Ask most pros which they’d rather have: an entry-level camera with a top-of-the-line lens or a rudimentary lens on a top-of-the-line camera.
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Ask most pros which they’d rather have: an entry-level camera with a top-of-the-line lens or a rudimentary lens on a top-of-the-line camera. They’ll choose the top-notch glass every time. It’s not that cameras and sensors aren’t important, but a really great lens is invaluable. The lens is what delivers your subject, framing the world so you can put it in perspective.
Camera buyers often concentrate only on the camera, accepting whatever lens may happen to come with it. Astute photographers, though, quickly upgrade their lenses—and they’re quick to see results, too. Working with the right lens for your needs doesn’t necessarily mean you have to buy the most expensive glass you can find, only that you understand the many different features of lenses, the benefits they bring and what makes each lens unique.
FOCAL LENGTH
Lenses are wide, normal or telephoto. A wide-angle lens usually measures less than 40mm in 35mm-equivalent terms. Normal lenses range from 40mm to 60mm or so, and telephoto lenses range from 70mm all the way up to 1000mm and beyond (although most common teles top out in the 300mm range).
Benefit: A wide lens is great for spreading out a scene—for instance, making a cramped interior look more spacious—and for getting lots of information into the frame to provide context. Normal lenses provide a distortion-free view, roughly the same as the human eye. Telephoto lenses are ideal for compressing scenes, covering a long distance in a narrow angle of view that brings far-away subjects close up.
PRIME VS. ZOOM
A prime lens has a fixed focal length: 20mm, 50mm, 100mm and so on. A zoom lens can be adjusted to any focal length within its range—say, 70-200mm and everything in between.
Benefit: Prime lenses often are lighter, faster and more compact than zooms, but to change focal length, you have to change lenses. Zoom lenses actually can be more convenient because a single zoom lens may do the job of multiple primes.
MACRO AND FISHEYE
A macro or micro lens is able to focus at very close distances. A fisheye lens has an extremely short focal length (such as 8mm or 10mm) and an extremely wide angle of view (beyond 100 degrees and often up to 180).
Benefit: Focusing on very small, very close objects makes it possible to achieve tremendous magnification, up to and beyond the 1:1 life-sized ratio considered to be the true measure of a macro lens. With a fisheye, the ultrawide options include full-frame lenses that cover a traditional 4x6 image or circular fisheyes that create a round image in the center of the frame—both making it possible to take in a huge “full-sky” field of view.
SPEED
The term “speed” doesn’t reference how fast a lens focuses, but rather how efficiently it can get light through the lens and into the camera. A faster lens has a wider maximum aperture (ƒ/2) than a slower lens (ƒ/5.6). Some zoom lenses don’t have fixed maximum apertures; rather, they’ll adjust from a larger maximum aperture at the wider end of the focal length (ƒ/3.5) to a smaller maximum aperture at the telephoto end (ƒ/5.6).
Benefit: A faster lens’ wider aperture makes it possible to use faster shutter speeds, making these lenses versatile and ideal choices in dim lighting. Wider apertures also let you minimize depth of field for soft backgrounds. Variable maximum apertures may sacrifice speed, but they often make zoom lenses smaller, lighter and less expensive.
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Most lenses these days are engineered specifically for use with digital sensors, rather than for use with 35mm film cameras. Although some hand-me-down film lenses can and do work with digital cameras, there’s been a lot of innovation to create lenses optimized for the peculiar surface of digital sensors, a surface that, unlike film, isn’t flat. A sensor is composed of millions of tiny wells, and that microscopic depth requires light to be collimated so that it strikes the pixels at the correct angle. Designed-for-digital lenses do just that.
Benefit: Because digital sensors are so precise, previously invisible lens flaws become visible. Digital-specific lenses, however, are built to even more exacting standards than great glass of just a few years ago. Today, flaws in sharpness and color fidelity are minimized.
OPTICAL QUALITY
Every manufacturer has its own terminology to describe the top-notch optical qualities of the best glass and coatings of its lenses. These terms, like SD, LD, ED and APO, describe low-dispersion characteristics.
Benefit: Low-dispersion glass and coatings minimize aberrations—the kinds of color and sharpness problems that appear dramatically amplified when images are enlarged. Internal coated elements help stop flare, and front element coatings make the glass more scratch- and dust-resistant.
ASPHERICAL AND RECTILINEAR
Aspherical lenses offer several advantages. First, they reduce spherical aberration as light passes through the lens, resulting in sharper images and reducing linear distortion in wide-angle lenses. The use of aspherical elements also allows lens designers to use fewer glass elements than they otherwise could for a given lens, making smaller and lighter lens designs possible. Rectilinear lens design makes wide angles appear more natural (and less distorted) by keeping straight lines from curving quite so noticeably.
ELEMENTS AND GROUPS
An “element” in a lens is the physical piece of glass that focuses light. Elements don’t work alone; they’re grouped together into a compound lens that achieves complex feats of focusing and resolving power.
Benefit: More elements often indicate that a lens can pull off more elaborate optical tricks (like extreme zooming), the trade-off being that lenses with more elements will be larger, heavier and, in some cases, more expensive. Every added glass surface inside the lens also increases the chance of contrast-killing lens flare, making a lens shade an even more crucial accessory.
OPTICAL STABILIZATION
Indicated by various acronyms depending on the brand (IS, VR, OS, VC, etc.), an image-stabilizing lens will physically shift lens elements to counteract the natural shaking that comes with handholding a camera.
Benefit: Stabilized lenses are sometimes more expensive and heavier than other lenses, but the improved stability means they can be used in lower light and at slower shutter speeds without incurring the damaging effects of motion blur. This added stability can translate to a few stops of additional “hand-holdability.”
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 Canon TS-E 17mm ƒ/4L |
New from Canon is an evolution of their Image Stabilizer technology: Hybrid IS. Typical image-stabilization systems use what’s called an angular velocity sensor (or gyro sensor) to detect camera movement. Hybrid IS enhances this by adding an additional acceleration sensor. Data from the two sensors is used to calculate compensation for both shift and angular camera shake—especially important for handheld macro photography, when even the slightest camera movement in any direction will cause blur. The first lens to incorporate Hybrid IS is the EF 100mm ƒ/2.8L Macro IS USM. If you’ve discovered the world of macro photography, this lens promises to free you from a tripod, and with its 100mm focal length, it makes for a solid portrait lens, too. Estimated Street Price: $1,049.
Canon’s 24mm tilt/shift lens, the TS-E 24mm ƒ/3.5L II, is an updated version of the popular and trusted 24mm tilt/shift, and provides the same perspective control for architectural and landscape
 Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 18mm ƒ/3.5 |
CARL ZEISS
Canon shooters now have another option—the Zeiss-made 18mm Distagon T* ƒ/3.5. Already available for Nikon and Pentax bodies, plans for the new mount were announced last spring. No doubt, many photographers are eager to get their hands on glass from the company long known for precision optics and robust all-metal mount construction, with the same optical qualities as the versions for Nikon, Pentax and Zeiss Ikon rangefinder film cameras. Estimated Street Price: $1,250.
 Nikon AF-S 70-200mm ƒ/2.8G ED VR II |
 Nikon AF-S DX 18-200mm ƒ/3.5-5.6G ED VR II |
Two new Nikon zooms target two types of shooters. The AF-S 70-200mm ƒ/2.8G ED VR II aims at pro shooters, while the AF-S DX 18-200mm ƒ/3.5-5.6G ED VR II lens is intended for those who want a little more affordability and a lot wider focal-length range. The 70-200mm tele-zoom is an updated version of Nikon’s existing zoom of the same length. This time, though, the lens is a bit smaller, a bit heavier and features improved optics, weather sealing, autofocus and vibration reduction up to, Nikon’s tests show, four full stops.
The updated 18-200mm superzoom is built for cameras sporting DX sensors, so the lens is smaller and lighter than you’d expect an 18-200mm vibration-reducing lens to be. Zoom lock keeps the lens compact during travel, and the upgraded VR II offers the same improvements for slow-speed handholding—plus a more affordable package. Estimated Street Price: $2,399 (70-200mm); $849 (18-200mm).
 Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 90-250mm ƒ/2.8 |
 Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 8mm ƒ/3.5 Fisheye |
Olympus has been focusing on improvements to existing lenses via firmware upgrades to four popular models. The Zuiko Digital ED 8mm fisheye, 18-180mm superzoom, 70-300mm telephoto zoom and 90-250mm fast telephoto zoom all have been updated to work better for fast shooting in continuous AF shooting modes. These four lenses provide something for every taste, from special-effects fisheye views to fast ƒ/2.8 maximum apertures on the high-end 90-250mm zoom, versatility in the 18-180mm and high power at an affordable price in the 70-300mm tele-zoom. List Price: $799 (8mm); $499 (18-180mm); $399 (70-300mm); $5,999 (90-250mm).
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 Pentax DA 50-200mm ƒ/4-5.6 ED WR |
Pentax DA 18-55mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 AL WR |
Pentax just built two new lenses with improved weather resistance for rugged outdoor uses. The DA 18-55mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 AL WR and DA 50-200mm ƒ/4-5.6 ED WR are designed to pair with Pentax’s weather-resistant D-SLRs, featuring SP (Super-Protect) coating to minimize scratches by literally repelling dust and moisture, as well as environmental sealing to keep the same debris out of the barrel. The compact and light lenses are built to be easy to carry, as well as easy to afford. List Price: $199 (18-55mm); $249 (50-200mm).
SIGMA
New mounts have been announced for Sigma’s 18-250mm ƒ/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM superzoom—a lens that features a hybrid stabilization system so that it can be used with cameras that already have
 Sigma 18-250mm ƒ/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM |
 Sony 30mm ƒ/2.8 Macro SAM |
Since its entry into D-SLRs a few years ago, Sony continually has added to its versatile optical offerings. Four new lenses have emerged to accompany Alpha camera models, bringing the total number of Sony lenses to 30. These new additions are inexpensive options aimed at budget-conscious and entry-level photographers. The 18-55mm SAM and 55-200mm SAM provide wide-to-normal and normal-to-tele coverage, with the two lenses combining for a whopping 18-200mm range. For photographers interested in primes, the 50mm SAM is a fast ƒ/1.8 lens placed for portrait shooters, and the 30mm macro SAM makes powerful enlargement possible at an affordable price. Estimated Street Price: $200 (18-55mm); $230 (55-200mm); $150 (50mm); $199 (30mm).
 Tamron SP AF60mm F/2 Di II LD (IF) 1:1 Macro |
Close-up photographers also can look to Tamron, which just announced the addition of a new, fast macro lens to its lineup. With 1:1 magnification for APS-C-sized sensors, this 60mm lens is a true macro capable of enlarging small items to actual life size. As important as enlarging power, though, is close-focusing ability. The 60mm macro can be used very close to tiny subjects—as close as just under four inches. Mounts are available for Canon, Nikon and Sony cameras. List Price: $570.
 Tokina AT-X 16.5-135mm DX ƒ/3.5-5.6 |
Lens makers appear to be working to one-up each other in the contest for superzoom dominance by packing wide-range zooms into a single compact-lens barrel. Tokina’s recent entry shows that the company has concentrated on getting a little wider on the short end without sacrificing quality or overall range, making the lens quite versatile. When used on cameras with APS-C sensors, the newly announced AT-X 16.5-135mm DX ƒ/3.5-5.6 will be generally comparable to a 25-200mm lens in 35mm-film equivalents. The lens will be available first for Canon and Nikon mounts by the end of 2009. List Price: TBA.
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| LENSBABY | |
The Composer is the flagship model in the Lensbaby line, offering more control than previous, more rudimentary versions. This $270 model makes maintaining focus easier than ever before, while still providing the funky selective-focus effects that make the lens so unique. It’s a perfect balance of photographic precision and far-out creativity. The Composer incorporates a ball-and-socket system for composing and a rotating dial for focusing—both helping to make it the most convenient and easy-to-use Lensbaby yet. Add to that the Optic Swap system, which allows photographers to customize effects from the lens by switching out optical elements, and the lens becomes even more versatile. |
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| PRO-OPTIC | |
Mirror lenses aren’t as fast as glass, but unless you’re a private detective who works in the dark, you’ll probably do fine. In wildlife photography, for example, an ƒ/6.3 Pro-Optic 500mm mirror lens will easily provide a shutter speed of 1?500 sec. at ISO 100 on a sunny day. And if you happen to need more telephoto power than a mere 500mm lens provides, Adorama also offers an 800mm ƒ/8 version of the Pro-Optic, which retails for just $225. |
