G6 vs DMC-FZ20/27/30 vs A620 vs SLR

[gfhoward]

Is it useful for indoor commercial photography to be able to go above F8 in aperture? The Point & Shoots seem to only go up to 8. That is perhaps the only drawback to these point and shoots as compared with an SLR that I have seen. I trying to decide between these 4, what do you think? It is primarily for indoor studio pictures of knives. Thanks

[capedeci]

it is useful for me, don't know for you. I've shot some products too,

I would suggest you to go for a dSLR, some have comparable price with FZ30, and it produce better pictures. You certainly don't need the superzoom for knives don't you?

Here's one affordable alternative for you

Canon 350D + 50mm F1.8 lens + Nikon 4T CU lens (optional for closeups). You can get this combination for less than $1000

It could be any cheaper dSLRs.. like pentax & nikon, but the canon is the only one I've tried for close ups, and it did very well.

It give you very flexible DOF.

here's one example, I took this at f/16, with slave flashes, KM5D + Nikon 4T CU lens. Disclaimer: this shot is just for fun, an example, i'm not responsible if it sucked.
http://i1.tinypic.com/nd7gaa.jpg

[gfhoward]

Thanks, do you use manual focus or auto focus? Is one better than the other? Where can I get that package for under $1000, and how close would you get before switching lenses?

Also I thought F16 (a very small opening) increases depth of field, but in your picture tha background is blurred. Can u explain? Thanks

[Rhys]

Quite honestly I see the Pentax *ist has a lot going for it. It's 6 magapixels which is enough for most things. If you really need more then you're looking at a Canon 1D or Nikon D2.

[capedeci]

Thanks, do you use manual focus or auto focus? Is one better than the other? Where can I get that package for under $1000, and how close would you get before switching lenses?

Also I thought F16 (a very small opening) increases depth of field, but in your picture tha background is blurred. Can u explain? Thanks

A close up filter on a dSLR allows autofocus, while if its attached on a prosumer camera (e.g. FZ30) it will have a fixed focus distance, no matter what your f length, it will always focused in around 10inch from the lens surface.

The Nikon 4T is a filter actually, not a lens. If I said it as a lens before, then its a mistake. This filter allows you to focus closer (I think it is around 10cm or less) when using the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens.

For product (knife) photography, personally I think you don't need any other lens, the Canon 50mm f/1.8 will be enough, the Nikon close up filter is used only when you need to get closer. Natively, the 50mm allows you to focus in... I forgot, but I think it is 45cm. So the Nikon CU filter enables you to focus from less than 10cm, which is quite a big difference than without the filter.

It's true about the small opening produce large DOF (no blurred background), but in my picture, it's taken from a close distance (closer subject = narrower DOF = more blured background) with the aid of the Nikon Close Up (CU) filter. In this situation, if I use large opening (e.g. f/3.5) then most picture will be blurred, for example, only her left hand is focused, while her right hand, hair, and everything else will be blurred. I also take that photo at somewhere between 60 to 70mm, which will lessen the DOF. So, in that shooting setup, that DOF is almost as big as I could get.

I'm in Indonesia, so I don't know where you can get those at that price. Don't forget that there is also cheaper Pentax, Nikon, or KM dSLRs that also accepts the close up filter and do the job as well.

Thanks.

hope this helps

[coldrain]

Is it useful for indoor commercial photography to be able to go above F8 in aperture? The Point & Shoots seem to only go up to 8. That is perhaps the only drawback to these point and shoots as compared with an SLR that I have seen. I trying to decide between these 4, what do you think? It is primarily for indoor studio pictures of knives. Thanks
You can not compare the aperture numbers from a compact digital camera that has a small sensor with the aperture figures of a DSLR. Compact digitals have a much deeper field of view, and f8 on those would probably be f22 or even higher on a DSLR, what the resulting depth of field is concerned.