop are you using?
maybe lower that to get a better depth of field
dont worry about the shutter speed because if you are on a tripod it will hold steady
ii dont know what field of view you are trying to capture, but how much of what we see in that pic is what you want to gt?

 

[goingrey]

this is with your 50mm? what f stop are you using?
maybe lower that to get a better depth of field
dont worry about the shutter speed because if you are on a tripod it will hold steady
ii dont know what field of view you are trying to capture, but how much of what we see in that pic is what you want to gt?

That is with the 50mm yeah, f2.

What I'm trying to capture is something like this at better quality. This was shot with my old pocket camera with the lens zoom set to 5.5mm.