Dslr which lenses do i need

Wider-angle and longer focal length primes are also available, as are lenses with even faster maximum apertures F1. There are a few other aspects of build and operation which you may wish to consider when buying a lens:. Autofocus performance can vary significantly between lenses, and autofocus performance can make a huge difference between capturing the perfect moment at a sports event or social occasion and having a frustrating photographic experience.

Mirrorless camera systems are still relatively new, and there's a subtle interplay of optical design and focus motor that effects performance. For instance the ring-type ultrasonic motors that were great for focusing on DSLRs aren't as well suited to focusing on mirrorless cameras, particularly for the smooth, subtle movements required for video autofocus.

As such, it's difficult to make generalizations, so it's worth checking reviews of the lens you're planning to buy. Many modern lenses have no physical connection between the focus ring and the focusing lens elements, as was the case in older SLR and DSLR lenses.

Many cameras use this to provide speed-sensitive manual focus, where a quick turn of the focus ring results in a bigger focus jump than a slow movement.

This lets you jump quickly to the part of the focus range you want, but can be awkward if you're trying to manual focus while shooting video. To get round this, some cameras offer a 'linear' focus response mode, where the focus always moves by the same amount in response to how much you turn the focus ring: letting you practice and anticipate the amount by which you need to turn the ring.

Although modern autofocus is excellent, there is still a huge number of manual focus lenses on the market. These include designs optimized for shooting video and traditional, high-quality designs, through to unusual, specialist lenses that would be near-impossible to make autofocus along with the creations of small companies without the experience or access to lens mount protocols to manufacture AF lenses.

Ultra-wide angle lenses, tilt-shift lenses and some very expensive lenses designed to be mechanically simple but optically excellent are out there, and are worth considering. As a general rule, the more expensive a lens is, the better built it is likely to be. The kit lenses that come with cameras tend to rather lightweight and plastic in construction.

If you spend a bit more, you can get something more durable. Some lenses incorporate environmental seals against dust and water; in general this tends to be towards the top end of the price spectrum, but Pentax and Olympus in particular offer a decent range of mid-priced sealed lenses.

One last word. When choosing a camera system to invest in, it's important to appreciate that the lens has just as great an impact on the image quality as the camera. Lenses tend to last longer than cameras too, becoming obsolete less quickly than bodies, so it can be worth spending a little bit extra to get the quality or flexibility you really want. But, while DSLR systems are much more extensive, most new lens development is focused on Mirrorless cameras, so these may prove more future-proof.

Bear in mind that most mirrorless lens systems are still only a few years old, so they may be missing the type of lens you want, for now. That said, the system with most options isn't inherently any better than a smaller system that includes all the lenses you need. Even if you don't have a very specific application that needs specialized lenses or other accessories in mind, it's worth doing some research before committing to one system or another.

Oh, and once bitten by the lens buying bug, many enthusiasts find it hard to stop; you have been warned Angle of view - Describe the view offered by a lens, measured as the angle between the furthest extremes of the lens's coverage.

If this is confusing, imagine the view in front of you as a semicircle of degrees: a 'wide-angle' lens can see a bigger segment of the semicircle than a 'long' telephoto one. Depth of field - This describes how much of the scene in front and behind the point of focus appears acceptably sharp. An image with shallow depth of field leaves the background and foreground appearing blurry and out-of-focus. An image with deep depth of field contains a greater amount depth of sharp detail.

Focal length — Expressed in millimeters, focal length describes the angle of view of a lens. Telephoto lenses have a long focal length, and wide-angle lenses have a short focal length. The longer the focal length, the narrower the angle of view and the more zoomed-in it appears. Long lenses are more zoomed-in, while wide lenses are zoomed-out and capture a wider angle of view. This system includes some high-end video cameras. APS-C - A common sensor format used by interchangeable lens camera manufacturers.

Full-frame - A sensor format the same size as a frame of 35mm film - the dominant film format of the 20th and early 21st Centuries.

Despite the name, sensor larger formats do exist, in sizes known collectively as 'medium format'. Prime lens - A lens with a fixed focal length, which cannot zoom in or out. A technical term not to be confused with Amazon Prime. Zoom lens - A lens whose field of view described in terms of focal length can be adjusted, allowing you to zoom-in or out on a subject, to achieve a different composition without changing your position. Most commonly used in reference to focal length: e. Is it worth the hefty price tag?

We take a look at the Cine, the high-end model in this series. The Nikon Z9 is the company's first camera to feature a stacked CMOS sensor, which brings a raft of new features, including blazing speed and autofocus performance to the Z lineup. Click through for our detailed first impressions of Nikon's latest professional ILC.

The Sony a7 IV is the fourth generation of the company's core a7 full-frame mirrorless camera model, and it's the most advanced yet.

Click through for an in-depth look at Sony's latest full-frame mirrorless ILC. Nik Silver Efex Pro 3, one of the standout components of Nik Collection 4, is a black-and-white conversion tool that goes far further than the grayscale or black-and-white tools built into all-in-one photo apps. For some users, this app alone might be worth the cost of the whole collection — find out for yourself in our review.

The Nikon Z mm F2. Get all the details in our full review. Here are the main advantages of the two categories according to my information:. The focal length used is therefore the first element to understand when choosing your camera lens.

It will greatly influence the type of photo you will be able to take in the next step I talk about that below. Once the concept of focal length in a photo is understood, many questions will arise: which zoom to choose?

Which telephoto zoom lens to choose? Which wide angle to choose etc. I will answer those questions later in separate articles. Once the focal length concept is understood, the second element to consider is the maximum aperture of the lens. The smaller the number e. In concrete terms, you bring in more light and this allows 3 things :. As a rule, it is important to know that the larger the aperture of a lens, the more expensive and heavier the lens will be , but also the better the quality.

The lens aperture can be fixed e. So, if you want to know how to choose a camera lens, the maximum aperture of a lens is the second element to understand.

This is another factor to learn about and understand when deciding on your camera lens. Some lenses have an integrated image stabilizer. To put it simply, it limits the risk of motion blur in 2 conditions:. Note that you can always use a tripod to shoot your photos in low-light conditions and increase your chances of a sharp photo.

That is, a stabilized lens will cost more than a non-stabilized lens. However, the latter generally allows you to gain at least 2 to 3 speed steps so you can take a slower speed photo without the risk of a blurry image. Are you interested in macro lenses? It will therefore be necessary to check carefully before buying a lens to find out what these acronyms correspond to. I think I have reviewed all the main technical photo elements that you need to take into account and know in order to understand how to choose a camera lens?

Another point to consider quickly. Depending on the type of camera you are going to buy or already have, some lenses will not be compatible with your camera. So make sure that the lens you are going to buy will be compatible with a possible transition to a Full Frame camera one day. This is usually, as well as the budget, the main concern when choosing a camera lens. Indeed, after having understood all the technical photographic terms, mentioned in the first long paragraph, you must ask yourself the question, what do I want to take a photo of?

You can further reduce your search by asking yourself in which general conditions you will use your lens night time, in the undergrowth, in daylight. This is the key point and where you need to ask yourself the most questions. Knowing what you want to photograph will help you focus on the right lens. This is a less important point, but it deserves a few sentences for clarity.

Be aware that there are very good lenses available from third-party brands Sigma, Tamron, Zeiss, etc. Out of habit, I have always preferred to stick to the same brand as my camera Canon. Lenses supplied by well-known brands Canon or Nikon for example will always be more expensive than lenses sold by third-party brands. So, think about how you want or can equip yourself. Most of the time, third-party brands provide mounts for the bigger brands. So be careful if you buy a lens from a brand other than your camera, check that the mount is well adapted for your camera!

Last but not least, it is up to you to see, from the online tests, whether the difference between the proposed price of the named brand and the third-party brand is justified or not. The purpose of this article was not really to give you a list of useful photo lenses to use in such and such situations, but I will try in this last paragraph to present you with the choice of lenses available according to two main criteria: needs and budget.

I am only talking about DSLR lenses here. Hybrid camera optical lenses should really be dissociated from these lenses and will be the subject of their own article at a later date. It may take you a while to find your marks. However, some of you may already have specific ideas about the settings or situations that may be of interest to you. You may be interested in night photography, low-light photography, landscapes, portraits, etc. The choice of lens is just as important as the choice of cameras and both are equally important to consider.

The focal range given allows you to zoom in on the angle of coverage at 18mm and this will allow you to zoom as necessary. For landscape photography, it is often advisable to use a wide angle GA or Ultra-Wide Angle UGA lens, the purpose being to open its angle of view and give an effect of immensity to the scene in front of you.

Except in special cases sunrise and sunset or night photography , the amount of light will be sufficient to take instant photos by handheld camera, without the use of a tripod. The necessity of bright optics for a wide-angle lens, if used only under simple conditions, it is therefore questionable.

Here are three examples of ideal lenses for landscape photography! From my point of view, if you have the budget, I would advise you to invest in a wide-angle lens for this type of photo. The camera sensor size should be taken into account when choosing the lens, although it should be noted that some lenses are only compatible with certain cameras.

Image stabilization allows for use of slower shutter speeds without suffering camera shake though some brands incorporate this into camera bodies rather than the lens. Stabilization is also very handy if you're shooting lots of video, in which case you might also want to think about lenses with power zooms which can zoom at adjustable speeds.

Weather-sealing means you can use your lens assuming your camera is equally weather-sealed in extreme weather conditions and normally also means a higher level of build quality. Other considerations include the use of special lens elements and coatings which can improve sharpness and reduce image problems such as chromatic aberration.

It's also worth thinking about whether you would benefit from a higher number of aperture blades which can give a more pleasing bokeh, and if you need lenses with internal focus motors, or indeed only manual focus. While the majority of photographers buy lenses from the same firm as their camera, there are a number of third party manufacturers such as Sigma, Tamron and Tokina which produce lenses for DSLRs and mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras.

They are often also considerably cheaper. Below are a number of typical situations that kit-lens-toting photographers often find themselves in. For each example, we've highlighted some of the factors that should be considered when trying to find the right lens for the job.

While these are factors which are relevant whatever camera and lens system you're using, in each case we've also highlighted a couple of lenses that would be a good choice for specific set-ups without blowing the budget. When you're on holiday or traveling, you probably don't want to be lugging several lenses and cameras around with you — unless you're the most dedicated of photographers, that is. It's often the same if you're trying to enjoy a day with the family and don't want to spend all day changing lenses and moaning about your back.

As such, a good all-day or travel lens would be one that was easy enough to carry around, but still offered you the freedom to capture shots from landscapes to portraits, and zoom in on distant objects. Street photography can be done with almost any lens, though a mm F2. However, a focal range of around mm is often seen as the ideal for capturing the moment in urban areas.

Unless you want all of your subjects looking directly at the camera, you'd probably be best served by something discrete. It's also important that street photography lenses feature a fast maximum aperture for lower-light situations. This means that something like the Fuji XF 23 mm f1. The Sigma 35 mm F1. Many people shell out for a DSLR or mirrorless interchangeable lens camera when they have a child, but by the time that child starts running around, the kit lens struggles to keep up, both in terms of aperture and focal range.

This is especially true if you're trying to photograph the kids running around in the garden or on the sports field. This means you need something with a bit more reach, but probably without the bulk and weight that a professional lens would bring.

A zoom lens will allow you to keep your shots framed as you want while your subject moves around in front of you.

While the kit lenses which come with most cameras are surprisingly good at the wide angle end, you could find that they don't quite go far enough for some of the landscape images you try to take.

So, unless you're able to keep moving backwards, you're going to need a new lens. Focal length is key here, and you'll only get some landscapes if you've got an ultra wide angle lens. You could go for either a prime or a zoom, but most people in this situation are probably going to be best-served by a zoom.

After a while you might find that you've simply outgrown your kit lens. You suddenly find that it's stifling your creative ambitions and preventing you from taking the photos that you want, even if they are within its focal length reach.

This is the ideal time to get yourself a fast prime lens, and the good news is that you don't have to spend a fortune to do it. Because they are primes, it also means you need to zoom with your feet, which will in turn probably mean you spend more time thinking about how you compose shots. Never a bad thing. As we've seen, different lenses can give photographers the creative freedom to take all sorts of images.

It's no understatement to say they are as important, if not more so, than the camera you're using. This is why it's such a shame to see photographers buy cameras with the ability to change lenses and then never do so.

It's worth remembering that lenses can often last longer than your camera, because they will continue to work on the next generation of cameras, and the one after that, probably. This is why many photographers are willing to spend more on an individual lens than their camera. However, buying new lenses doesn't have to mean spending a fortune. We've seen how relatively inexpensive primes like the nifty-fifty 50 mm F1.

There are also thousands of second-hand lenses which will work just as well as new ones out there — especially for DSLR shooters, where you can often use a year-old lens.

You never know, your father might even have some lying around in the attic. Hopefully this article hasn't made you feel compelled to buy more and more lenses, as that really wasn't the aim. If you're not sure if you need a new lens, you probably don't. Instead, we hope this has helped you understand what to look for when you feel that your current lenses are preventing you from being the photographer you want to be.

LOG IN. Menu HOME. Search Query Submit Search. By Simon Crisp. Facebook Twitter Flipboard LinkedIn. Choosing which lens to buy for your DSLR or interchangeable lens camera can be a daunting and confusing experience.

View 30 Images. A normal prime and a telephoto zoom are two of the most common lenses to be bought after a kit lens. Dedicated wide-angle lenses are also better at controlling barrel distortion and vignetting, which is something that kit lenses struggle with when shooting at wide focal lengths. Wide-angle lenses are not only great for landscapes, but can also be used for architecture and even street photography.

Macro lenses are specialised optics that shoot images with a magnified ratio, typically , which means that they capture life-size images of your subjects.

Thanks to this magnification ratio, macro images are the optic of choice when you want to get close-up images of your subjects. Seeing the world in close up transforms ordinary subjects we see everyday into something extraordinary.