DSLRs and Mirrorless Cameras lets you swap lenses according to your Needs, but which are the perfect Dslr lenses to get?
Choosing the best camera lenses is a pretty tough task. There are so many kinds of lenses for different types of shoots, and then there are all the different lens mounts for different camera brands too! Where do you start?
Don’t worry, because we at Paxton Equipments, a one stop equipment rental service based in Mumbai, keep investing in equipment and lenses to keep up with the latest gear. We will help you to figure out everything and guide you to choosing the perfect lens for your camera.
Before starting it is necessary to understand some technical terms. It will be difficult to choose a camera lens without understanding which elements to consider while making your purchase or rental. But you don’t have to be a professional photographer to know that.
Lens names can get complicated not only to newcomers but professionals too as it includes a long lists of letters and numbers. I’ll try to keep it simple. Overall, I would say that there are five main elements to understand in order to know how to choose a camera lens.
Focal length –
This is the first term to understand when you want to choose your camera lens. It defines the lens’s angle of view. In the image, its 50 mm in the block lens. Lenses up to 35mm are called wide lenses. Lenses between 35mm and 70mm are called normal or Mid-wide lenses. Lenses above 70mm are called tele lenses.
F stop or Aperture –
Once after the focal length concept is understood, the second element to consider is the maximum aperture of the lens. It describes how much light the lens gathers. The image shows F2.8 in the zoom lens and F1.4 in the block lens. Lower the F, more the light absorbing capacity and better the lens.
Image Stabilization
Image Stabilization is another factor to learn about and understand when deciding on your camera lens. Some lenses have an integrated image stabilizer and some lenses include optical stabilization units to counteract the blurring effects of hand shake. Each brand offers its own technical terms like Canon calls is IS (Image Stabilizer), Nikon calls it VR (Vibration Reduction), Sony calls it OSS (Optical Steady Shot), Tamron calls it VC (for Vibration Compensation), Sigma calls it OS (for Optical Stabilization), Panasonic calls it O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization), PowerOIS and MegaOIS.
Image stabilization limits the risk of motion blur in 2 conditions:
- Shooting in low light conditions (e.g.: Night Photography)
- When using a long focal length (Telephoto Lens) – you may sometimes lack speed due to the focal length.
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).
Lens mount –
It determines whether the lens will physically fit your camera.In Canon EF-S is cropped sensor, EF is full frame. Nikon calls then G mount or F mount, Sony has E mount and A mount. Some professional Cine Lenses like Ultra primes and Master Primes come in PL mount.
Budget –
Last point of and probably the most important for many people. Many will say How to choose a camera lens? And many will say that it depends on the price too.
But overall, everyone agrees that in photography, you generally get what you pay for. We are not saying that there are no cheap photo lenses that are of high quality but the more you pay for a lens the better it will be.
You don’t have to buy every type of lens. You might find that two or three lenses are all you need. Once you know this, then which lens to pick up to suit your pocket.
To summarize how to choose a camera lens, here are 5 steps:
- Understand the technical terms first.
- Know which sensor type camera you will be using (APS-C / Full Frame)
- What you will mainly use it for:
- Determine your preferred focal length (length and Zoom/fix)
- Do you need a large aperture.
- Look at the choice of lenses.
- Evaluate the maximum budget for your lens.
At the end of these five steps, you should be able to narrow down the selection of lenses according to your needs, current and future use and your budget. The key is to acquire photographic equipment that suits you and makes you feel at ease when capturing beautiful images.
I hope that this blog has given you more information and it has helped you to choose a perfect camera lens.
