Sunday, November 8, 2009

Cameras - DSLR Lenses Kit Selection





Buying a new DSLR (Or already having one) is only half job. Selecting lens (lenses) may be a more complicated task. To keep this item simple, I am referring to most of us - non professionals, photographing as our hobby. This means that we are living on limited budget, so, convenience and lens quality are tradeoffs. In any case, lenses today are delivering acceptable optical performance, even with budget lenses.

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Many consumer and semi pro cameras are available today with a kit lens (Pro cameras are beyond the scope here). For consumer grade cameras, it is usually 3X zoom lens (about 28-80mm in full frame standard). I will not refer to this lens since it is already there. Semi pro cameras may have better kit lenses, few of them will be part of the suggested lens kit.

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The first lens we have to decide will be our prime lens. I assume that hobby photographers are mostly using their cameras as a documentation tools - Taking pictures of their family and places they are travel. We need a single lens to do both (We do not want to carry more then one lens, nor switching them). This lens should be able to provide wide view (For indoor and scenic views) and for portraits, should be able to get close to subjects. To make the story short we need 28-200 or 24-120 (18-135 or 16-80 for APS-C sensors). The 28-200 is better for reaching subjects where the 24-120 is better for scenic views - you should decide which of them is your preference. Also, 24-120 lenses may be slightly more expensive then the 28-200 option. If further price reduction is considered, 28-105 lens is an option (APS-C is 18-70). In any case, the lens should be stabilized (Lens based optical image stabilization) if the camera does not providing this option internally (Sensor based image stabilization).

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Now we have to consider other photographic situations and subject types we would like to handle. I will refer them in a random order. It is up to the photographer preference which one (if any) to invest first.

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Night scenes require a lens which can pass light, as much as possible, to the camera's sensor. Professional photographers are using expensive zoom lenses with low F number (The lens can pass more light then regular ones). Due to a limited budget (And the relatively rare use of such lens), I would suggest to use fixed focal length lens - 50mm F1.8 (35mm in APS-C). This lens is relatively cheap, getting inside the camera a good deal of light and its optical performance is good (Generally, fixed focal length lenses are better the zoom lenses - lower number of optical compromises in their design). The Cons here is the flexibility and the limited wide view. We will have to move ourselves to frame the subject and there is an absolute limitation of how close we can get and how large can be the framed subject. In any case, I suggest to start here and later put more money in a low F number zoom lens if night photography is your passion.

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Next is Close Up or Macro photography. For start, we do not have to invest anything if our prime zoom lens has a Macro capability. This means that the lens can magnify at its Telephoto end (Maximum zoom). Since the minimum distance to the subject is not so close (optical limitation) to total magnification is limited, but you will get the effect. Better is a dedicated Macro lens. They are fixed focal length lenses in the range of 50 to 100 mm. Such lenses get to a zero distance from the subject and get, at least, life size magnification.

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Nature (Birds) and sport photographers will need a higher focal length to get as close as possible to the subject (while still make it comfortable, in the case of birds). The best way (cheapest one) is getting a Telephoto zoom lens with moderate F number. Zoom lens as 75-300 (Translated to 120-450 in APS-C) with F5.6 at the tele end is the optimal choice. Cons are slightly lower sharpness at the image edges and their limited usage to a good daylight. The later is needed to keep the speed high enough to freeze motion.

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For hobby and semi pro photographers the following lens kit can be a good starting point:

1. Prime zoom of 28-200 or 24-120 (18-135 or 16-80 for APS-C). 28-300 (18-200) is also an option.

2. Fixed focal length 50 (35) F1.8 for night. If night scenic is the desired, 28mm (18mm) F2.8 lens is recommended (pricier and slightly less light "friendly").

3. Macro fixed focal length lens.

4. Telephoto zoom lens of 75-300.

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