You've bought yourself a digital SLR. Great! However, I can guarantee that you will soon be hankering for a few extra lenses for put on the front of your new camera. After all, being able to change lenses is one of the advantages of owning a DSLR.
With this in mind, how do you go about choosing the right lens? It really depends on what kind of photography you're trying to do. How much money do you have? What kind of situations will you be photographing in? These are all things you need to be considering.
Let's assume you're just a normal amateur photographer. If you're like most, your SLR probably came with a zoom lens that covers most of your basic focal lengths. Usable, but nothing spectacular. Your next lens should fulfill some need that your basic lens cannot. For example, if you want to take pictures of wildlife or sports, you'll need a serious telephoto lens. If you like concert photography, you'll probably want some fast primes.
There are many issues that affect lens selection, but one of the bigger ones is whether you go with a fixed focal lengths (prime) or zoom lens. Fixed focal lengths lenses are considerable cheaper, sharper, and faster than zoom lenses. However, since you only have on focal length, you've got to "zoom with your feet" which isn't always possible, and doesn't provide the same differences in perspective you can get with the different focal lengths in a zoom lens. It's all about figuring out what you prefer.
You might want to look into getting some fast lenses if you're into low light photography. Fast lenses use large amount of glass to let in a lot of light, but at a significant cost premium. Still, these are pretty essential for a lot of applications.
If you're on a budget but want the kind of image quality a mid grade consumer zoom can't give you, check into using old manual focus prime lenses. Many modern DSLRs can take excellent manual focus lenses from as long as 45 years ago. You'd be amazed at the quality of some of these lenses.
I hope this has helped you get a good idea of the different lenses options you have for your new DSLR. Be sure to shop around and really know your preferences when looking for a new lens. - 15437
With this in mind, how do you go about choosing the right lens? It really depends on what kind of photography you're trying to do. How much money do you have? What kind of situations will you be photographing in? These are all things you need to be considering.
Let's assume you're just a normal amateur photographer. If you're like most, your SLR probably came with a zoom lens that covers most of your basic focal lengths. Usable, but nothing spectacular. Your next lens should fulfill some need that your basic lens cannot. For example, if you want to take pictures of wildlife or sports, you'll need a serious telephoto lens. If you like concert photography, you'll probably want some fast primes.
There are many issues that affect lens selection, but one of the bigger ones is whether you go with a fixed focal lengths (prime) or zoom lens. Fixed focal lengths lenses are considerable cheaper, sharper, and faster than zoom lenses. However, since you only have on focal length, you've got to "zoom with your feet" which isn't always possible, and doesn't provide the same differences in perspective you can get with the different focal lengths in a zoom lens. It's all about figuring out what you prefer.
You might want to look into getting some fast lenses if you're into low light photography. Fast lenses use large amount of glass to let in a lot of light, but at a significant cost premium. Still, these are pretty essential for a lot of applications.
If you're on a budget but want the kind of image quality a mid grade consumer zoom can't give you, check into using old manual focus prime lenses. Many modern DSLRs can take excellent manual focus lenses from as long as 45 years ago. You'd be amazed at the quality of some of these lenses.
I hope this has helped you get a good idea of the different lenses options you have for your new DSLR. Be sure to shop around and really know your preferences when looking for a new lens. - 15437
About the Author:
David Wilson is the owner of Discount DSLRs, a site devoted to bringing you great deals on used Nikkor lenses, Canon fisheye lenses, and more.
