What Camera Lens Should I Buy
No thing how many lenses a lensman has, at that place are oft added lenses we notwithstanding wish for, and even more lenses later which we lust.
There are so many options that choosing your adjacent lens can often involve a boundless cavalcade of choices—manufacturers, focal lengths, prime or zoom functionality, auto or manual focusing, and toll. Below, we offer up some thoughts on what your next lens might be based on your shooting preferences and needs.
To continue things simple, our suggestions are based on the use of a total-frame photographic camera—those seeking a lens for apply with smaller sensor size cameras will need consider the appropriate crop factor.
Since we don't become too specific here, feel free to utilize the Comments section at the bottom of the commodity for farther questions on what lens might piece of work best for you.
The Need for Speed
The first question to ask yourself is, "What do I need that my current lens doesn't requite me?" In terms of functionality, your reply is most likely going to fall into one of two categories: speed (aperture) or versatility (focal length/zoom). Allow's look at the commencement factor and figure out what lenses tin can aid increase your "speed."
When information technology comes to optics, the term "speed" is used to describe how much calorie-free the discontinuity diaphragm allows into the lens, relative to its size. And the mention of size invites a distinction between two lens types—primes or zooms. As described in the nautical chart beneath, prime lenses characteristic a single, fixed focal length, which is oftentimes selected based on the subject area i wishes to photo. While this limited field of view makes a prime lens less inherently versatile than a zoom, primes are more often than not smaller in size, and often faster and lighter weight. And, equally the adage goes, selecting a prime lens does offering the opportunity to "Zoom with your anxiety."
Full general Attributes of Unlike Focal Length Prime Lenses
Field of View | Focal Length | Purpose |
| Wide-Angle | 35mm and wider | Landscapes, street, documentary |
| Normal | ~ fifty mm | Full general purposes, portraiture, street |
| Portrait/Curt-Telephoto | 85 to 135mm | Portraits, headshots |
| Medium- to Long Telephoto | more than 135mm | Altitude shooting / sports |
So, what is a "fast" lens? This desirable and popular category of eyes more often than not has an discontinuity of f/i.8 or larger if it's a prime lens, or f/two.viii or larger if information technology'southward a zoom; both of which are relative figures depending on the focal length of the lens. The larger the aperture, the more light the lens allows in, which is an of import factor when shooting in low-lite weather condition. A large discontinuity setting also corresponds to the ability to produce shallow depth of field, which enhances one's power to accomplish selective focus and out-of-focus backgrounds for isolating subject area matter. For depression-light shooting and banging bokeh, you'll want a "faster" lens.
A Primer on Primes
Getting back to the subject of primes, allow'due south unpack the various options for fixed focal length lenses below. For further details and links to prime lenses across all manufacturers, check out the article, A Primer on Prime number Lenses.
Starting with the widest field of view, if your response to the question, "What do I need that my electric current lens doesn't give me?" is that you desire to explore broader perspectives or just squeeze more than people or scenery into your frame, then a wide-bending should be your next lens choice.
As explained in Allan Weitz's FAQ: Wide-Angle Lenses, prime lenses in this category generally range from 14mm to 35mm focal lengths. The most extreme wide angles are known as fisheyes, due to the very distorted paradigm they produce. This category of drinking glass is generally idea of as a novelty, but if you lot're looking to escape down a rabbit hole and have some fun, check out the optical possibilities in Weitz'due south article, Tips & Tidbits: Shooting Landscapes with Fisheye Lenses.
Mid-range broad-angles in the 20mm to 28mm range are solid choices for landscape photography, and also very useful in situations such as wedding or event photography. To learn more nigh options for these applications, check out Bjorn Petersen's buying guide, Essential Wide-Angle Lenses for the Wedding ceremony Photographer.
The 35mm focal length marks the transition from wide-bending to what'southward mostly considered a "normal" field of view. While I'd strongly suggest that there's no such matter as normal when information technology comes to photography, many people choose the 35mm prime for a slightly wider than "normal" look. As Shawn Steiner explains in The Lens Every Photographer Should Have and Employ: The 35mm , this is a great choice for environmental portraiture, offering "more opportunities for capturing part of the background forth with your subject, and telling a complete story."
The first pick for a second lens that most people recommend to novices is the "bully fifty." As Todd Vorenkamp opines in The One Lens Every Photographer Should Accept and Use: The 50mm, the pairing of a relatively inexpensive 50mm prime number with whatever type of camera y'all own will likely be lighter, smaller, and have a larger apertures than whatsoever zoom you can buy.
Experienced photographers and novices alike are keen on capturing portraits with nice blurry backgrounds. A groovy fifty can fill the bill for that need, but a fast prime lens with a slightly longer focal length is often a better choice for flattering portraits or objects that are a bit farther away. Short telephotos with focal lengths from 85mm to 135mm are often considered classics for portraitists, since they accept little perceivable distortion and allow you to be at a greater altitude from your subject. For more than on the best lenses to pick your side by side portrait session, check out Josh Taylor's advice in Top Ten Lenses for Shooting Pro-Caliber Portraits.
If you lot need more attain than a short telephoto can provide, or perhaps y'all're looking to tackle challenging photo subjects such as wildlife or sports, you'll want to consider longer medium- and super-telephoto lenses. Common focal lengths for prime telephotos range from 135mm or 180mm to 300mm, or even longer, upwards to 800mm, but these big boys come at a price. You can written report up on the options in Shawn Steiner's Introduction to Super-Telephoto Lenses buying guide, or else consider the somewhat more than economical and versatile option of picking upwardly a telephoto zoom.
Exploring Beyond Your Kit Lens
If your initial photographic camera purchase might have included a "kit" lens, it is almost probable an entry-level zoom with a variable discontinuity that gets slower as y'all extend to a longer focal length.
As Todd Vorenkamp notes in the article, Why You Should Go Beyond the Kit Lens , "Photographic camera kits, in general come with either one- or two-lens options. Single-lens versions usually have a wide-angle to curt telephoto zoom lens. A second lens is near probable a farther-reaching telephoto zoom. These kits are designed to give you maximum versatility along with minimal toll and weight."
If you're shooting outdoors on a sunny day, or indoors with a flash, or have a tripod for support, these lenses will exercise the play a joke on, but using a wearisome lens in low-light situations can otherwise cause blur from camera shake.
Telephoto Zoom Lenses
Turning back to our question of an added need that your current lens doesn't satisfy, if you're missing out on shots due to photographic camera shake, or because you can't zoom in close enough to your subject area, you might consider getting a more powerful telephoto zoom. Even if you have a kit lens that reaches 200mm, if the maximum aperture at that reach is only f/five.6, your shutter speed might be likewise slow to freeze the movement of your subject field. In this instance, you demand a faster telephoto lens. The most common "pro" telephoto zoom lenses are the 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses, which are fast enough to terminate activeness and give you prissy depth-of-field control, while keeping your subject sharp. If you don't demand the speed that an f/ii.8 lens offers, a more than economical option would be a 70-200mm f/4, or if you need the extra reach, a 70-300mm variable-aperture lens might be your respond.
Another point to consider, specially with telephoto lenses, is whether or not yous demand a congenital-in image stabilizing system. Nikon calls this VR (vibration reduction), Catechism calls it IS (image stabilization), Tamron has VC (vibration compensation), and Sigma refers to it as Bone (optical stabilization). Whatever you lot call information technology, the do good of having a lens with image stabilization is that you can effectively employ a longer shutter speed when shooting without a tripod, giving y'all sharper images, and making the lens more constructive in depression-light situations. To learn more than well-nigh this subject, check out Allan Weitz'southward FAQ: Epitome Stabilization.
Wide-Angle Zoom Lenses
If you just can't get plenty of the world effectually you and want to pack every last particular of your surroundings into your pictures, you lot probably need a broad-angle zoom, which offers a broader field of view than we're able to see with the human eye. As described earlier under wide-angle primes, 28mm and 24mm focal lengths are cracking options for a wide angle, but often times you might want more versatility with a second lens. There are many unlike zoom lengths available, not simply from the main manufacturers, but from Sigma, Tokina, and Tamron, as well. One thing that most photographers will tell you is that when shooting with a zoom lens, near of their shots are made at one of the extremes, either the widest or the longest end of the zoom. While we recall the Tokina xi-16mm f/2.8 (bachelor in Nikon and Canon mounts) is one of the sharpest super-broad lenses, it doesn't offering as much range equally the 12-24mm, 16-35mm, 17-50mm, or 24-70mm zooms. This is when you accept to determine exactly why yous need this lens and how you program to use it. If you're not exactly sure, the 24-70mm is a adept choice, considering it will let yous shoot full-length trunk and headshots. If yous don't need that much range, and just desire a very wide lens, then the 11-16mm might be your best option. For full details about both zooms and primes within this pop category, organized by manufacturer, leap to Alan Weitz'due south commodity, The Wide Bunch: A Guide to Broad and Ultra-Broad-Angle Lenses .
Specialty Lenses
Macro Lenses
Perhaps you lot've admired really close-up photos of insects or flowers, but when you lot tried it yourself with your kit lens you discovered the lens wouldn't focus shut enough. This type of picture calls for a special blazon of glass called a macro lens, with a very small minimum focusing altitude. These lenses usually focus at a foot or less, all the mode to infinity, with high magnification, so you tin use them for macro photography, as well every bit everyday photos of people, landscapes, or other subjects at any distance. The same choices apply here, whether you need a fast lens or not, and whether you demand a wider-angle or telephoto lens.
In that location are a couple of important things to consider when choosing a macro lens. First, the wider your lens, the closer you lot'll need to get to your subject. If you lot're shooting flowers, and you want to focus on ane bloom with the other flowers notwithstanding appearing recognizable in the background, then a wider lens, similar a forty or 50mm, would work best. On the other hand, if y'all're trying to shoot moving insects, like bumble bees or collywobbles, chances are yous won't exist able to get close enough to them with a wide lens, so something similar an 85mm or longer would be better for you. As well, when you're shooting with your photographic camera and lens very close to your subject, you often cast a shadow, meaning less calorie-free, and requiring a faster lens or special ring lights for your camera. If you don't want to worry about shadows or purchasing flashes, consider a longer macro lens for your camera. For more details about wide-angle and telephoto macro lenses, read Bjorn Petersen'southward ownership guide The Long and the Curt of It: Wide-Angle and Telephoto Macro Lenses.
Selection Our Brains
So, nosotros've covered a lot of ground hither. We've discussed choosing the lens based on what focal length you need, whether you want a prime or a zoom lens, and whether you lot need a fast lens with a abiding aperture, or if yous can deal with a slower variable aperture.
Once you figure out exactly what volition satisfy your photographic requirements that are every bit yet unfulfilled, yous should be able to brand an informed decision confidently, to ensure that your next lens purchase volition be the right one for you.
What is your experience in adding a second lens to your existing photograph arsenal? Is in that location a specific focal length you lust after, or do you have a preference between primes and zooms? Whatever your fancy, please tell us about it in the Comments section, below.
Source: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/buying-guide/purchasing-your-next-lens
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