Not to discourage anyone but photography is one hell of an expensive hobby. Not as expensive as skydiving or art collecting but nonetheless, expensive. You’d think that after buying a crazy expensive camera the rest is smooth sailing. However, to many photographer’s bewilderment, some camera lenses come with a hefty price tag, sometimes even higher than your camera (smh). But what’s the point of owning a camera just to have crappy photos? So how do you manage to quench your lust for amazing photos without going bankrupt? Simple. By getting the lenses you need most. This is determined by your level of experience and of course, the type of photography you deal in. That said, enough chit chat, let’s get down to business already.
Best Camera Lenses
Wide Angle Lenses
As the name suggests, these lenses capture a wider view than standard lenses. They often come with a short focal length usually between 24 and 30 mm. one thing you will notice when using a wide angle lens is that it usually magnifies the foreground making whatever is in the background look smaller. For this reason, moving closer to your subject when taking shots is important to tighten things up and avoid capturing unnecessary foreground space.
Why are they so important you ask? Well because they can fit a whole scene into the frame. They are great for architecture, landscape, and underwater photography. If you are shooting a gathering of people, a wide angle lens will come in handy.
Best Camera Lenses
Ultra Wide Lenses
These are not for the faint hearted as they often come at a very high price. Nonetheless, they are excellent at capturing wide subjects. Way wider than a wide angle lens would and with much more ease. They often come with a short focal length as you would expect usually between 18mm and 24 mm. This makes them excellent for interior photography as well as all other uses for a wide angled lens but with a much wider frame and larger depth of field.
With the ability to fit so much in a single shot, these lenses have one little downfall. They tend to distort the image giving a tilting effect to it. This takes some getting used to or good Photoshop skills. No wonder they are usually for professional use rather than entry level.
Best Camera Lenses
Telephoto Lenses
If you want to capture the moon or maybe an animal from a safe distance, this is the lens to have. They also come in handy when shooting sports such as car racing and some spy work (I kid you not). With a large focal length of over 70 mm, the field of view is often narrow with the focus on the subject hence blurring out the background. You will also notice that they are way heavier than wide angle lenses due to the large focal length, with the weight and size of the lens increasing with focal length increments. However, they can be used by both pros and entry level photographers since they come in a range of sizes and prices.
If you would like to focus on distant objects without compromising on the width and depth of field, a super zoom lens is a great alternative to a telephoto lens. They save you the trouble of constantly changing lenses which come in handy when traveling.
Best Camera Lenses
Macro Lenses
For all insect and flower lovers, this lens is what you need. Macro lenses are great at shooting subjects at close range without compromising on detail. The images produced are therefore sharp and clear. They also make excellent abstract shots such as a shot of a baby’s tiny feet eliminating the hassle of post-photography editing. Though quite useful, they are not necessary for entry level photography.
One more thing…
While most photographers won’t be needing these lenses, they are worth mentioning just in case you are in a special kind of photography. Specialist lenses such as shift and tilt lenses for controlling perspective and soft focus lenses for taking portrait photos can be a great addition to your lens collection. Oh before I forget, infra-red lenses are also part of the specialist lenses used to capture photos in special lighting conditions. All these are great for special conditions and effects but not commonly used hence not necessary.
To add one more lens type to the list, image stabilization lenses are not specialist lenses but are great for cameras with no in-built image stabilization. The usual culprits are Nikon and Canon Cameras. These lenses reduce camera shakes when taking photos but can easily be substituted with a tripod.
Finally!
When buying camera lenses you will always be faced with the dilemma of whether to go with high-end lenses or just average lenses. High-end lenses produce better images with less effort as you would expect but are they really worth all that money?
My two cents on this is to buy lenses depending on your experience level and of course, budget. If you are new to photography, entry level lenses are not only affordable but also allow you to get to know your camera more (rather than do all the work for you).
If you have been in photography for a while, you already know your way around cameras and you are decided on your subjects of interest. In this case, the pursuit for great photos is your drive hence splurging a little on lenses is allowed. When it comes to matters of your budget, all I can say is, you can’t spend what you don’t have.
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