Do I need a macro lens to shoot jewelry?

[jdouglas003]

I'm doing a free shoot for a friend who's wife is doing some handcrafted jewelry. She wants to do a printed piece and use for web. She has some bracelets, necklaces and stuff like that. Most are made from turquoise and other different colored beads, but there are some twisted metal pieces with very then chains.

It doesn't need to be super high end, just something that would clearly show the products.

I've never done any product stuff so I don't have any macro lens. Can I get by with the following stuff?

Canon 40D
Canon 50 1.8
Canon 85 1.8
Tamron 17-50 2.8

My other lens are longer focal length.

Any help greatly appreciated as I am just trying to help a very good friend.

[Invisible Man]

With your set up, I think you'll need a set of Kenko ext tubes to use with your 50 mm. Another possibility is to reverse your 50 mm with a reversing ring, which is cheaper than the tubes. Not sure about the quality you'll get with the latter option though. Either way, you'll be able to shoot jewelry without having to buy a macro lens. The same thing could be done with the 85 mm, just try them out to see which one will give the most satisfactory results.

Good luck! ;)

[dicklaxt]

You may also be able to get by with a set of close up lens that screw on the front of your lens like a filter.

dick

[John_B]

jdouglas003,
It depends on a few things,..
How large does your friend want to print? ???
How small are the jewelry pieces? ???

You can get decent jewelry photos with your 50mm and some cropping in software. However that is why I ask about print size, as the more you crop the more the print size can be affected. Of course a true macro lens will give better results but for free you can get good results with what you have.

[themadman]

You may also be able to get by with a set of close up lens that screw on the front of your lens like a filter.

dick

Diopter =)

Like this: http://www.amazon.com/Raynox-Macro-Scan-Conversion-Universal-Diameters/dp/B0002YBXBY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1263251778&sr=8-1

[Warl0rd]

and perhaps add a polarizer to avoid reflexes on shiny material