Selected Watch Collection Pics with the Canon T5i

Nearing the end of June, my collection is still in single digits. It seems I can't go much beyond that. I am "grailing" (new verb for pining?) for a Seiko SBDX001 MM300 unless someone warns me that its movement and crown are too unreliable to mess with (with repair costs in Japan costing 40% of the watch's value). If I were too stop buying watches for 2 years, I might get a Breitling Super Avenger II with Arabic numerals. But how things can change in 2 years. Regarding the MM300, that would be a possible buy around my birthday in late October. So here we go (still learning how to use the Canon T5i as you can see):

Below are the Citizen Promaster Sky, both in black and silver. If I had to pick one, I'd pick the former but I love them both. Who knows? Perhaps I'd sell the silver one to fund an MM300, but we shall see. 

Next is the Seiko Tuna with a 5-year quartz battery on a Strapcode Super Engineer II:

The Tuna marks my transition from gaudy fashion watches as I remember being drawn to the Tuna's striking lume and general toolishness. 

Next is my Orient Saturation Diver:

Here is my kinetic thorn in the side, which forces me to do power walks 4 days a week to "keep it alive," my Seiko SUN019:

And finally my latest acquisition, the Seiko SRP655 Ceramic Tuna Diver:

Related articles

First Look: Seiko SRP655 Ceramic Diver

"I'm a Watch Man-Child," Version 1

"I'm a Watch Man-Child," Version 2

Comments

[Gary]

The camera focuses on the bezel of those divers, but not on the dial. It seems to be focusing on the closest point of the case.

You can get better depth of field (range of sharp focus) by using a smaller f/stop or a shorter focal length. Also, when shooting a watch at an angle, focus on the center of the watch rather than the leading edge.

[herculodge]

I'm still trying to figure out if I should use manual, automatic, or close-up setting. The shorter focal length was actually getting more out of focus, but I'll try again. I miss the simplicity of digital.

[Gary]

Well, your Canon T5i DSLR is digital. Film cameras are analog.

I'm sure this camera has multi-point focus. There is a way for the photographer to select the desired focus point, rather than letting the camera decide.

Yes, the closer the focus point, the less the depth of field will be with a given lens focal length. Wide angle lenses have more depth of field than telephoto lenses at a given focus distance, but the image will be smaller.

[StarHalo]

For shooting watches: Program or Aperture mode, tripod, set ISO to lowest native setting, aperture around ~f/6.0, no zoom/telephoto/lowest mm angle, shoot for the upper end of the histogram (it should form a lump on the right with nothing cut off on either side), use 2-3 second delay shooting mode so you can ignore shutter speed.

[herculodge]

Thanks for the info, Gary and StarHalo. Perhaps I should take a class to maximize the camera's features and minimize my incompetence.

[StarHalo]

Check out the Kindle e-book Tony Northrup's Stunning Digital Photography, it's like a college course and a dummy's guide and a YouTube class rolled into one; the intro chapter is just a quick Cliff's Notes of all the main points in the book, with each chapter elucidating in-depth with non-technical language and plenty of example videos. Mr. Northrup himself and his wife create and are featured in the videos, so it's like a savvy family explaining everything step by step. Thanks to the magic of e-books, the book is also updated constantly (the last update was this month,) so all info on gear is very much up to the minute. I found it easier to follow and more thorough than many other works on the subject combined - this may be the only photography book and/or class you need, highly recommended.

[herculodge]

StarHalo, I may have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation. Jeff

[Dave]

Are you using a tripod? If not, use one.

[herculodge]

Okay, I'll use it. I didn't with these. But it appears I should.