95% of the time I am asked "what camera lens should I buy?" I answer with one of the options that I describe at the end of this article. If you are also looking to buy lenses for your camera, chances are yours is below.
Having an DSLR or an EVIL/Mirrorless camera presents amazing photographic opportunities when playing with interchangeable lenses. Each goal opens up new worlds and possibilities.
Of course, this raises a new question: “what goals am I interested in having?”
With today's article, precisely, I come to answer that question and others. I am not going to give you abstract theories, nor are we going to go into too technical aspects (just enough). I will try to answer your question as precisely as possible and resolve all the doubts that may arise regarding buying lenses.
I know that deciding on one is a chore, so my goal is to clarify the matter for you and help you to be clear about that objective that is missing in your backpack today. Also, my idea is to make it clear to you:
- What types of lenses exist on the market.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages offered by each range of objectives.
- What should you take into account when buying an objective / lens.
For all this, I think it is important that you save this information somewhere that you have at hand, or in a favorites folder.
Let's go there.
BEFORE YOU START SHOPPING FOR LENSES
Before we get into the matter, I want to quickly clarify two things:
- The first is what I always say: a good photo is not made by the camera, nor the flash, nor the tripod, nor the lens. You do it, photographer. Do not forget.
- The second: it is possible that throughout this article you will come across some abbreviation that you do not understand. You may want to open this other article and keep it handy, in it I reveal the hieroglyphs that appear on the lenses for SLR cameras.
WHAT TYPES OF CAMERA LENS CAN YOU BUY?
When buying objectives, you have different possibilities. Beyond its characteristics, which we will see below, you have the option of buying new, second-hand, of the same brand or of others, etc. We better look at it carefully:
BUY BRAND OR COMPATIBLE LENSES
Very easy, here I am not going to elaborate much. Well that, to buy an additional lens for your SLR camera you usually always have a generous offer from the camera manufacturer, be it Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony or any other.
Now, you should know that there are also brands that manufacture lenses to be used with other brands. Here I am referring mainly to two: Sigma and Tamron, although there are others such as Tokina, Samyang or Yongnuo.
These two brands make lenses for virtually all cameras. Of course, when buying a Tamron lens, suppose, for example, for your Nikon camera, make sure that it is compatible with Nikon and not with Canon or another brand.
These objectives are usually slightly cheaper than if you buy them from the same manufacturer as your camera, and the quality does not necessarily have to be lower.
BUY NEW OR SECOND HAND LENSES
Buying objectives, although there are all prices, are not usually exactly cheap and, sometimes, the one we want is out of budget. Therefore, you need to know that you have the possibility of using second-hand opticians (following these tips).
SHOP ANALOG LENSES
Yes, as you hear it. There is a whole world of analog lenses waiting to be used. It may be that you inherit one or that you find second-hand, for a ridiculous price, a lens that you fall in love with.
Believe it or not, you can use analog lenses with your digital camera as long as you use the appropriate adapter.
Of course, keep in mind that it has its limitations, but if you want to know more, in this article Alexa tells you what you need to know when adapting an analog lens to a digital camera.
WHAT SHOULD YOU KEEP IN MIND WHEN BUYING LENSES FOR YOUR CAMERA?
Before I recommend my favorite selection of lenses, let me first tell you what I normally look for in a lens before I book it.
THE FIRST THING I LOOK AT WHEN BUYING LENSES
These are the three points that I have to be clear about before starting to look.
1. MY BUDGET
The following criteria are important but if I don't have the money for a lens then we're not going anywhere. Before going to buy a lens I always try to be clear about the money I have for that purchase. This allows me to rule out those objectives that are too expensive for me.
2. THE TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY I LIKE
Choosing a lens is mostly based on the type of photography I want it for. It wouldn't make much sense to buy a macro lens if 90% of my photos are landscapes.
3. LIGHT, LOTS OF LIGHT
Lowering the amount of light in a photograph is relatively simple. Increasing it is much more complicated. On the market there are lenses that capture more light and others that capture less. I always look at the ones that can catch more light because that later gives me tremendous flexibility when taking photos.
The issue of the amount of light that a lens can absorb has to do with the diaphragm or aperture of the lens, as I will tell you in more detail below. The larger the opening, as you might imagine, the more light will enter.
It seems silly but the most affordable, common and common lenses usually have a relatively small aperture. The good ones have wider apertures and are amazing because you can take photos in moments of relatively low light and nothing happens, the photo comes out perfectly lit.
That same photo with a cheap or bad lens would come out much darker, you would have to eat your head to light it, play with the manual settings of the camera to set a slower shutter speed, thinking that this way you capture more light, but of course , you end up getting the blurred photo.
Or maybe you have to touch the ISO to get that illuminated photo you are looking for, but of course, with a very high ISO, in addition to capturing light, you capture noise, a lot of noise.
To which I am going, a bright objective is the best tool that you can incorporate into your photographic equipment. It will give you all the light you need and will save you more than one headache when it comes to adjusting the camera to later shoot the photo. We will talk about this again in more detail.
4. THE EVALUATIONS OF OTHER USERS WHEN BUYING OBJECTIVES
I don't like being the guinea pig. When a brand brings a new lens to the market, I am never one of the first to buy it. I prefer that other users have that first contact.
After a few months, I go to Amazon or any other online store where there are opinions and ratings from buyers, and I look at the number of stars that that particular objective has. As much as I am attracted to a lens, I would never buy it with a 2 out of 5 star rating. Ideally, it should be 4-4.5 out of 5. If it is only 3 stars or less, I don't even think about it.
EYE! This is important!!!!! For ratings to have weight, there must be a significant number of users behind them. A goal with a rating of 5 out of 5 but based on a total of 3 or 4 users only, that's not very significant.
When you come across an objective which 50 or 100 users have rated well, that is a more "solid" note.
That being said, we are going to see some details to take into account when buying your lens. And I highlight the details because although they are aspects that are sometimes not taken into account, they are important.
LENSES FOR FULL FRAME OR FOR APS-C
Not all lenses are valid for all cameras even if they are from the same brand. As you know, some cameras are full format or Full Frame and others have a smaller sensor, known as APS-C.
Lenses made for Full Frame cameras can be used on APS-C cameras, however those made for APS-C are not suitable for Full Frame cameras, as strong vignetting is created and only the center is illuminated of the image while the edges appear dark.
The advantage of lenses for APS-C is that they are cheaper.
This is identified in each brand with an acronym, for example, the objectives that are for APS-C have these acronyms in the following brands:
- Canon: EF-S (EF-M for mirrorless)
- Nikon: DX
TO EACH TYPE OF CAMERA ITS OBJECTIVE
Pentax has its peculiarities, I will put aside its different mounts (K, Q and 645).
The same thing happens with Olympus or Fujifilm, depending on the type of camera you have, you will have to choose one type of lens or another, although there are adapters to use them on other types of cameras:
olympus
- OM-D and PEN objectives: Micro four thirds
- DSLR lenses: Four Thirds System
fujifilm
- X-Series: X-Mount
- GFX Series: G-Mount
sony
Sony has two types of A and E Mounts:
- Type A mounts: for cameras with mirror or translucent. Their names start with SAL and they can be used on E-mounts with an adapter.
- Type E mounts: for mirrorless cameras. They are denoted by the letters SEL and cannot be used on type A mounts.
The important thing is that, when buying your optics, you make sure that the mount is the right one for your camera.
ZOOM OR FIXED FOCAL LENSES
Surely the objective that you have tried is a zoom. That is, you have been able to get closer or further away from your motive without taking a step. Zoom lenses cover different focal lengths (now we'll look at focal length in more depth later) and are therefore more versatile.
However, there are also fixed optics, with which you cannot zoom, but which are usually of better quality.
Both zoom and fixed optics have their advantages and disadvantages , you must be clear about what you need and based on this, choose your best option.
AUTOFOCUS
While it's hard now to find new lenses that are manual focus only, it should be noted that all lenses have a manual focus mode, but not all necessarily have an autofocus mode.
This is useful when you want to take pictures quickly by letting the camera focus on its own. These situations occur often, so when buying a lens for your camera, make sure it has an autofocus mode.
Although there are also cameras, for example from Nikon, that have an internal focus motor and can work with lenses that do not have this system. If your camera is a Nikon and has this system, you can use AF Nikkor lenses. If not, you'll have to search for AF-S Nikkor. And if what you are going to do the most is video, let it be AF-P.
On the other hand, if you have a Canon you should know that:
- STM lenses have a smoother and quieter focusing system, making them better suited for shooting video.
- USM lenses are faster to focus.
- If your lens doesn't come with either STM or USM, it probably has a DC motor that also offers autofocus, but isn't as smooth or fast as the old ones.
DIAPHRAGM APERTURE
As I have told you a little above, the diaphragm opening is one of the most important aspects when buying a lens to have more light.
You see, lenses, all, allow the photographer to vary the aperture of the diaphragm depending on the situation. Remember that a large aperture implies a small depth of field (small area in focus) and is expressed by a small f/ number.
On the other hand, a high f/ number would reflect a very small aperture (yes, it's a bit backwards), which is a large depth of field or more area in focus.
If you look at the objective you will see that it puts the maximum aperture that it is capable of reaching. It is usually expressed as follows:
- 1:1.4 In this case, it means that the lens reaches a maximum aperture of f/1.4. Always. In all situations.
- 1:3.5-5 What it indicates here is that the lens can reach a maximum aperture of f/3.5 at its smallest focal length, 18mm for example, but that if we use it at its longest focal length, about 200 or 300mm for example, its maximum aperture would stay at f/5. Below I explain the focal distance ? .
- Let's see the example in the image: 17-70mm is the focal length, 1:2.8-4.5 is the maximum aperture. This means that at 17mm its maximum aperture will be f/2.8 while at 70mm it will be f/4.5.
I take advantage and leave you a very clear video about aperture and its relationship with depth of field:
The larger the maximum aperture, the more ability it will have to gather light. That is why those with a maximum aperture of at least f/2.8 (or lower: f/1.8, f/1.4, etc.) are known as bright lenses . In this article you have a few reasons to get a light optic.
F/1.4 F/1.8?
A very common question in the comments is whether it is worth paying the difference in price between an f/1.4 and an f/1.8 since by the numbers it seems that the difference is very small. The difference, in addition to the price, is that the f/1.4 is much brighter and that the blur is different, many would say that it is much more beautiful, although it depends on taste... ? What I can tell you is that whoever tries the f/ 1.4 falls madly in love with him.
In short, if you can afford it, you won't regret it. Now, if the question is to have the f/1.8 or not to have any, then no, it's not worth it. Better to get an f / 1.8 than to be left with nothing.
FOCAL DISTANCE
We enter another concept that we have already introduced and that at first goes a little unnoticed, but that is really important.
The focal length is the width of the visual field that the lens is capable of capturing. It is usually measured in millimeters (mm). The smaller the number (18mm, for example), the wider the angle of view you can capture with that lens.
On the other hand, a long focal length (say 200mm) will capture a narrower angle of view although it will allow a greater zoom.
Nothing like an image to understand it better.
Remember to take into account the famous crop or conversion factor of APS-C format cameras.
It is clear that the focal length has a decisive influence on the composition of your photographs. Let's look at two examples, one with a very wide angle of view (wide) and one with a very long focal length (telephoto).
The 50mm objectives are the ones that capture the image most similar to what we see with our eyes. On the contrary, the most extreme focal lengths produce certain distortions or effects. Let's see an example, it's me portrayed with different focal lengths. Do you notice the difference? It also serves to see how telephoto lenses blur the background much more.
FIXED OR VARIABLE
As I have told you before, in focal lengths there are two types of lenses, those with variable focal length or zoom (the majority) and those with fixed focal length (the most interesting).
Do you have an 18-55mm lens? This is a variable focal length, because by turning the lens ring you can change to the focal length that interests you the most, being able to go from 18mm (very wide viewing angle, ideal for landscapes and panoramic views) to 55mm (with more zoom, although less viewing angle).
The fixed focal length ones, as their name reveals, do not allow you to play with the zoom and change from one focal length to another. Rather, they offer a single, fixed focal length. The most famous is the 50mm . Of course, its optimal results are superior.
A GOAL FOR EVERY OCCASION
When buying a lens, one of the decisive questions you will have to ask yourself is the range of the focal length you want.
This will markedly mark the price of the target. Lenses whose focal length is long (reaching 200 or 300mm, or more) are ideal for photographing portraits, sports, birds, and pedestrians, since they offer considerable zoom and greater blur. Although they provide little depth, because they compact the planes.
On the other hand, if you want to focus more on landscape photography, with wide panoramas covering as much of the scene as possible, in that case you have no choice but to look for a lens whose focal length is shorter, as small as possible (18mm great , 16mm better, 14mm even better, and so on…).
If you want more clues, in this article Alexa tells you what you can do with these four types of lenses: Wide, Macro, Telephoto and Standard.
Once you know what type of photography you like, which one makes you get up early, spend long hours under the sun, freeze cold, stay up late or kick the streets; it will be easier for you to choose a suitable focal length for your next lens.
A QUESTION OF QUALITY
If you search carefully, you will realize that there are also lenses with a very wide focal length, for example, ranging from 18 to 200mm.
At first glance it might seem interesting , because that way you don't need to be changing objectives every so often. And it's true, it's much more comfortable to carry a single lens since it covers the entire range of distances you want. However, these types of objectives have the small disadvantage of offering more optical aberrations.
Let's say that an objective is made up of lenses and crystals that work best at a certain focal length, that's why there are fixed focal length objectives, for example 35mm, and it is known that these objectives are the best because they are specialized in that focal length.
The greater the range of focal length that the objective covers (for example, not only 35mm but from 18 to 55mm), the lower quality we will have in terms of lenses and the greater the possibility that the photo will have some optical aberrations.
Still, an 18-55mm or 70-300mm lens might be fine, but imagine a single 10-500mm focal length lens. Obviously this objective will be much LESS specialized and therefore will give us a mediocre/normal optical quality in all cases.
MY ADVICE
If you prefer comfort, buy a single lens with a wide range of focal length. On the other hand, if what matters most to you is the quality of the photograph, its sharpness, etc., then it is better that you get two or more objectives, as many as the focal lengths you need (but that you really need because you use them frequently, not to take two photos a year ? ).
IMAGE STABILIZER
Some cameras have an image stabilizer built into the camera body itself, in which case this distinction does not apply. Now, in the case of some brands, the cameras do not have an image stabilizer and it must be on the lens.
If this is the case, you will still be able to use the lens to capture great photos, but in many cases you will find that the photo is blurry and shaky. When the lens has an image stabilizer, the task becomes much easier: you activate the stabilizer and start taking photos, generally without a tripod, and you realize that they don't come out blurry.
The image stabilizer at Nikon is called VR and at Canon it is known under the initials IS.
Before buying a lens I strongly recommend that you consider the possibility of buying it with an image stabilizer, especially for lenses with a long focal length (200 or 300mm).
Generally, the economic difference is small while what you gain in photographic quality is priceless. I know people who tried to save a few bucks by buying a lens without an image stabilizer and ended up frustrated.
SEALED
Just as there are cameras that are sealed against dust or water, there are also sealed lenses to go along with them. If you have a sealed camera and you are going to use the lens in adverse environments or conditions, consider that the optics are too.
OTHER ASPECTS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN BUYING PHOTOGRAPHIC LENSES
There are other aspects that may not be so important but it is convenient for you to know them, because perhaps, for your needs, tastes or circumstances, they are:
DIAPHRAGM SHEETS
The number of aperture blades on the lens influences the bokeh. Some people think that the greater the number of leaves, the higher the quality of this, although it is not entirely true, because when it comes to taste, we already know what happens ?
Actually, the difference is that the shape of the luminous bokeh spheres will be more rounded or more hexagonal, heptagonal, etc... depending on the number of blades it has or whether they are rounded or not. Some diaphragms, when the blades are closed, remain as a circle and others, depending on the number of blades, as a pentagon, hexagon, etc. Some people think that the rounder the more pleasant the bokeh is.
If your mouth is open and you want to take a photo of this type but you have no idea how, you are in luck, I will explain it to you step by step in this article.
OBJECTIVE DIAMETER
The diameter of the lens does not influence any setting of the camera or photography. You need to know it, especially when buying accessories for your lens, such as a filter or a lens hood. These circular accessories that are attached to the lens have to match it in diameter.
The diameter of the lens is indicated in millimeters and has a characteristic symbol similar to a crossed out circle. In this example that you see below, the objective has a diameter of 77mm (you see it in the photo in the numbers on the left). So only filters and accessories of that diameter would be worth it.
FOCUS DISTANCE
Some lenses, but not all, tell you the focus distance in meters (or feet ). This number is very easy to identify since it usually appears with the infinity symbol at one end and a distance in meters at the other end. It can also come with a flower. It will depend on the brand of the lens.
This value changes as we modify the focal length of the camera and it indicates at all times the distance in meters that we could focus as we zoom.
In cases of fixed focal length, as in the example image, it will always be the same. In this case it is 0.45m (45cm).
FOR THE MOST ARTISTS
If you are a creative soul, numbers, focal lengths or others matter very little to you, you are looking for different effects, original images; If you need a lens that will accompany you in your follies and give free rein to your imagination, you should take a look at these Lensbaby lenses.
HOW MANY LENSES DO I HAVE TO BUY?
Look, we already started by asking the question wrong (I have made it intentionally clear ;)) . You don't "have to have" a set number of goals. Have as many goals as you really need.
We tend to believe that by buying more lenses, the better photographers we will be. That is monumental nonsense. Whoever needs 3 goals should have 3, whoever needs 7 should have them, and whoever doesn't really need more than one goal, well, they shouldn't have more than that.
What is this mania of accumulating odds and ends like crazy? The abundance of lenses is not a sign that we are going to take better pictures. Most of the time with one or, at most, two objectives, it is usually more than enough.
If you rush me, carrying too many lenses, the only thing you are going to do is get tired sooner, annoy your spine, end up exhausted, want the excursion to end, and never want to know anything about photography again. In my case, I usually find myself very comfortable carrying a single lens, generally already mounted on the camera, and at most carrying another one, kept in my backpack.
The other one that I have kept, many times I don't even take it out. I know the type of photography I like to shoot, and I know that my preferred lens is going to cover my needs most of the time. I prefer to go light and feel like taking photos, than not go loaded with material properties and end up overwhelmed.
To recap: As a general rule, don't look to buy a lot of lenses just for the sake of it. Each objective that you carry in your backpack will have to justify its weight by means of some good photographs. My personal rule is that the fewer lenses, the better photos.
MY 4 MOST RECOMMENDED GOALS TO BUY
The article could have started here. Tell you the objectives that I like the most and that's it, but I wanted to share with you my personal selection criteria so that you also understand why one objective and not another.
In addition, I wanted you to be able to resolve any questions that may arise at the time of purchase. With that said, here's my selection of the most recommended DSLR lenses, with links to the right version for your brand of DSLR whenever I can find them.
THE 50MM F/1.4 (THE KING OF LENSES)
Here is the only objective that has been occupying the mount of my SLR camera for practically years. I have rarely disassembled it. It is the lens with which I shoot most of my photos. This in the end has to do with the type of photography that I like, which is portrait photography, photography of objects with a very blurred background, details of nature.
Fascinating results are achieved with it ( here entire article dedicated to the 50mm f/1.4 ).
PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN WITH THE 50MM F/1.4 LENS
for canon| For Nikons| for pentax
TOKINA'S WIDE ANGLE
Wonderful wide angle, perfect for landscape lovers. The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 offers you the perfect combination of focal length, aperture, versatility, price, and build quality. It has a focal length ranging from 11 to 16mm, allowing you to capture wide angles of view.
It's amazing because, if you put it in 11mm, you almost take your companion out of the frame who is next to you, practically at the level of the camera or almost almost behind it. What do you think that 11mm is too short a focal length? Set it to 14 or 16mm and you're already at a much tighter viewing angle.
Finding wide-angle type lenses was never a problem. They are of all brands. The problem is finding one that allows you to capture a nice amount of light. Do you remember that photography was mainly light? The Tokina more than meets this need, thanks to its f/2.8 aperture. Below I put some examples of photographs taken with it and they are amazing.
To get hold of a lens with these characteristics, you have alternatives from Nikon and other brands. Tokina is a brand that produces lenses for most SLR cameras, and with a more than respectable quality.
Personally, I prefer Tokina's wide angle lens because as soon as you compare it with the brand's own lens, it wins by far. If I want to take the Nikon I have the 10-24mmwhich limits me to an aperture of only f/3.5 (less light) and for which I have to pay a lot more (850 euros for the Nikon, 550 euros for the Tokina).
Ah, one last thing, this Tokina wide angle has very positive opinions on Amazon Spain but they are very few. Checking it on Amazon in the United States, you see that it has hundreds of opinions with a very high score, which supports it as a great option.
PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN WITH THE TOKINA 11-16MM F/2.8
For Nikons| for canon
ZOOM SWEET ZOOM
One of the small obsessions of the photographer who has just landed in the SLR world is to get a lens with the highest possible zoom level.
It seems to me that it is a "habit" that we carried over from our stage of compact or bridge digital camera . With digital compacts your creative options are extremely limited, you can't play with shutter speed or aperture so you just zoom back and forth, have fun chasing people on the street with your zoom, zooming as close as possible. more than you can to that window or that tree branch, and you shoot the photo.
The SLR or evil world is different, it is richer in creative possibilities, the zoom issue is relegated to a minor plane, in addition, the construction and mechanics of the lenses of cameras with interchangeable lenses are different, their operation is different from that of compact cameras, the quality is different, the amount of light coming in is different, and therefore, you don't have those deep zoom levels that you may be used to with your usual compact camera.
There are a lot of zoom lenses on the market, most of them cover a good focal length range. As always, here my preference goes towards the lenses that offer the smallest range of focal lengths.
To give you an example, between an 18-105mm and an 18-300mm, I would clearly choose the first, since, by covering a smaller range, its optics are much more specialized precisely in that range, unlike the 18-300mm which It has a bit of a "wildcard" optic, because it has to be valid for both 18mm and 300mm photos. Nothing better to describe this concept than the popular saying "he who covers a lot, squeezes little" .
My recommended zoom is the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8. It has a relatively narrow focal length range, which makes it a specialist at that focal length if you're looking to shoot at distances from 70 to 200mm.
It has a very outstanding feature and it is the diaphragm opening of generous f/2.8 with which you can capture immense amounts of light. The usual thing with zoom lenses is to find apertures of f/4.5 and up (remember that the smaller the f/ number, the larger the aperture and therefore the more light you will be able to capture).
PHOTOS TAKEN WITH THE TAMRON 70-200MM F/2.8
for canon| For Nikons
MACRO LENS
For me, a macro lens has to have the following:
- Light , the more the better, as always.
- A relatively long focal length. There are 40 and 50mm Macro lenses but the problem is that to get a macro photograph with them you have to get very close to the subject or object. This makes the photo have an odd optical perspective, apart from blocking the light with your body by having to physically get too close to the subject. Therefore, macro yes, but if it can be with a long focal length, better. From 70 or 80mm would be fine. 100mm would be ideal.
- Correct price . Macro lenses normally skyrocket in price and are easily planted at 1,000 Euros. So, the more affordable the price, the better.
Applying these criteria, the Nikon 105mm f/2.8, for example, would have been ideal if it weren't for its price of more than 800 Euros, so I don't recommend it unless you are a professional macro photographer and are already familiar with he. The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 It offe
