What Lenses Should I Buy?

One of the questions posed frequently to myself as well as to the professors at AI is this one. The question is a tricky one to answer because there are a couple of factors to consider, such as how much money you can afford to spend and what your photographic style is.

If you shoot landscapes, then you want to buy a wise lens such as a 10-20mm or 17-40mm. Both Canon and Nikon offer a decent 18-55mm as one of their standard kit lens. Although the 18-55mm is a inexpensive one, they make very good images from my experience. Of course if money is not a major concern and you shoot Canon, you can go with either the EF 16-35mm or the 17-40mm L lens. On the Nikon side you have the 14-24mm which is an excellent, high quality lens that makes fantastic images.

For those that want to shoot wildlife or anything else that requires more reach, you can look at 70-200mm, which is an extremely popular zoom used by many professional photographers. At 70-200mm you have the most popular focal lengths in a single lens. Both Canon and Nikon make very high quality lenses in this range, as does Tamron if you are budget minded. This lens is also available in both a less expensive F/4 aperture and the faster, more expensive F/2.8. If you want the F/2.8 without spending $2,000-$3,000, then look at the Tamron, which runs around $1,000 and from every review I’ve read by pros say that it takes every bit as soon an image as the more costly ones made by Canon or Nikon.

                                   Portrait shot using Canon EOS 5D with 28-135mm @ 135mm

Your bread and butter will be portraits, then you want to get a prime portrait lens. The most common lenses for portraits are the 50mm, also known as the Nifty Fifty, 85mm and 135mm. When it comes to Canon, there are three of each the 50mm and the 85mm to choose from and again, it mostly depends on how much you want to spend. The 50mm F/1.8 is inexpensive at around $100 and makes really good images, the 50mm F/1.4 USM is around $400 and is much better build quality and takes even better images. The third is the 50mm F/1.2 L which is very expensive but also makes the best images. In the 85mm, Canon makes the $500 F/1.8, the 85mm F/1.2 L original and the newer 85mm F/1.2 L Mark II. The L series lenses are expensive, running around $2,000 and believe it or not, the less expensive F/1.8 makes much better images. The original L series 85mm had lots of issues with color fringing and the Mark II edition has AF issues. The third and final really good portrait lens on the Canon side is the 135mm F/2 L.

                                 Abandoned Rite Aid shot using EOS 6D with 17-40mm F/4 L

Regardless of what you are going to shoot primarily, it is always a good idea to have 3 or more lenses as you never know when you might need another focal length or prime. I love to shoot landscapes, but like most photographers, I know I need to shoot portraits as well as that is how most of us pay the bills. Since I need to do portraits as well, I own the 85mm F/1.8 USM and the 50mm F/1.4 USM. I am also planning to at some point down the road to buy the 135mm F/2 L so that I have a little more reach.

I hope this information helps you to make some choices on what you want to carry in your camera bag, now get out there and make some images!

Comments/Questions

Which Lenses are Better, Primes or Zooms?

    Another question I have frequently asked by other students and even members of my photography club is which lens is better, Primes or Zooms?

    This is an interesting question and can stir some debate. Primes are lenses with a fixed focal length, such as the Canon 40mm STM Pancake lens or the Canon or Nikon 50mm lenses, known as the “Nifty Fifty”. These lenses are not able to zoom in and out but they are extremely power lenses to have.

    Advantages of the Primes is they will be of a wider aperture than the zooms. My 40mm lens is F/2.8 and my 50mm is F/1.4, with the wider aperture, I can use these lenses in much lower light levels than I can say my 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 lens, which covers the same two focal lengths. There are today zooms than can do F/2.8 but they are very expensive and I don’t want to get off track here.

    The other difference with Primes is, since they have a fixed focal length you have to get closer when shooting something. A lot of photographers like to use the “Nifty Fifty” for portraits, but you cannot shoot a portrait of someone from 10-12 feet with a 50mm as you will pick up too much background. Move in to around 3-6 feet and you will get a great portrait, depending on the style you are shooting for. The Prime lens will generally have a sharper focus to it, even at the wide end of it’s aperture and will cost a lot less money than a zoom.

                                    My mailbox shot with the 40mm STM from around 2-3 feet

    Zooms do have their places, however, such as shooting at an outdoor event like a concert or fair where you cannot always get close to your subject and really need or want to get the shot. In these situations, yes it’s great to have that handy telephoto zoom lens to get in nice and tight to the subject without risking yourself or interfering with anyone else, say law enforcement at an accident scene. Zooms have come a long way and like a said, a nice 70-200mm F/2.8 is one of the most popular lens from both Canon and Nikon, but it’s also got a hefty price of up to $2,500 where you can get a good prime generally for $140-$700.

                           My mailbox shot with the Canon 70-200mm F/4 L USM from around 20 feet

    So, do both lenses have a place in your camera bag, absolutely, and as a general rule, my Primes and Zooms will usually sit in the bag peacefully without fighting too much. I do challenge you to use your primes more, many photographers tend to get lazy or they are shy and don’t want to get close to their subjects. I encourage you to break out of this mode of thinking and get close to your subjects, as long as you can do so without getting hurt or killed in the process. I’m not telling you to walk up to the lion at the zoo and get in his face with your 50mm, but next time you are shooting people, say on the street, use that 50mm and get up close and personal.


Comments/Questions