Digital Home Thoughts: More Glass for Less: A Simple Guide to Inexpensive Lenses

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Thursday, January 20, 2011

More Glass for Less: A Simple Guide to Inexpensive Lenses

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 08:00 AM

Standard Zooms

The standard zoom is the versatile lens that has a bit of everything: Wide, normal and telephoto. Of course, it will not go very wide, nor be a super telephoto, but will give enough to give your photos a different look from one end of the zoom to the other. Kit lenses are from this category, but are usually built to the bare minimum of specifications.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR LD Di II: It may not have any kind of stabilisation, but it is better off without it. Higher in resolving power, smaller in size, and lower in cost than the VC version, this is a good alternative to the typical slow kit lenses. This is the cheapest standard f/2.8 zoom from the three main third party lens manufacturers of Sigma, Tamron and Tokina, but I consider it to be the best optically. The main disadvantages are that it is somewhat plastic in build - but it still has a metal mount thankfully, and the version with a motor (which means all the new ones by now) can be a bit hesistant in focusing. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

SMC Pentax DA 17-70mm f/4 AL IF SDM: Pentax can make some great lenses, and while the 17-70 is not what I call great, it comes close enough, and at its price, it is very hard to beat. With a constant f/4 aperture, a nice wide range of focal lengths, and fast AF, it makes me wonder why Nikon discontinued the similarly excellent Nikkor AFS 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR DX: This is actually a kit lens, which first came with the D90, and now with the D7000. Optically good with a versatile range of focal lengths, its main weaknesses are the plastic lens mount and slower aperture range. If there is an opportunity to have this lens bundled with the camera instead of the usual 18-55, take this option instead. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

Normal lenses

Normal lenses, so-called because they produce "normal-looking" photographs, are easy to make, and not too expensive. They are prime lenses, which means they have a single focal length and do not zoom, but they are an easy way to get a sharp and fast lens that can be used in a large number of situations.

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 35mm f/1.8G: The normal lens for DX cameras. It is fairly cheap, optically sound, and has a not-very-fast AFS motor. Cost cutting measures again are in play here; there is no focusing scale, so if you want to use advanced techniques like hyperfocal settings, you are out of luck. The alternative is the slightly more expensive Nikkor 35mm f/2, but it only works on Nikon cameras with the AF motor on the camera (at this time of writing, that means anything below the D90 range will not have autofocus with the 35/2). [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

Sony DT 35mm f/1.8 SAM: So you have a Sony or a Minolta camera instead. This is the version of the above Nikkor, except that Sony actually put in a focusing scale in it, at the expense of a piezo electric motor. This is not necessarily a bad thing; personally I value the focusing scale more. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

SMC Pentax DA L 35mm f/2.4 AL: Alright, so it is not cheaper, and not much smaller than the Nikon, and while it sacrifices speed, at least Pentax users have an option of having an affordable normal lens on an APS sensor. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]

Canon EF 35mm f/2: Canon users have to use a standard EF lens in this case. Not really a big deal except for the cost. As a lens designed for 35mm film, there are some advantages using it on an APS-sized sensor: less vignetting and excluding a lens's weakest ares (the corners) are two I can think of. [SEARCH AMAZON STORE]


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