I guess you guys never had a field camera where the plane of focus can be at an angle to match the subject, or conventionally; That's where you have to adjust the subject to suit the fixed plane of focus ( moving it in-out is not the same - but that's all you can do with modern consumer cameras, since the relationship between lens centre and sensor is 90 degrees ).
If you attempt to photograph a piano from the side, you can only get a few Keys in sharp focus (ignore iris smaller than f/8).... but by swinging the lens/sensor you can have almost all sharp. Similarly with a plate of food - getting it sharp front to back will need a very small iris, with the accompanying loss of definition.
Yes! there is a funny-lens, that attempts to do similar, but the optics are so fuzzy no-one will know what was the artist's intention...er, IMHO.
Seasonal Greets.
I have heard of that, but that's a very specific type of photography and it wasn't clear that this was what you were alluding to in the initial post. However, I believe that you can change the plane of focus in the same/similar manner using tilt shift lenses for modern cameras. I've never used on but I'm sure someone will correct me if wrong data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Correct but they aren't cheap (neither is a camera with movements though) and there aren't many options.
A compact camera with a tilt shift lens?
TS lenses exist for M43 but it’s not something I would consider for a walk about lens.
There’s no reason to discount f8 or narrower. Food doesn’t move. Stabilised bodies and lenses let you hand hold for seconds if you choose to but with higher iso there’s no need.
I stand by my suggestions posted earlier. I’m sure there are other interesting options out there.
I don’t think anyone was suggesting a t/s lens for a compact solution tbh, the thread just got side tracked as usual data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Thanks for the comments. I'm erring towards the following:
Sony Alpha 6300 with the 50mm f/1.4 jobbie.
Having both will burst my budget but I'll probably flog my Canon 7D and lenses.
Actually may even go for the a6500.
What prices are you looking at for the 6300 and 6500?
£680 with kit lens for the 6300
£772 body only for 6500.
Both new.
Not too fussed about the kit lens tbh.
May be worth having a play around with this calculator before you commit.
Depth of Field (DoF), Angle of View, and Equivalent Lens Calculator | Points in Focus Photography
As an example - APS-C sensor with 50mm lens at f1.8, distance to subject 1m give a field of view of 44cm wide and a depth of focus of 25mm.
However, remember that most lenses are not at their sharpest fully open so you may need to stop down to f2.8, 3.5 or even f4 to get a really sharp image but this will affect the shallow depth of focus effect that you are after. As always a balancing act.
Assuming this is the lens you were looking at.
Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS SEL50F18 Review
It suggests there is chromatic aberration issues so pictures of dark object against a white plate may have a blue or purple boarder round them. Fairly easily fixed in software but if you are looking to do instant blogs then this may be worth looking into.
Edit - sorry typo, should be 44cm wide.