Originally posted by formercanuck How big are her paintings, and what kind of distance do you need (i.e. do you only have a few feet to work with). I'd be willing to say that something in the range of 28mm to 50mm would work great, and typically not be budget breakers either.
Probably best bet... FA 31mm LTD.
I've found primes to typically be VERY sharp (the 3 that I have - Sigma 28mm f/2.8 mini wide II, Pentax M 50/f1.4 and Rokinon 85mm f/1.4). The hardest part with something at the long end (85mm) is getting enough room to shoot what you need.
Are the paintings < 8x10 or do they go up to be something like 4'x6' ?
With my 85mm, I need to be ~12' away to shoot something that's 3'x2' to fill the frame.
Her work ranges from the size of a post it note, to the size of a single bed...
But the majority is around 10x12.
So I think I need to test out more with the lenses I currently have...
I've never actually tested my Rikenon 50mm f1.7, I paid $20 for the lens to play with reversing on tubes for macro... I never thought it'd be sharp enough to document her work but now I definitely need to try it out.
It seems a lot of people here think the appropriate FL is between 24mm and 85mm. With my fast 50 in that range and being 1.7, I think it'll be fast enough to capture shooting her work indoors.
I'll report back! lol
But I still may look into that Sigma 30mm f1.4
Something about that lens just tempts me...