I’ve had a couple of people ask me about lenses so I figured this would be a good way to explain them.
What is a prime lens? What are fisheye lenses etc. Here’s a quick breakdown. I must apologize in advance as I am more familiar with Canon mount lenses than Nikons or Pentaxs.
Zoom Lens (sports, action)
This is typically a lens that the user can control the focal length based on the available range for instance a Canon 70-200 f2.8L. The main benefit of a zoom lens is that is allows you to compose the image very easily as you are not required to change lenses every so often.
Prime Lens (portraits)
A prime lens has a fixed focal length such as the Canon 100mm f2.8 macro. Since you’re locked into one fixed focal length, compositions are sometimes harder. Often times, cropping is necessary unlike a zoom lens.
Wide Angle Lens (landscape)
For digital SLRs, a lens is considered wide angle when the focal length is less than 35mm. Most digital SLRs except for the full frame types such as the Canon 5D have a crop factor. The Canon line typically has a crop factor of 1.6x and the Nikon’s are at 1.5x.
Therefore, doing the math, a wide angle lens (for a Canon) would be something like a 17-40mm f4L. At 17mm this translates to about a 27mm in regular SLRs.
Fisheye Lens:
Unless you’re using a full frame dSLR, it would be hard to get a fisheye to work. Canon has the 15mm f2.8 fisheye that works wonders but is also pretty expensive at around $600. A cheaper alternative is the Peleng 8mm fisheye. I personally have no experience with this but I know some friends who have them and they like them a lot. The only problem with the Peleng is that there are no electronic contacts meaning focusing is done manually.
A fisheye lens is an extremely wide angle lens that takes photos in a “hemisphere” shape.
Sometimes, you’ll find on Ebay some screw-on fish eye lenses. I have to admit that I did buy one of these before and I’ve only used it a few times. I noticed that the images were too soft most likely due to the fact that the glass wasn’t that great to begin with. They are cheap and a good way to capture these types of shots without spending an arm and a leg for it.
Teleconverters:
This is basically an intermediate optic some photographers use to increase the focal length of their lenses. Canon has the 1.6x and the 2.0x teleconverters available and others from Nikon and Tamron.
Most of the time, photographers complain that at the longest focal length, the images come out too soft on the 2x teleconverters.
What to buy?
Well this is definitely a question only you can answer. Consider what you will potentially shoot. Most lenses that have the biggest aperture such as the f2.8, f2.0, and the f1.2s are typically more expensive. The filter sizes are larger so be prepared to shell out some cash on those as well. They are typically heavier than most lenses.
If you are simply looking for a good walk-around lens, then I would suggest something like a Tamron 28-75mm f2.8. It’s compact in size and it’s a fast lens – great for low light conditions.
Most might be tempted to buy cheap lenses. The problem with cheap lenses is that the glass isn’t that great. Think of it this way. Even if you have the best dSLR out there in the market, if you have cheap glass attached to it, you’re probably better off taking photos with a point and shoot camera.
Remember that your investment is not in the body. It’s in the lenses. Bodies are disposable over time as technology changes so rapidly. Money well spent on a good lens is money well received.
One more thing:
If you’re like me who changes lenses every so often, dust bunnies are bound to appear on your sensor. Here are a couple of tips to keep in mind when changing lenses.
1. If possible, point your camera down and remove the lens so that the sensor faces the ground. This prevents any dust particles that might be in the air to settle on the sensor.
2. Always maintain a schedule on when to clean your sensor. There are lots of products out there in the market but one that has been proven and tested is the CopperHill Method. Their sensor cleaning kit is cheap and when you order, they even give you a slinky and some chocolates.
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