Kora

[Kora]

Good morning,

I've recently got the "Sony a7 III" camera body as a present. I'm a little bit lost when it comes to lenses and I would really appreciate some advice on which lens to get based on my needs (if possible).
I'm a painter, and once I finish my paintings I take photos of them, whether if it's for posting on art websites to sell them, social media to promote them, etc.
I also want to make art prints out of the photos I take of them.
I've recently started filming videos while I paint to show the process and teach other people painting techniques.

So, to sum it up, I'm looking for quite a versatile lens:

- Take photos of paintings once they're finished (to post on art websites to sell).
- Take photos of paintings once they're finished (to make prints out of them. I paint large scale and small scale paintings).
- To film videos of the painting process.

I've read that for taking photos of paintings it's better to get a macro lens, but I don't know how that'd work when I need to film videos.
I also heard a prime lens could be a good option.

Thank you very much for your time 

Kora

Edited November 29, 2020 by Kora

[Commanderbrot]

If you want a one-for-all solution I'd recommend going first for a good and silent zoom like p.e. the Tamron 28-75 f2.8.

I guess the lighting will be the bigger challenge. For detailed shots of your paintings a macro prime is better, but they're slow to focus and oftentimes noisy which makes them not ideal for filming. But you can always add a macro lens later to your kit. 

[SnappyMilt]

How small are your paintings? Unless you have some that are 4 X 6 inches or less, you probably don't need a macro lens. You do need a lens that has a short minimum focus distance, though. Instead of a macro lens, I think a copy stand is more useful for taking pictures of paintings.