Each
week I usually get an email asking me the same two questions… “What lenses
should I buy?” and “what camera should I buy?”
I
enjoy taking the time to respond to them because I remember back when I was
making that decision for the first time. Heck, I even struggle with
what my next purchase is going to be… “should I go with the Nikon D4, or should
I stay using what I have… should I invest in that super telephoto lens, or will
I not use it like I intend?”
I
addressed the camera in my previous post, see that post here…http://kpepphotography.blogspot.ca/2013/03/how-do-you-decide-which-dslr-to-buy-next.html In this post I want to discuss lenses…
There
are a lot of different types of lenses appropriate for so many varieties of different
situations… and in reality you could weigh down your pocket book and camera bag
with lenses you are rarely going to use. Personally, I find myself relying on
four lenses in my bag: a solid wide angle lens (Sigma 10-20mm), a fast general
purpose zoom (Sigma 24-70mm), a telephoto zoom (Sigma 70-200mm) and a longer
telephoto lens (Sigma 120-300). These four lenses give me the versatility to
shoot in almost any conditions. Plus, a variation of each of these lenses is
available from any manufacturer, for any camera.
The
general purpose zoom
This
is the lens that sits on my camera the majority of the time. For APS-C cameras,
something between the 18mm and 70mm range is best… I use the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8
on both my crop sensor camera and my full frame camera.
This
focal range will give you the ability to go fairly wide while also being able
to zoom into objects off in the distance. This lens might be your kit lens, but
it should preferably be fairly fast (a fixed f/2.8 if possible) to give you
greater control over depth of field. It makes a great “walkabout” lens when you
aren’t sure what you will be shooting or you are headed to a family birthday
party.
Here is a sample photo from using that lens.
Click on the image to look at a larger version.
The
wide angle lens
The
length of this lens isn’t as important as its ability to create a landscape
scene or capture the point of view of a taller building. There are ranges of
10mm to 24mm in this category, and for the extreme, some manufacturers push
there wide angle lenses as low as 8mm. Personally, I consider that in the fisheye
category and the lens that wide will give you distortion you may not want.
I
am not as hung up on aperture with this lens as most people are. You will hear
from the camp of people that says you need an f2.8, and you will have others
that say you do not. Personally, I use this lens for landscape 90% of the time.
When I am shooting landscape it is in the golden hour or blue hour… and that
means a tripod and an f-stop of f8 to f20… I rarely set my aperture at f4 on my
landscape lens as I want the majority of the image in focus.
My
suggestion, buy a quality wide angle lens and save yourself the money and do not
get that higher priced f2.8 wide angle lens.
Here is a sample image from that lens.
Click on the image to look at a larger version.
The
Telephoto zoom
The telephoto zoom should
be in the general range of 70-200mm
with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 (faster is nice though). This will give you a
lot of distance to work with and a very shallow depth of field to bring focus
to your subjects. For faster moving objects, the bigger aperture (f2.8) will
allow you to shoot at faster shutter speeds which will help capture moving
objects (birds, sports) as well. This is also an excellent portrait lens as the
focal length minimizes distortion and narrows the angle of view to fill the
frame with your subject.
Here is a sample image using that lens.
Click on the image to look at a larger version.
Longer
Telephoto
When
the 200mm focal length will just not do, a longer telephoto is a good option.
The
ranges on the top end of the length range are from 300mm to 500mm, and above… but
there is a cost factor when you start getting into that range, especially with
apertures of f2.8 to f4.0.
One
train of thought is to buy in the 300mm range and purchase a teleconverter to
increase the focal length… There are 1.4x, 1.5x, 1.7x and 2.0x teleconverters
depending on the manufacturer. But be careful, a teleconverter will, in some minor instances, make your automatic lens, manual. It will reduce the
aperture by one or two stops… For example, a 300mm, f2.8 becomes a 600mm, f5.6
with a 2.0x teleconverter.
I
am lucky enough to shoot with a 120-300 f2.8 and have access to other lenses in the Sigma line-up through my relationship with them here in Canada. I also
have a 1.4x teleconverter that increase my 120-300mm f2.8 to a 168-420mm and I only
lose one f-stop.
Other
longer telephoto lenses that I have access to through Sigma are:
Here is a sample image from my last shoot with the 50-500 F4.5-6.3.
Click on the image to look at a larger version.
I
am sure many of you reading this have other lenses you would consider
essential. A good prime portrait lens like a 50mm f1.8 or a longer prime lens like a 90mm f2.8… and those are great lenses to own also.
However,
for someone who is new to photography or who has just bought their first or
second DSLR and money is a consideration, these four lenses will give them the
versatility to shoot in almost any situation.
Please email me or comment below on this blog if you have any questions, comments or information you want to add.
Kev
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