[Lord Lucan]

What is the technique for taking pictures through lenses and viewfinders? ie of the glass and internal displays. I have been taking photos of some equipment to sell on Ebay and want to do as some other sellers do, which is to show a picture through a lens or viewfinder to show it is good. I don't find I am very successful. I'm using a 100mmm macro lens from a short distance, flash aimed at the ceiling, light wall background for the lenses, focussing on the lens mount or baffle, and the result is the rubbish seen below. What am I doing wrong?

[marcusBMG]

Well the main trick is the lighting. I take my lens pics in the conservatory, ideally when the sun is shining, it's a natural light box (the principles of model photography discussed in a recent thread are wholly applicable to lens pics). With good light and positioning of the lens I get a pretty good view into the lens. My usual lens is an "A" 50mm f1.7, camera tripod mounted set on jpg, small, +1eV overexposure usually. To get the deep in the lens shots (of the iris) I'll usually just additionally use an LED light and shine it in the lens. Can't really avoid reflections like this, just position the light to minimise. And I'm already with MF to get the focus right. Example below.
The best lens interior pics I have taken were with flash - just the on board flash, wrapped in some translucent cellular stuff, with my old lumix G1, trial and error...
Viewfinders? try a phone camera...?

[dms]

I don't do it, but a perspective control shift lens should work.
Also polarizing sheets in front of lights and polarizing filter on the lens--a set up I use for copying art with glare (e.g., acrylic) and thus I should think it would do same w/ glass.

[Lord Lucan]

Thanks for the replies. I need to experiment more. I've been trying again, including taking pictures through the subject viewfinder with a cloth over both cameras, leaving the lens of the subject camera looking out to the light - like the black cloth used with an old-time view camera. I must try the phone camera idea, and using a shift lens (I do have one).

[marcusBMG]

I've seen some very good lens pics online (pro sellers on ebay), I am pretty sure that a light box with external strobes is what's used.

[leekil]

Thanks for the replies. I need to experiment more. I've been trying again, including taking pictures through the subject viewfinder with a cloth over both cameras, leaving the lens of the subject camera looking out to the light - like the black cloth used with an old-time view camera. I must try the phone camera idea, and using a shift lens (I do have one).

The lens would have to be very bad for the view through the viewfinder to be affected. Like even cracked, fungus-ey and chipped lenses don't necessarily show though the viewfinder, or on photos.

[Topsy]

I suggest first playing around with lighting and angles with you phone camera open, just to save some time and get an idea as to what works.

I usually have a overhead lamp with a dark-ish background for aperture shots and a bright wall for "through the lens" photos.

Though I'm not using them to advertise anything for sale, my lba hasn't reached that stage yet.

[Lord Lucan]

The lens would have to be very bad for the view through the viewfinder to be affected.

I wanted to take shots into the viewfinder to show that the internal displays are working properly, like the "12" in my second picture.