You are thinking of buying a lens because after giving your SLR camera intensive use, you start to handle manual and semi-manual modes , make nice photos, enjoy yourself and have a great time. But after a while you have realized that the optics you use imposes serious limitations on you. You see your limited creativity because the objective of the kit falls short of the artistic potential that you waste. This is a typical situation that has happened to all of us at some point in our photographers life. If you are considering acquiring a new lens for your SLR camera then don't miss today's article. Through it I will try to teach you:
- What types of objectives exist in the market.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages offered by each range of objectives.
- What you should keep in mind when buying a lens / lens.
BEFORE STARTING
Before getting into the subject I want to clarify two things quickly:- The first is what I always say: a good photo is not taken by the camera, nor the flash, nor the tripod, nor the objective. You do it, photographer. Do not forget.
- The second: it is possible that throughout this article you will find an abbreviation that you do not understand.
WHAT TYPES OF LENSES CAN YOU BUY?
When buying your goal, you have different possibilities. Beyond its features, which we will see below, you have the option to buy new, second-hand, of the same brand or others, etc. We better see it carefully:BRAND OBJECTIVES OR COMPATIBLE
Very easy, here I am not going to expand 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. However, you should know that there are also brands that manufacture lenses to be used with other brands. Here I refer mainly to two: Sigma and Tamron, although there are others such as Tokina, Samyang or Yongnuo. These two brands manufacture lenses for virtually all cameras. Of course, when buying a Tamron lens, suppose, for example, for your Nikon camera, make sure it is compatible with Nikon and not with Canon or another brand. These lenses tend to be slightly cheaper than if you buy it from the same manufacturer of your camera, and the quality does not necessarily have to be lower.NEW OR USED GOALS
The objectives, although there are all prices, are usually not 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 optics (following these tips).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, an objective that will make you fall in love. Believe it or not, you can use analog lenses with your digital camera whenever you use the right 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 in a digital camera.WHAT SHOULD YOU KEEP IN MIND?
In this section we will see some details that you should keep in mind when buying your goal. And the details I highlight because although they are aspects that sometimes are not taken into account, they are important.OBJECTIVES FOR FULL FORMAT OR FOR APS-C
Not all lenses are valid for all cameras even if they are of the same brand. As you know, some cameras are full-frame or Full Frame and others, have a smaller sensor, is what is known as APS-C. The lenses manufactured for Full Frame cameras can be used in APS-C cameras, however, those designed for APS-C do not work for full-format cameras, as a strong vignette is created and only the central part is illuminated of the image while the edges look dark. The advantage of the objectives for APS-C is that they are cheaper. This is identified in each brand with an acronym. 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 set aside its different mounts (K, Q and 645). The same goes for 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 in the other type of cameras: Olympus- OM-D and PEN objectives: Micro four thirds
- DSLR objectives: Four thirds system
- X Series
- XF Series
- Type A frames: for mirrored or translucent cameras. Its name begins with SAL and can be used in E-type mounts with an adapter.
- Type E frames: for cameras without a mirror. They are called with the letters SEL and cannot be used in type A frames.
ZOOM OR FIXED FOCUS LENSES
Surely the objective you have tried is a zoom. That is, you have been able to get closer or away from your motive without taking a step. The zoom lenses cover different focal lengths (now we will see the focal length more in depth) and, therefore, are 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, depending on that, choose your best option.AUTOFOCUS
While it is now difficult to find new objectives that are solely manual focus, it should be noted that all objectives have a manual focus mode, but not all necessarily have the autofocus mode. This is useful when you want to take pictures quickly letting the camera focus on itself. These situations often occur, 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 the internal focus engine and can work with lenses that do not have this system. If your camera is Nikon and has this system, you can use Nikkor AF lenses. Otherwise, you will have to search for AF-S Nikkor. And if what you are going to do more is video, let it be AF-P. On the other hand, if you have a Canon you should know that:- STM lenses have a softer and quieter focus system, which makes them more suitable for recording video.
- The USM objectives are faster in focus.
- If the lens does not come with STM or USM, it will probably have a DC motor that also offers autofocus, but it is not as smooth or as fast as the previous ones.
DIAPHRAGM OPENING
Diaphragm opening is one of the most important aspects when buying a target. You see, the objectives, 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 (little focused area) and is expressed by a small f / number. On the other hand, a high f / number would reflect a very small aperture (yes, it is a bit the other way around), which is a large depth of field or more focused area. If you look at the objective you will see that it puts the maximum aperture that it is capable of achieving. It is usually expressed as follows:- 1: 1.4 In this case it means that the objective reaches a maximum aperture of f / 1.4. Forever. In all situations.
- 1: 3.5-5 Here it indicates that the objective can reach a maximum aperture of f / 3.5 at its smallest focal length, 18mm for example, but if we use it at its longest focal distance, about 200 or 300mm for example, its maximum aperture would remain at f / 5. Below I explain the focal length.
- Let's look at 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.
F / 1.4 OF / 1.8?
A very common question in the comments is whether it is worth paying the price difference between an f / 1.4 and an f / 1.8 since the numbers seem to be 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 prettier, although on tastes ... What I can tell you is that who tries the f / 1.4 falls madly in love with him. In short, if you can afford it, you will not regret it. Now, if the question is to have the f / 1.8 or not to have any, then no, it is not worth it. Better to get an f / 1.8 than to run out of nothing. If you want, you can take a look at the two articles that I dedicated at the time to 50mm f / 1.4, my favorite, the king of the objectives and 50mm f / 1.8, which I call the «Prince».FOCAL DISTANCE
We enter another concept that we have already introduced and that at the beginning goes a little unnoticed, but that is really important. The focal length is the breadth of the visual field that the target is able to capture. It is usually measured in millimeters (mm). The smaller the number (18mm, for example), the greater the viewing angle that you can capture with that objective. Instead, a large focal length (200mm say) will capture a smaller viewing angle but will allow you to achieve greater zoom. Nothing like an image to understand it better. Remember to take into account the famous clipping or conversion factor of cameras with APS-C format. It is clear that the focal length has a decisive influence on the composition of your photographs. The 50mm lenses are the ones that capture the image most similar to what we see with our eyes. On the contrary, the most extreme focal distances produce certain distortions or effects. Let's see an example, it's me portrayed with different focal distances. 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 distances there are two types of lenses, those of variable focal length or zoom (most) and those of fixed focal length (the most interesting). Do you have an 18-55mm lens? That is a variable focal length, because by rotating the lens ring you can change to the focal length that interests you most, being able to go from 18mm (very wide viewing angle, ideal for landscapes and panoramas) to 55mm (with more zoom though less viewing angle). Those of fixed focal length, as the name reveals, do not allow you to play with the zoom and change from one focal distance to another. But they offer a unique, fixed focal length. The most famous is 50mm . Of course, its optimal results are superior.A GOAL FOR EVERY OCCASION
At the moment of buying an objective one of the decisive questions that you will have to ask yourself is the scope of the focal length you want. This will markedly mark the price of the target. The lenses whose focal length is long (reaching 200 or 300mm, or more) are ideal for photographing portraits, sports, birds, pedestrians, as they offer quite a considerable zoom and greater blur. Although they provide little depth, because they compact the planes. However, 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 smaller, as small as possible (18mm great , 16mm better, 14mm even much better, and so on ...). Once you know what kind of photography you like, which one makes you get up early, spend long hours in the sun, freeze cold, spend the night or kick the streets; it will be easier for you to choose a suitable focal length for your next objective.A MATTER OF QUALITY
If you search well, 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 your objective every little time. And it is true, it is much more comfortable to carry a single objective since it covers all the range of distances you want. However, these types of objectives have the small disadvantage of offering more optical aberrations. Let's say that a lens is composed of lenses and crystals that work best at a given focal length, so there are fixed focal length lenses, for example 35mm, and it is known that these lenses are the best because they are specialized in that focal length. The larger the range of focal length that the lens covers (for example, not only 35mm but goes from 18 to 55mm), the lower quality we will have in terms of lenses and the greater the possibility that the photo has some optical aberrations. Even so, an 18-55mm or 70-300mm lens may be fine, but imagine a single lens with 10-500mm focal length. 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 you better have two or more objectives, as many focal distances as you need.IMAGE STABILIZER
Some SLR cameras have an image stabilizer built into the camera's own body, in which case this distinction does not apply. However, in the case of some brands, SLR cameras do not carry the image stabilizer and it must be in the lens. If this is your case, you can still use the lens to capture splendid photos, but in many cases you will realize that the photo is blurred and moved. When the lens has an image stabilizer, the task becomes much easier: you activate the stabilizer and you take pictures, usually without a tripod and realize that they are not moved. The image stabilizer in Nikon is called VR and in Canon it is known under the acronym IS. Before buying a lens I strongly recommend that you consider 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 earn in photographic quality is priceless. I know people who tried to save a few euros by buying a lens without image stabilization and eventually ended up frustrated.SEALED
Just as there are sealed cameras against dust or water, there are also sealed targets to accompany 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 CONSIDER
There are other aspects that may not be so important but it is convenient to know them, because perhaps, for your needs, tastes or circumstances they are:DIAPHRAGM BLADES
The number of diaphragm sheets the target has influences the bokeh. There are those who think that the greater the number of leaves, the higher the quality of this, although it is not entirely true, because of tastes ... Actually, the difference is that the shape of the luminous areas of the bokeh will have a more rounded or more hexagonal, heptagonal, etc ... shape depending on the number of blades you have or if they are rounded or not. Some diaphragms, when closing the sheets remain like a circle and others, depending on the number of leaves, such as a pentagon, hexagon, etc. Some people think that the more round the more pleasant the bokeh, although this effect can be achieved with any optics at maximum aperture. If you have left with your mouth open and want to take a photo of this type but you have no idea how, you are in luck, I explain it step by step in this article.OBJECTIVE DIAMETER
The lens diameter does not influence any camera or photo settings. You need to know it, especially when buying accessories for your lens, such as a filter or a sun visor. These circular accessories that fit the lens have to match this in diameter. The diameter of the target is indicated in millimeters and has a characteristic symbol similar to a crossed out circle. In this example you see below the objective has a diameter of 77mm (you see it in the photo in the numbers on the left). So it would only be worth filters and accessories of that diameter.FOCUS DISTANCE
Some lenses, not all, indicate the focus distance in meters (or feets ). 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. You can also come next to a flower. It will depend on the target brand. This value changes as we change the focus of the camera and indicate at all times the distance in meters that we could focus as we move the focus ring. In cases of fixed focal, 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 do not matter much, you are looking for different effects, original images; If you need an objective that accompanies you in your madness and that gives free rein to your imagination. You have endured the reading to this point, congratulations, now you should be able to choose a goal for yourself and know how to choose one that is appropriate to your needs as well as your economic possibilities.