Next to what kind of camera do you recommend, the most frequent question others
ask me is "What kind of lens should I buy for my camera?" This can be a difficult
question because there are so many options available. Here are the major factors I
considered and why I chose what I did. Note that I am partial to the Canon product
line, so this essay will reflect that bias. What's important to remember is the golden
rule of a lens purchase: Buy the best you can afford. Remember a $99 consumer
grade lens will give you what you pay for.
If you follow photography discussion forums, you will find heated debate and
criticism related to three topics of discussion about camera lenses. These include
which brand of lens is best, buying a zoom or fixed lens, and consumer grade vs.
pro grade glass. The more important consideration should be which lens will give
me the color, contrast, sharpness, and bokeh for my money?
Camera brand or third party brand?
Canon lenses have two features that I believe set them apart from all the other lens
manufacturers. The two features are the ultrasonic focus motors (USM) and image
stabilization (IS). Some third party lenses may offer an alternative to the USM
motor, but I do not believe they perform as well. Other major manufacturers, such
as Nikon, offer similar products, but my favorite is Canon. Concerning third party
lenses, several sales people at reputable camera stores have told me that Tamron
licenses the lens mount from Canon and should have less compatibility problems. IS
is an amazing feature and works as advertised. It is especially valuable on
telephoto lenses. Of course, budget will play an important part of what lens to
purchase. Generally, third party lenses of the same focal length or zoom range will
cost less than the original manufacturer lens. Recent advances by companies such
as Tamron have provided some excellent alternatives to the manufacturer's brand
lens. Manufacturer lenses tend to hold their value much better than third party
lenses should you decide to sell later on. After a lot of investigation and reading
reviews, I decided to add a Tamron lens to my kit because Canon did not have a
suitable lens in the zoom and price range I was willing to pay.
To Zoom or not to Zoom?
There continues to be a lot of discussion and disagreement about the use of zoom
lenses. There is the school that says "bad zoom, bad zoom" and they carry around
only primes and criticize anyone who uses a zoom. The idea is that a zoom
produces soft images and is not the best for sharp photos. The manufacturers have
to make too many compromises. This may have been true 15 years ago, but not so
true today. There are a lot of good zooms that produce respectable and sharp
photos. I know. I have many to prove it. Yes, a good L prime will give you a
sharper photo, provided you do everything else right. How much sharper? Side by
side may show a difference in many cases. The way to look at it is that a good
zoom can give you outstanding photos, a prime can do a little better. It depends on
what you are looking for. How about zooming with your feet? Keep in mind that a
lot of photo opportunities would be lost because your feet just can't go there. And
the flexibility they provide for framing are hard to pass up. Get what you can afford
and work with that lenses to get the best results.
Consumer grade glass?
This decision has to have budget considerations. Consumer grade glass is
considerably less expensive than most professional grade glass. There are some
very fine consumer grade lenses produced by Canon. Professional grade lenses
designated as an "L" lens by Canon, however, offer several advantages that come
at a price. These include solid construction quality that can take a beating, better
grade glass including lens elements of more sophisticated materials such as ground
aspherical or flourite elements, and faster glass that allows for low light shooting.
Most consumer grade lenses will sell for $100-$500. Most L grade lenses will sell for
over $1000. But one of the best L lenses made is the Canon 70-200 f4L zoom lens
and is under $700. Remember, you generally keep your lenses when you replace
your camera body so buying the best you can afford will serve you for many years,
even if you upgrade your camera body. Some important considerations when you
are comparing a consumer grade lens and a pro grade lens include contrast, color,
and bokeh (how the lens renders out of focus areas of the shot).
I have the following lenses in my kit:
Canon 16-35 f2.8L. This is a great lens for wide angle work. Because my digital
SLR's have a 1.6 multiplication factor, a standard 28mm lens does not provide a
wide field of view. The 16mm end of this zoom equates to 25mm on a full frame
film SLR. Wide angle lenses are difficult to manufacturer and require the best in
quality control. For this reason, I decided to go with the L lens.
Tamron 28-75 f2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical IF. This is my everyday keep the lens on
the camera lens. To get through all the two letter abbreviations is a chore. XR
signifies the lens contains extra high refractive glass. Di is the designation Tamron
uses to distinguish the lens as designed for digital camera characteristics. LD means
low dispersion glass. And finally, IF means internal focus. This is my newest lens
and replaces a Canon 28-135 IS consumer lens, which I dropped and made into
many internal pieces of lens parts. Many reviewers have claimed this lens has glass
on par with the glass in an L lens.
Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS. This is the first L class lens that I have owned and
was my primary lens used for wildlife photography until I added the 500 prime to my
kit. IS or image stabilization is a significant advantage with this lens. The zoom
feature allows much flexibility in framing a shot. I believe the 400mm focal length
is the minimum needed for wildlife photography. The sharpness, color, contrast, and
bokeh of this lens is outstanding for a zoom lens. If you can get only one L lens for
wildlife, this lens would be my recommendation.
Canon 500 f4 l IS. This has become my lens of choice for wildlife photography.
Coupled with a 2X tele-converter, I have a 1000mm f8 telephoto reach. More about
tele-converters later. Use of a lens of this size and weight require a sturdy tripod
and gimbal type tripod head. Trying to use a ball head or other type of mount will
soon become tiring and not provide the stability needed.
Tele-converters are really a very small lens attachment that fit between the
camera and the lens. Canon provides two options, a 1.4x and a 2x. Multiply the
focal length of the lens by the teleconverter factor and you have the new reach of
the lens. For example, the 500 lens will become a 700 lens with the 1.4 and a 1000
with the 2. There is a cost associated with the use of a tele-converter. There is a 1-
stop loss with the 1.4 and a 2-stop loss with the 2. Again using the 500 as an
example, the 500 f4 becomes a 700 f5.6 or 1000 f8. With most non-pro level
cameras, auto-focus will work to f5.6 so you may lose the auto-focus feature with
the 2x converters.
One final note about tele-converters. You must use good technique when using them
and must consider which brand will fork for you. Many third party lens
manufacturers also make tele-converters. I do not recommend them. Canon, for
example, designs the optics to work with their lenses. They provide a list of specific
lenses that will work with the converters. Sticking with the brand of the lens
insures that all lens functions will work and that the proper information will be
passed between camera and lens. Some report a small loss of sharpness with the
converters, but again, good technique will minimize this loss.
The bottom line is that a lens choice requires a lot of thought. Consider your budget,
what quality you are willing to settle for, and what your photographic interests are.
If you enjoy taking wildlife and bird pictures, then you will need a good telephoto
lens. If you take portraits, a 50-125mm range lens will do. Buy what works for
you and enjoy using them.