Shooting food with the K20D + DA Limiteds

soccerjoe5 · 04-01-2009, 12:58 AM

I've been doing food photography for the past few months now and I've been VERY happy with the K20D and the DA Limited lenses so far.

GREAT optics. I mean fantastic optics. Helluva sharp and my shooting partner (who uses Canon) is always astonished at how good these tiny lenses are. I started out with the DA40 and eventually got the DA21 and DA70. I also have the DA35 but somehow I don't find myself using it much, I keep forgetting to put it out.

The light weight and compact size of these lenses have been great. Mounted on my Manfrotto 055 + Markins M10 is quite overkill (coming from a Nikon f/2.8 system) but my whole setup is rock solid and really easy to adjust.

The K20D's body has been fantastic. I love the viewfinder paired with the KPS U-13C 1.3x viewfinder magnifying eyepiece. The sensor (and lenses of course) has been really bringing out the detail, which is what food is all about = details!

Only gripes so far are the relatively crappy computer tethered shooting, and also the slow flash sync speed (max 1/180). Other than that, very happy with the system.

I actually use the Live View a LOT! Once you figure out its weaknesses and quirks, it's helluva useful. I hook up my camera to a portable screen/DVD player and set my camera on a tripod, then carry around the screen while tweaking/fixing the table setting using Live View. I can instantly see what I move on the table setup, instead of (1) adjusting stuff on the table and (2) going back to the camera to look through the viewfinder AGAIN and AGAIN.

I can't stress how excited I am should Pentax improve the Live View with a better LCD screen on the body (zooming in for focus checking would be so much better) and implement HDMI.

Shooting food has been such a great experience so far and a REAL challenge in lighting. My lighting knowledge has been really growing with shooting food. So is my attention to detail! I can't say how many times such a little detail could make or break a photo, little things like a tiny ingredient out of place, the way a glass is positioned (rotation-wise), how adding a tiny splash of light using a tiny reflector could really enhance the shot, and so much more.

I'm relatively new to food photography (started November 08) and here are some of the photos I'd like to share

maxwell1295 · 04-01-2009, 06:46 AM

Too many good shots to mention, but 1 and 4 really jump out at you....and make you hungry! What lenses did you use for those shots?

soccerjoe5 · 04-01-2009, 06:55 AM

Originally posted by maxwell1295

Too many good shots to mention, but 1 and 4 really jump out at you....and make you hungry! What lenses did you use for those shots?

Thanks!

I used the DA Limiteds = DA21 DA40 and the DA70. The first one is with the DA40 and the 4th one (sandwich) is the DA70.

kenyee · 04-01-2009, 08:05 AM

nicely done...I find the hardest thing to get right w/ food is lighting. What did you end up using? Looks like most of them were done w/ softboxes from behind the food?

GaryM · 04-01-2009, 10:08 AM

Beautiful work, made me hungry which is perhaps the best thing food photography can do. I love the DA Limiteds, they are the #1 reason I shoot Pentax.

OPTMEKX& · 04-01-2009, 03:06 PM

A well executed work Diego, worthy of a magazine cover.

cheers,

rene

**k100d** · 04-01-2009, 03:21 PM

awesome work diego as usual

(even if most were repeats

)

i for one have always been confused why live view was bashed so heavily when it was first proposed. so called 'professionals' who would never ever use it because they thought it wasn't good enough for them. hopefully the next set of cameras has a much better live view implementation, i think so far Canon has the most complete version, a Live Histogram and DOF preview is extremely useful.

K100Dave · 04-03-2009, 08:21 AM

Diego, your food photography shots are very inspiring! I have a product shot session coming up here in a few weeks for a local catering service. I have been researching night and day through various mags, and food photographer's blogs for inspiration. I can tell you that your work can hold it's own against all of the material that I have seen thus far.

soccerjoe5 · 04-03-2009, 08:27 AM

Originally posted by kenyee

nicely done...I find the hardest thing to get right w/ food is lighting. What did you end up using? Looks like most of them were done w/ softboxes from behind the food?

Left, right, behind, top.. combination of lights everywhere on those photos. Best way to learn is to play around with lights a lot

Originally posted by GaryM

Beautiful work, made me hungry which is perhaps the best thing food photography can do. I love the DA Limiteds, they are the #1 reason I shoot Pentax.

Thanks Gary!

Originally posted by OPTMEKX&

A well executed work Diego, worthy of a magazine cover.

cheers,

rene

Thank you Rene!

Originally posted by k100d

awesome work diego as usual

(even if most were repeats

)

i for one have always been confused why live view was bashed so heavily when it was first proposed. so called 'professionals' who would never ever use it because they thought it wasn't good enough for them. hopefully the next set of cameras has a much better live view implementation, i think so far Canon has the most complete version, a Live Histogram and DOF preview is extremely useful.

True true. I love live view for studio work

Originally posted by K100Dave

Diego, your food photography shots are very inspiring! I have a product shot session coming up here in a few weeks for a local catering service. I have been researching night and day through various mags, and food photographer's blogs for inspiration. I can tell you that your work can hold it's own against all of the material that I have seen thus far.

Thank you Dave! Best of luck at your session!

xs400 · 04-03-2009, 09:03 AM

Beautiful work. I really need to get some of the DA Limited. Maybe my next lens purchase will be the DA 40mm. Thanks for sharing.

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04-01-2009, 12:58 AM	#1
soccerjoe5 Veteran Member	Shooting food with the K20D + DA Limiteds I've been doing food photography for the past few months now and I've been VERY happy with the K20D and the DA Limited lenses so far. GREAT optics. I mean fantastic optics. Helluva sharp and my shooting partner (who uses Canon) is always astonished at how good these tiny lenses are. I started out with the DA40 and eventually got the DA21 and DA70. I also have the DA35 but somehow I don't find myself using it much, I keep forgetting to put it out. The light weight and compact size of these lenses have been great. Mounted on my Manfrotto 055 + Markins M10 is quite overkill (coming from a Nikon f/2.8 system) but my whole setup is rock solid and really easy to adjust. The K20D's body has been fantastic. I love the viewfinder paired with the KPS U-13C 1.3x viewfinder magnifying eyepiece. The sensor (and lenses of course) has been really bringing out the detail, which is what food is all about = details! Only gripes so far are the relatively crappy computer tethered shooting, and also the slow flash sync speed (max 1/180). Other than that, very happy with the system. I actually use the Live View a LOT! Once you figure out its weaknesses and quirks, it's helluva useful. I hook up my camera to a portable screen/DVD player and set my camera on a tripod, then carry around the screen while tweaking/fixing the table setting using Live View. I can instantly see what I move on the table setup, instead of (1) adjusting stuff on the table and (2) going back to the camera to look through the viewfinder AGAIN and AGAIN. I can't stress how excited I am should Pentax improve the Live View with a better LCD screen on the body (zooming in for focus checking would be so much better) and implement HDMI. Shooting food has been such a great experience so far and a REAL challenge in lighting. My lighting knowledge has been really growing with shooting food. So is my attention to detail! I can't say how many times such a little detail could make or break a photo, little things like a tiny ingredient out of place, the way a glass is positioned (rotation-wise), how adding a tiny splash of light using a tiny reflector could really enhance the shot, and so much more. I'm relatively new to food photography (started November 08) and here are some of the photos I'd like to share

04-01-2009, 06:46 AM	#2
maxwell1295 Veteran Member	Too many good shots to mention, but 1 and 4 really jump out at you....and make you hungry! What lenses did you use for those shots?

04-01-2009, 06:55 AM	#3
soccerjoe5 Veteran Member	Originally posted by maxwell1295 Too many good shots to mention, but 1 and 4 really jump out at you....and make you hungry! What lenses did you use for those shots? Thanks! I used the DA Limiteds = DA21 DA40 and the DA70. The first one is with the DA40 and the 4th one (sandwich) is the DA70.

04-01-2009, 08:05 AM	#4
kenyee Pentaxian	nicely done...I find the hardest thing to get right w/ food is lighting. What did you end up using? Looks like most of them were done w/ softboxes from behind the food?

04-01-2009, 10:08 AM	#5
GaryM Veteran Member	Beautiful work, made me hungry which is perhaps the best thing food photography can do. I love the DA Limiteds, they are the #1 reason I shoot Pentax.

04-01-2009, 03:06 PM	#6
OPTMEKX& Senior Member	A well executed work Diego, worthy of a magazine cover. cheers, rene

04-01-2009, 03:21 PM	#7
k100d Site Supporter	awesome work diego as usual (even if most were repeats ) i for one have always been confused why live view was bashed so heavily when it was first proposed. so called 'professionals' who would never ever use it because they thought it wasn't good enough for them. hopefully the next set of cameras has a much better live view implementation, i think so far Canon has the most complete version, a Live Histogram and DOF preview is extremely useful.

04-03-2009, 08:21 AM	#8
K100Dave Senior Member	Diego, your food photography shots are very inspiring! I have a product shot session coming up here in a few weeks for a local catering service. I have been researching night and day through various mags, and food photographer's blogs for inspiration. I can tell you that your work can hold it's own against all of the material that I have seen thus far.

04-03-2009, 08:27 AM	#9
soccerjoe5 Veteran Member	Originally posted by kenyee nicely done...I find the hardest thing to get right w/ food is lighting. What did you end up using? Looks like most of them were done w/ softboxes from behind the food? Left, right, behind, top.. combination of lights everywhere on those photos. Best way to learn is to play around with lights a lot Originally posted by GaryM Beautiful work, made me hungry which is perhaps the best thing food photography can do. I love the DA Limiteds, they are the #1 reason I shoot Pentax. Thanks Gary! Originally posted by OPTMEKX& A well executed work Diego, worthy of a magazine cover. cheers, rene Thank you Rene! Originally posted by k100d awesome work diego as usual (even if most were repeats ) i for one have always been confused why live view was bashed so heavily when it was first proposed. so called 'professionals' who would never ever use it because they thought it wasn't good enough for them. hopefully the next set of cameras has a much better live view implementation, i think so far Canon has the most complete version, a Live Histogram and DOF preview is extremely useful. True true. I love live view for studio work Originally posted by K100Dave Diego, your food photography shots are very inspiring! I have a product shot session coming up here in a few weeks for a local catering service. I have been researching night and day through various mags, and food photographer's blogs for inspiration. I can tell you that your work can hold it's own against all of the material that I have seen thus far. Thank you Dave! Best of luck at your session!

04-03-2009, 09:03 AM	#10
xs400 Pentaxian	Beautiful work. I really need to get some of the DA Limited. Maybe my next lens purchase will be the DA 40mm. Thanks for sharing.