Lens for Fuji GFX 100

[deanwork]

Does anyone know what focal lens Fuji would be appropriate to photograph paintings from 16x20 to 40x60?

[TechTalk]

You might find this field of view calculator handy...

https://www.scantips.com/lights/fieldofview.html

You can enter focal length, distance, and sensor size and it will show you the dimensions of the subject area covered with those specified parameters.

The "field distance unit" you enter can be considered as anything you want it to be (inches, feet, meters, etc.) and the "field dimension" displayed will reflect that same unit of measure. The math formula is always the same regardless of the unit of measure, so it isn't specified as anything other than a "unit".

For instance a 63 mm lens at 8 feet (using feet as our distance "unit") with a 33 x 44 mm sensor would cover an area of 4.1905 feet by 5.5873 feet (using the same distance "unit") or in inches 50.3" x 67" ("field dimension" in feet x 12 for inches).

Hope it helps.

As an additional note... I would avoid using lenses that are shorter than a moderate wide-angle focal length. The 45 mm should be fine, but I would be hesitant to use anything much shorter in order to avoid issues caused by the distance from the edges of the painting to the lens being much greater than the distance from the center of the painting to the lens causing potential distortion or other uniformity issues.

[Ken Schuster]

"Does anyone know what focal lens Fuji would be appropriate to photograph paintings from 16x20 to 40x60?"

If you need the highest quality, nothing beats a reprographic camera system with a top quality flat field lens. But, you can get good results with your GFX 100. I wouldn't go shorter than the 110. Fujinon zooms are sharp, but still not quite up to the primes.

[deanwork]

Thanks guys.  Very helpful. 

On a related note, do you have any thoughts about using some of these led banks for lighting artworks ? I could use my tungsten Tota hot lights in soft boxes but would rather avoid the heat !

I’ve heard the color temperature of the led strips is not perfect for balancing all hues equally. Don’t know if that is true for all brands out there.

However I shot a medium sized watercolor painting using a Sony A7R4 and a friends large led light banks and don’t remember having much difficulty balancing the complex color relationships in Photoshop. The prints on Canson media matched the originals perfectly, but this was just a one off.

John

"Does anyone know what focal lens Fuji would be appropriate to photograph paintings from 16x20 to 40x60?"

If you need the highest quality, nothing beats a reprographic camera system with a top quality flat field lens. But, you can get good results with your GFX 100. I wouldn't go shorter than the 110. Fujinon zooms are sharp, but still not quite up to the primes.

[Chris_Brown]

Does anyone know what focal lens Fuji would be appropriate to photograph paintings from 16x20 to 40x60?

I recommend the GF120mm macro. Very flat field with minimal optical aberrations.

https://fujifilm-x.com/en-us/products/lenses/gf120mmf4-r-lm-ois-wr-macro/

[deanwork]

That looks perfect.



quote author=Chris_Brown link=topic=141013.msg1241457#msg1241457 date=1655912400]
I recommend the GF120mm macro. Very flat field with minimal optical aberrations.

https://fujifilm-x.com/en-us/products/lenses/gf120mmf4-r-lm-ois-wr-macro/
[/quote]

[TechTalk]

For a 40" x 60" painting, a 120 mm lens will have a working distance of about 14 feet. As long as that distance works for you, you would be good to go.

I wouldn't limit myself only to longer than normal focal lengths or macro lenses. Every day, art works are being captured in museum and fine art reproduction studios with a variety of lenses and focal lengths. The choice of lens generally being based on the size of the work and the studio space available.

[TechTalk]

On a related note, do you have any thoughts about using some of these led banks for lighting artworks ? I could use my tungsten Tota hot lights in soft boxes but would rather avoid the heat !

I’ve heard the color temperature of the led strips is not perfect for balancing all hues equally. Don’t know if that is true for all brands out there.

However I shot a medium sized watercolor painting using a Sony A7R4 and a friends large led light banks and don’t remember having much difficulty balancing the complex color relationships in Photoshop. The prints on Canson media matched the originals perfectly, but this was just a one off.

John

There currently are no LED light sources that will output a consistent and uniform spectral distribution. That said, there are some that are very good. Ultimately, it will depend on how critical your demands are for color reproduction accuracy. The Lowel Tota-Lights will certainly be better than any LEDs in this regard, but there is the heat that comes with it. You will likely need to run some tests to decide whether LED lights are a workable compromise for your application.

[Balafre]

I recommend the GF120mm macro. Very flat field with minimal optical aberrations.

https://fujifilm-x.com/en-us/products/lenses/gf120mmf4-r-lm-ois-wr-macro/

Amusing ad - ! Images look nice but footage of chap wondering about jungle hand-holding macro lens and shooting flowers bobbing in the breeze seems a bit far fetched...

[deanwork]

Thanks. Yea you confirmed what I had been hearing and thinking.

I’ll just try led against tungsten with soft boxes and see what works best. I’m pretty sure I could balance the leds in post but the time and hassle factor may be more than than it’s worth.

As for the lens , the vast majority of painting will be 30x40 and smaller and I have room.

Thanks guys for all of this.

John

There currently are no LED light sources that will output a consistent and uniform spectral distribution. That said, there are some that are very good. Ultimately, it will depend on how critical your demands are for color reproduction accuracy. The Lowel Tota-Lights will certainly be better than any LEDs in this regard, but there is the heat that comes with it. You will likely need to run some tests to decide whether LED lights are a workable compromise for your application.

[TechTalk]

Thanks. Yea you confirmed what I had been hearing and thinking.

I’ll just try led against tungsten with soft boxes and see what works best. I’m pretty sure I could balance the leds in post but the time and hassle factor may be more than than it’s worth.

As for the lens , the vast majority of painting will be 30x40 and smaller and I have room.

Thanks guys for all of this.

John

It's always a work in progress to find the best compromise... and since nothing is perfect, there's always some degree of compromise. You'll find what works best for you. Best of luck to you.

[BAB]

Best get an extension tube that will solve your distance issues without loss of quality

[TechTalk]

There doesn't appear to be any distance issue to solve. If there were, I would generally expect a loss of image quality when using an extension tube in order to allow a lens to focus closer to the object than the minimum distance for which it was designed.